Local Films for Local People project is coming

THE Irish Film Industry will be coming to Drogheda in 2018 with their Local Films for Local people project which provides a window on the collections of the IFI Irish Film Archive.

In May, the IFI travels to the Droichead Arts Centre in Co. Louth to present a screening as part of Age and Opportunity’s Bealtaine festival.

A number of films will be shown as part of the project including A Look at Louthfeatures the earliest flickering images of Drogheda taken from a moving train by the frères Lumières in 1897; Bridge of the Ford, a documentary commissioned by the Medical Missionaries of Mary in 1948; Dundalk cinema advertisements from the 1930s; and short films made by Gael Linn showing the ICA headquarters in Termonfeckin in the early 1950s; ships running aground, beauty contests, dog shows, and mystery fires in the 1960s.

The Irish Film Institute’s Local Films for Local People project provides a window on the collections of the IFI Irish Film Archive. In 2018, for the fifth year running, the institute will bring county-specific programmes to regional venues where they will be enjoyed by communities who have a direct connection with the people and places represented on screen.

The programmes create a rich tapestry of each county’s history, and include films about public and domestic life showing agricultural, educational, religious and political activity running over several decades. Since the programme launch in 2014, Local Films for Local People has been presented in 19 venues across 12 counties.

The IFI celebrate the history of Irish cinema and the community experience of cinema-going.

The Institute are delighted to work with a range of dynamic regional arts venues to create this community experience and to allow audiences of all ages to engage with their local heritage.