Lights, Camera, Action! The best of Cork International Film Festival
The lights of cinema projectors around the city will focus on a world of film for Cork International Film Festival. Pic: iStock
This year’s Cork International Film Festival (CIFF) is a smorgasbord of cinematic delights for people of all age groups.
The temporary closure of the Gate Cinema for renovations means that the festival will utilise the Everyman, the Triskel and the Opera House for its screenings in the city.
The festival is also being extended across 18 days, from November 9-26, with 200 films screened across 14 venues in the city and county.
There are several awards categories this year for documentaries, features and shorts, and the supports the Best New Irish Feature awards category.
The jury includes film producer and CIFF patron David Puttnam, filmmaker Carmel Winters, and filmmaker and Head of Doc Station Berlinale Zeynep Güzel, with the winner announced on November 19.
The nominees are Paul Duane’s , Alan Gilsenan’s , Paul Mercier’s , Ken Wardrop’s and Andrew Gallimore’s .
The 68th festival will feature new and classic films, family-friendly viewing, workshops, film trails and more. Here’s our guide to the best of what’s coming up.
- This is the opening gala, 7.30pm, November 9, Cork Opera House.
- International Gala, 8.30pm, November 19, the Everyman.
- Screened at 8pm, November 13, in the Everyman.
- Screened at 8pm, November 14, in the Everyman.
- Screened at 6pm, November 26, in the Triskel.
Alongside the aforementioned New Irish Feature nominees, there are many Irish films set to be screened at CIFF.
Ken Wardrop ( ) returns with his latest feature, (The Everyman, November 10), as an Irish village reflects on difficult relationships with Christmas.
The 2007 Irish-language feature drama, , screens at the Triskel on November 11, starring Niall Tóibín.
An Irish documentary on image production and atomic testing, , is at the Triskel on November 17, while another documentary, about Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Cathal McNaughton, , will be shown on November 19 at the Everyman.
You can also catch at the Everyman on November 18.
These are just a small selection of the Irish features, documentaries and shorts this year.
International films at this year’s CIFF roam far and wide: from LGBTQ+ relationships in modern-day Nigeria ( , Triskel, November 10); to mysterious US folk singers ( : , Triskel, November 16); to a high-profile French court case ( , the Everyman, November 17); and a gender-flipped ( , the Triskel, November 17).
This year’s documentary gala, tells the story of British woman Ella Glendining, born without hip joints and with shortened femurs.
Food lovers can unite for CIFF’s culinary strand, which includes sees food-themed films paired with culinary events.
On Friday November 10, a screening at 5pm at the Everyman of , is followed by the Marvellous Market Supper at 7.30pm at the English Market, rolled out by the Farmgate Café (€75 for the screening and supper ticket).
On November 14, the 6pm screening of the documentary, , at the Triskel, will be followed by pop-up pizza at NeighbourFood in the Apple Market at 7.30pm (tickets for the screening and pop-up are €40)
After a Triskel screening of the film, , about the Peruvian superstar chef Virgilio Martinez, there will be a panel discussion facilitated by Joe McNamee, of the , and featuring Cork-based Michelin Star chef Takashi Miyazaki; Virginia O’Gara, co-founder of My Goodness; and Dr Barbara Doyle Prestwich, Head of Plant Science, UCC.
Throughout the festival people are invited to wander through the streets of Cork City to explore the heritage of CIFF — you’ll find images of the festival and city taken from the archives across several venues, with an online trail map plus short podcasts.
Meanwhile, historian and Lord Mayor, Cllr Kieran McCarthy, will take people on two 90-minute Cork Film Trail Walking Tours on November 12 at 1.30pm and November 18 at 11.30am.
And on November 19, Regina Sexton will host a two-hour culinary walking tour, starting at the English Market.
CIFF has films for all the family, as well as family-friendly events.
This year’s family gala is the animation, (the Everyman, November 18), which is a French take on .
If attention spans are brief in your family, a series of short films will be shown from 1pm at the Everyman on November 11. They include an animated version of Bono and Gavin Friday’s book project.
First Cut! Youth Film Festival has teamed up with CIFF to host two filmmaking workshops for children aged 8-12 years and 13-17 years. If you have a budding Scorcese or Varda at home, you can sign them up at corkfilmfest.org.
The IFI Irish Film Archive will show a selection of amateur films by Flora Kerrigan on November 12. These Super8 films were made by her in the 1950s and 1960s, when she was a member of the Cork Cine Club, and range from animation to documentary.
Meanwhile, you can find out more about Cork’s Jewish culture in a documentary at St Peter’s on November 23. It will be followed by a discussion with the director, Ruti Lachs. This is free, but you’ll need to get your ticket in advance.
Living outside of Cork City? Fear not, Super Cine Saturday will see three films screened on November 25 at Cinemax Bantry, The Reel Picture Blackpool, the Gate Cinema Mallow, the Gate Cinema Midleton, Regal Cinema Youghal, and the Reel Picture Ballincollig.
Family-friendly animation will be screened at 12pm; — a documentary about the 1995 championship boxing match between Chris Eubank and Steve Collins — will be screened at 2.30pm; and the Finnish dark comedy, , will be shown at 4.30pm.
It’s not just brand new films at CIFF — there will also be several classics screened as part of the Retrospectives: Dreamers and Visionaries strand.
They include the Oscar-winning and Werner Herzog’s iconic . Then there’s the Guilty Pleasures strand, where you can catch Tobe Hooper’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel , John Water’s transgressive and other cult films.
Students are also catered for, with a schools programme at the Everyman from 13-17 November, the Gate Cinemas in Midleton and Mallow and the Reel Cinema Ballincollig, from November 20-24. Tickets are €7; free to teachers.
One of the special events is a screening of , a documentary on fashion designer Amy Powney, on creating an ethical and sustainable collection. It will be followed by a Q&A.
CIFF will also support young scholars with a range of films for Junior Cert and Leaving Cert German, French and Spanish students. Booking essential, email schools@corkfilmfest.org.
If you can’t make the screenings, a capsule online programme of new European features will be available to stream nationwide from November 20-26.
- All tickets are on sale now at corkfilmfest.org and the MyCIFF app.
