Festival time
This year’s Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival takes place in the capital between February 20 and March 3. Festival director Gráinne Humphreys has again programmed a heady mix of Irish and international features, documentaries and shorts. Not to mention a roster of interesting guests, including Matt Bomer, Stephen Merchant, Josh Hartnett and Jessie Buckley. This year’s high-pro le titles include John Butler’s eagerly awaited culture clash comedy, Papi Chulo ( Wednesday, February 20, Cineworld), with Matt Bomer and Alejandro Patiño; Stephen Merchant’s moving WWE drama, Fighting With My Family ( Wednesday, February 27, Light House), starring Florence Pugh; Ian Fitzgibbon’s adaptation of Kevin Barry’s Dark Lies The Island (February 27, Cineworld), co-starring Moe Dunford and Charlie Murphy; and a powerful new documentary on the 1989 Whitbread Round The World Yacht race, Maiden (Monday, February 25, Light House), with Irish crew member Angela Heath in attendance.
Full details on di .ie.
Here are six other events worth catching:
1 Shadow (Saturday, February 23, 11.00am, Light House)
The release of any new movie from Zhang Zimou is always a cause for celebration. This latest period epic is the story of a young and volatile king facing unrest in his realm.
2
An Evening with David Shire (Thursday, February 21, 7.00pm, Light House)
Aedín Gormley hosts a career retrospective interview with the Oscar-winner ( Norma Rae) during which the composer will perform pieces on the piano, accompanied by vocalist Suzanne Savage.
3The
Kid (Saturday, February 23, 2.00pm Light House)
Silent features are always a strong part of the festival programme. Chaplin’s 1921 classic weepie, in which he pairs up with doe-eyed tyke Jackie Coogan, will be accompanied on live piano by Maud Nelissen.
4
Inspirations
The Inspirations strand features movies chosen and introduced by popular Irish authors, including Tana French ( Picnic At Hanging Rock, Feb 28), Liz Nugent ( Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Mar 1) and Sinéad Gleeson ( The Shining, Mar 2).
5Greta
(Saturday, March 2, 6.00pm Light House)
Neil Jordan’s latest drama is a suspenseful thriller chronicling the relationship between a naive young woman (Chloë Grace Moretz) and an eccentric piano teacher (Isabelle Huppert).
6Wild
Rose (Sunday, March 3, 8.15pm Light House)
The closing gala of this year’s festival features a star turn from Killarney’s nest, Jessie Buckley. She plays a working-class Glaswegian mum who dreams of making it as a country singer in Nashville.