Luxembourg-Irish-American co-production “Black 47” and a documentary by Jim Sheridan are among the slew of new films being screened at this year’s British & Irish Film Season. Organiser Geoff Thompson unveiled the programme alongside British ambassador John Marshall and Irish ambassador Peadar Carpenter on Wednesday afternoon. Click on the links below to view the trailers of the films Delano recommends.
“Black 47” was co-produced by local company Samsa Film and partly shot in Luxembourg. An adventure drama set during the Irish famine, it stars Hugo Weaving, Jim Broadbent, Stephen Rea and also features local English-speaking actors Julian Nest, Philip Dutton, Valerie Scott, John Molloy and Liam McEvoy. Animated children’s film “Richard The Stork” is also a Luxembourg co-production.
The season opens on 19 September with a screening of British comedy “Swimming With Men”, described as “The Fully Monty” in speedos. Other feature films include thriller “In Darkness” starring Natalie Dormer as a blind pianist who witnesses a murder, “Good Favour”, the latest film by acclaimed British director Rebecca Daly and boxing drama “Journeyman” directed by and starring the always excellent Paddy Considine. Comedy comes in the shape of “Old Boys” a take on the Cyrano de Bergerac story set in an English all-boys boarding school, and “Eaten By Lions” set in contemporary Britain’s Indian community.
Important themes
Thompson says that the majority of films during the season tackle one or more important themes, including Brexit, inclusion and homelessness. Two documentary double-bills have been programmed following positive feedback over the past few years when, says Thompson, “documentaries have consistently scored among the highest” films for the season’s audience award.
The Jim Sheridan doc is titled “Shelter Me: Apollo House” and tells the story of how the housing activists supported by the director and musicians Glenn Hansard and Hozier took over a derelict Dublin building. This is paired with “Postcards from the 48%” about those who voted for the UK to remain in the EU. The second double bill features “The Camino Voyage”, again featuring Glenn Hansard when he joins forces with other artists and a stonemason to build a naomhog (a wooden boat) and sail along the coasts of England and France to Spain. Then there is “In The Name Of Peace: John Hume In America”, which follows the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s journeys to the United States to lobby successive presidents to help the peace process.
In addition to the screenings, the season also hosts a film quiz night on 22 September with a top prize of 4 returns flights to London City or Dublin with Luxair for the winning team.
The British & Irish Film Season runs from 19 to 29 September. For full details of the programme, visit www.bifilmseason.lu