The Cork International Film Festival, which begins on Thursday, November 6th, has long brought the Irish cinematic year to a particularly atmospheric close. Chills close in on the Everyman Theatre as premature Christmas lights twinkle. What better time to be warm in the dark? Now celebrating its 70th edition, the festival can reasonably claim to be the oldest in the country. Established in 1956 as part of An Tóstal – a series of linked festivals – the event has taken us from Brando’s prime to the digital tomorrow. There is no slacking for the platinum jubilee. Once again the event screens a host of releases stacking up for awards season. Our top 10 below could not find space for Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor in historical drama History of Sound, Bradley Cooper directing Will Arnett as a budding stand-up comic in Is This Thing On? and – a certain best picture nominee – Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve in Joachim Trier’s Bergmanesque Sentimental Value. Also seek out a talk with Joan Bergin, the great Irish costume designer.
First screenings are listed below. Check the website for any additional dates.
Saipan
The Everyman, November 6, 7pm
The country’s seems indecently excited about Éanna Hardwicke as Roy Keane and Steve Coogan as Mick McCarthy in Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa’s take on famous shenanigans before the 2002 World Cup. The amusing, cleverly acted film was a good get for the opening gala. Sure to trigger arguments in the foyer. Read our review here.
Gealtra
The Everyman, November 7, 8.15pm
Fans of Brendan Canty’s recent Christy will be eager to check out his documentary on the creative hub that provided the film with much of its cast. The Kabin Studio in Knocknaheeny on the northside of Cork allows an opportunity for vibrant self-expression. Other Irish titles include This Is a Prison on November 13th.
RM Block
It Was Just an Accident
Arc Cinema, November 8, 5.45pm
Jafar Panahi won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for this scary, tense – but also funny – tale of a group of former political prisoners who believe they have tracked down their former torturer. The Iranian director, long a thorn in the side of the regime, never allows the pace to slacken as he poses tricky moral dilemmas. One of the best endings in recent cinema. Also screens in Youghal, Bantry and Macroom.
Blue Moon
The Everyman, November 8, 8pm
Hugely acclaimed Richard Linklater drama starring Ethan Hawke as lyricist Lorenz Hart, famous collaborator with Richard Rodgers, as he deals badly with the first night of his now former partner’s Oklahoma! Andrew Scott won best supporting actor at Berlin for his turn as Rodgers. Linklater’s lovely Nouvelle Vague, tribute to Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, also plays at the event.
Ed Guiney in conversation
Triskel Cinema, November 9, 11.45am
Tara Brady of this newspaper will be talking to one of the most influential figures in recent Irish cinema. The cofounder of Element Pictures, Guiney has producer credits on such groundbreaking domestic titles as Disco Pigs, Omagh, Garage and The Guard. He received Oscar nominations for Room, The Favourite and Poor Things – the last of which won the Golden Lion at Venice. Tales will be told.
The Voice of Hind Rajib
The Everyman, November 9, 5pm
Runner-up at the Venice Film Festival, Kaouther Ben Hania’s tense film tells the true story of efforts to rescue a young woman shot by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza. The Red Crescent volunteers desperately try to keep her calm on the other end of a crackly line. The decision to use the actual recording of Hind Rajib was daring, but Ben Hania’s film has triggered ovations wherever it has played.
Sirât
Arc Cinema, November 10, 8.30pm
Oliver Laxe’s Sirât was the big surprise at this year’s Cannes film festival. Arriving with little fanfare, the Spanish picture had audiences reeling before it went on to win the Jury Prize. Sergi López plays a distraught father searching for his missing daughter among the nomadic ravers of southern Morocco. It begins as a friendly, funny drama before – no spoilers – turning into something very different. Already a cult.
Zardoz and The Disruptor Award
Triskel Cinema, November 11, 8pm
John Boorman, the unclassifiable English director who became a stalwart of Irish cinema, will be a deserved recipient of the Disruptor Award before a screening of his legendary 1974 science-fiction oddity Zardoz. That’s the one with Sean Connery in a giant nappy investigating the doings of an enormous flying head. Cherie Lunghi, star of Boorman’s Excalibur, will present the award.
David Puttnam talk: Festivals Matter
Triskel Cinema, November 13, 6.30pm
Puttnam, an engaged patron of the festival, was one of the defining figures in late 20th century British cinema. A producer from the late 1960s, he later hit gold with films such as The Duellists, Midnight Express and Chariots of Fire. He returns to Cork for a discussion of why we should care about festivals. “Festivals offer a place for us to come together – a chance to reflect upon ourselves,” he says.
Pillion
The Everyman, November 13, 8pm
In his debut feature, Harry Lighton directs Harry Melling as a shy young man who becomes a sexual submissive to Alexander Skarsgård’s charismatic biker. Adapted from a novel by Adam Mars-Jones the film has its moment of explicit raunch, but, for the most part, this is a surprisingly sweet comedy in the vein of Ealing Studios (or even Norman Wisdom). Coproduced by festival guest Ed Guiney.
- The 70th Cork International Film Festival runs from November 6th to November 16th
