Cork Film Festival presents free movies at city centre cinema this weekend

Films shortlisted for the LUX Audience Award 2025 will be shown at the Arc Cinema in Cork

Animal is one of the films showing for free in Cork this weekend as part of the LUX event. 

Cork International Film Festival's free European Film Weekend is set to return to the Arc Cinema in Cork this weekend.

The festival has partnered with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland and The Arc Cinema Cork for the showcase of the feature films shortlisted for the 2025 LUX Audience Award.

The LUX Audience Award screenings include Mati Diop’s Dahomey, Oksana Karpovych’s Intercepted, Leonardo van Dijl’s Julie Keeps Quiet, and Sofia Exarchou’s Animal.

The fifth nominated film, Gints Zilbalodis’ Flow, will be released in cinemas in spring.

The LUX Audience Award aims to strengthen ties between politics and the people by inviting European audiences to become active protagonists and rate their favourite films.

Cork International Film Festival invites all audiences to rate the LUX Audience Award films they’ve watched over the weekend festival or online via a simple star rating, available on www.corkfilmfest.org.

The competition is open until April, with a chance to win a range of prizes, including a trip to the European Parliament to attend the LUX Award Ceremony in April and meet the film representatives.

The event is free but ticketed and all films and shorts programmes must be pre-booked by clicking here or visiting the myCIFF app.

Full breakdown of the LUX Audience Award Programme screenings this weekend:

Dahomey 

Friday, January 24 at 6.30pm at the Arc Cinema 

Directed by Mati Diop, Dahomey is a documentary film that gives a dramatised account of 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey, which were held in a museum in France. The film explores how the artifacts were returned from France to Benin, and the reactions of Beninese people.

Intercepted 

Saturday, January 25 at 3.30pm at the Arc Cinema 

Directed by Oksana Karpovych, Intercepted is a documentary film that contrasts quiet compositions of the everyday life of Ukrainians since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine with intercepted phone conversations between Russian soldiers and their families creating a shocking, parallel world.

Julie Keeps Quiet 

Friday, January 25 at 6pm at the Arc Cinema 

Directed by Leonardo van Dijl, Julie Keeps Quiet follows the story of a star player at an elite tennis academy whose life revolves around the game she loves. When her coach falls under investigation and is suddenly suspended, the club’s players are encouraged to speak up, but Julie decides to keep quiet.

Animal 

Saturday, January 26 at 6pm at the Arc Cinema 

Directed by Sofia Exarchou, Animal follows the story of entertainers on an all-inclusive Greek island as they prepare for high season. Leader of the group Kalia has to keep the colorful programme alive but the work becomes increasingly harder and more intense, things get out of hand.

Full breakdown of the European Film Award Shorts screenings this weekend:

EFA Shorts Programme 1 

Friday, January 25 at 12pm at the Arc Cinema 

• The Death of a Hero directed by Karin Franz Körlof - 15 minutes 
• Dildotectonics directed by Tomás Paula Marques - 16 minutes 
• A Kind of Testament directed by Stephen Vuillemin - 15 minutes 
• A Study of Empathy directed by Hilke Rönnfeldt - 15 minutes 
• On The Way directed by Samir Karahoda - 15 mins 
• If The Sun Drowned into an Ocean of Clouds directed by Wissam Charaf - 20 mins 

EFA Shorts Programme 2 

Saturday, January 26 at 3.30pm at the Arc Cinema 

• 2720 directed by Basil de Cunha- 24 minutes 
• Clamour directed by Samolé De Souza - 25 minutes 
• The Exploding Girl directed by Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel - 19 minutes 
• The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent directed by Nebojša Slijepčević - 19 minutes 
• Wander to Wonder directed by Nina Gantz - 13 minutes