3/26/2015

Irish Film Festival Ottawa Launches this Weekend!

Song of the Sea
Get ready to say “Top of the morning!” to a new film festival when the Irish Film Festival Ottawa launches this weekend. The inaugural IFFO brings a range of films from the Emerald Isla to the 613 including the local premiere of the Oscar-nominated animated feature Song of the Sea, which is easily the must-see film of the line-up. The event also includes Skype Q&As with the directors of Good Vibrations, The Pipe and The Bachelor Weekend following their respective screenings. Screenings happen at the Arts Court Theatre and run from March 27-29.

Here’s a rundown of what’s playing:

Opening Night Gala – Gold

Dir. Niall Heery | 2014 | 88 min.
Friday, March 27 at 7:00 PM
Synopsis: Twelve years ago, Ray (David Wilmot) left town after his childhood sweetheart, Alice (Kerry Condon), dumped him, taking their daughter away from him. Now he must return home at the request of his ailing father, who wishes to see his granddaughter before it's too late. But things take a turn for the absurd when Ray realises his daughter and her mother have built a new life with his former P.E. teacher, a controlling and regimented figure who is the direct opposite of Ray. Set in an affluent suburb in south County Dublin, this offbeat comedy and unconventional love story delights in the hilarity of everyday life.


Song of the Sea

Dir. Tom Moore | 2014 | 93 min.
Saturday, March 28 at 2:00 PM
Synopsis: Saoirse is a child who is the last of the selkies, women in Irish and Scottish legends who transform from seals into people. She escapes from her grandmother's home to journey to the sea and free fairy creatures trapped in the modern world. Featuring the voices of Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan and Lucy O’Connell.

Pilgrim Hill

Dir. Gerard Barrett | 2013 | 85 min.
Saturday, March 28 at 5:00 PM
Synopsis: Jimmy Walshe (Joe Mullins) is a middle aged farmer living in rural Ireland with his critically ill father. Life has been tough on Jimmy over the years, but things are about to get worse, as his life hits a very rough patch on and off his farm.


The Bachelor Weekend

Dir. John Butler | 2013 | 94 min.
Saturday, March 28 at 8:00 PM
Synopsis: A bachelor party weekend in the great outdoors takes some unexpected detours.


The Pipe / An Piopa

Dir Risteard O'Domhnaill | 2010 | 80 min. | English subtitles
Sunday, March 29 at 2:00 PM
Synopsis: A compelling documentary film four years in the making, The Pipe tells the story of the small Rossport community which has taken on the might of Shell Oil and the Irish State. The discovery of gas off this remote coastal village has led to the most dramatic clash of cultures in modern Ireland. The rights of farmers over their fields, and of fishermen to their fishing grounds, has come in direct conflict with one of the world's most powerful oil companies. When the citizens look to their State to protect their rights, they find that the government has put Shell's right to lay a pipeline over their own.


Good Vibrations

Dir Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn | 2012 | 103 min.
Sunday, March 29 at 5:00 PM
Synopsis: In 1970s Belfast, Terri Hooley is an idealistic rocker who finds himself caught in the middle of Northern Ireland's bitter Troubles. Seeing a parallel in the chaos with Jamaica, Hooley opens a record shop, Good Vibrations, to help bring reggae music to his city to help encourage some harmony. However, Hooley soon discovers a new music genre, punk rock, and is inspired by its youthful vitality to become an important record producer and promoter of the local scene.


Kisses

Dir. Lance Daly | 2008 | 72 min.
Sunday, March 29 at 8:00 PM
Synopsis: Two kids, Dylan and Kylie, run away from home at Christmas and spend a night of magic and terror on the streets of inner-city Dublin.


Unfortunately, I won’t be in town to attend the festival, but please go give them a little luck of the Irish for me!

Please visit the IFFO website for more info.