The popular annual Irish Film Festival returns from 19 – 29 November with its biggest line-up ever. Moved online this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, cinephiles all over Australia can now catch the best new Irish cinema releases without leaving their couches. The online festival program is packed with award-winning dramas, documentaries, Irish-language features and comedies direct from Ireland, with no fewer than 11 Australian premieres.
“We are delighted to be presenting these great Irish stories online to an Australian audience. It’s a tough time for the Irish diaspora, many of whom have missed trips home this year and I hope the Irish Film Festival can bring some Gaelic sunshine to Australia in these dark times!” Dr Enda Murray, Director of the Irish Film Festival commented.
Dr Murray pointed out that Festival highlights include horror-comedy, Extra Ordinary starring comedian Maeve Higgins as a driving instructor in Tullamore with supernatural powers; urban drama, Rialto, which won Best Actor/Writer gongs for powerhouse duo, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Mark O’Halloran at the IFTAs (Irish Film & TV Awards); and searing gangster thriller, Calm With Horses starring rising Hollywood star, Barry Keoghan. Online Q&A’s with several of the film’s directors and some surprise guests will complement the impressive film line-up. The festival has also proudly partnered with Irish-run food & beverage providers to bring the taste of home to living rooms across Australia.
The official opening night film is the horror-comedy, Extra Ordinary. Starring Maeve Higgins and Barry Ward, the plot centres around a sweet, lonely driving instructor in Tullamore who possesses supernatural powers. Throw in a one-hit-wonder rock star who has made a pact with the devil, a levitating teenage girl and a love story and you’re in for some extraordinarily quirky entertainment. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Love/Hate, Avengers: Endgame, Maze) stars in the contemporary, urban drama, Rialto, which is set in Dublin’s docklands. Colm (played by Vaughan-Lawlor) is in his mid-40s and leads a comfortable life with two teenage children and a kind, loyal wife. But the death of his father sends his life into turmoil and, struggling with his loss, he finds himself in a same-sex relationship for the first time. Rialto was part of the Official Selection at The Venice Film Festival 2019 & at the BFI London Film Festival 2019.