The 7th annual British & Irish Film Season in Luxembourg took place from 21 September to 1 October 2016.
British & Irish Film Season 2016 Presents:
1916: The Irish Rebellion (IE)
Director : Ruan Magan
Starring : the voice of Liam Neeson
Genre : Documentary - Duration: 90 mins
Synopsis : Narrated by Liam Neeson, this landmark documentary tells the dramatic story of the events that took place in Dublin during Easter Week 1916, when a small group of Irish rebels took on the might of the British Empire. The documentary - featuring a combination of rarely seen archival footage, new segments filmed on location worldwide, and interviews with leading international experts - also uncovers the untold story of the central role Irish Americans played in the lead-up to the rebellion. Although defeated militarily, the men and women of the Easter Rising would wring a moral victory from the jaws of defeat and inspire countless freedom struggles throughout the world - from Ireland to India.
Adult Life Skills (EN)
Director : Rachel Tunnard
Starring : Jodie Whittaker, Lorraine Ashbourne, Brett Goldstein, Rachael Deering, Eileen Davies, Alice Lowe, Edward Hogg, Ozzy Myers
Genre : Drama - Duration: 96 mins
Synopsis : A charmingly offbeat comedy-drama in which Jodie Whittaker plays a 29 year-old who has never got over the death of her twin brother and lives in the garden shed while her mother and grandmother live in the family home. Her mother gives her an ultimatum to leave the shed by her 30th birthday and find her own place to live; in the meantime, she strikes up a friendship with a young boy who lives next door and whose mother is ill.
After 16 (IE)
Director :
Starring :
Genre : Shorts Programme (various genres) - Duration: 110 mins
Synopsis : A programme of nine short films inspired by the subject of 1916 and what it has left in its wake. The programme includes fiction and non-fiction, live-action and animation, contemporary and period pieces. After ‘16 is a once-off shorts initiative to commemorate, celebrate and ruminate on 1916. Commissioned by Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board.
Atlantic (IE / CA / NO)
Director : Richie O’Donnell
Starring : the voice of Brendan Gleeson
Genre : Documentary - Duration: 80 mins
Synopsis : Documentary about the two big resources in the North Atlantic - oil and fish, and their impact on their exploitation on the environment in various countries. It follows the fortunes of three small fishing communities - in Ireland, Norway and Newfoundland.
Away (EN)
Director : David Blair
Starring : Timothy Spall, Juno Temple, Matt Ryan, Hayley Squires, Terry Stone, Joanna Roth, Susan Lynch
Genre : Drama - Duration: 110 mins
Synopsis : Both endearing and gripping in equal measure, this poignant drama tells the story of a man in his late fifties getting over the recent loss of his wife, and a young woman in her twenties who is fleeing an abusive relationship. Despite having nothing at all in common, circumstances bring them together and, slowly by slowly, their past circumstances are revealed.
Bliss! (EN, NO)
Director : Rita Osei
Starring : Freya Parks, David Leon, Lars Arentz-Hansen, Montserrat Lombard, Reece Noi, Lauren Johns
Genre : Drama - Duration: 93 mins
Synopsis : With its World Premier suitably on Fathers Day, this thoughtful drama tells the story of a dysfunctional family that needs father-figures. Set in north-east England and the west coast of Norway, it follows teenager Natasha who sets off for Norway to search for her father whom she knows just as "The Viking". Superb cityscapes and landscape cinematography.
Mammal (IE, LU, NL)
Director : Rebecca Daly
Starring : Rachel Griffiths, Barry Keoghan, Michael McElhatton
Genre : Drama - Duration: 95 mins
Synopsis : Selected for the European Film Awards 2016. Margaret, a divorced woman living alone in Dublin, learns that her teenage son has been found dead. Enduring her unsettling grief privately, she escapes daily to the local swimming pool. One day at the pool she runs into Joe, a homeless youth she found injured late one night in the deserted laneway behind her work. Margaret offers Joe a room in her house and an unorthodox relationship starts to develop between them. Margaret’s ex-husband Matt begins to turn up randomly in Margaret’s life. As Margaret and Joe’s mutual reliance grows their tentative trust is threatened by the escalation of Matt’s grieving rage and Joe’s involvement with a gang of violent youths.
Peter and Wendy (EN, LU)
Director : Diarmuid Lawrence
Starring : Stanley Tucci, Paloma Faith, Zak Sutcliffe
Genre : Family Adventure - Duration: 97 mins
Synopsis : This version establishes a dramatic connection with Great Ormond Street, the world famous children's hospital that has become irrevocably associated with Peter Pan. The story is retold through the imagination of a young girl named Lucy who is about to receive hospital treatment for a serious heart condition. This is Lucy's version of Peter Pan, the startling fantasy of a brave, imaginative and utterly modern young girl who fears her illness might mean that she, like Peter Pan, may never grow up. Lucy dreams this version of Peter Pan into existence after reading the novel late on the night before her operation, when her weakened heart is already beginning to fail.
Property of the State (IE)
Director : Kit Ryan
Starring : Patrick Gibson, Aisling Loftus, David Rawle, Elaine Cassidy
Genre : Crime Drama - Duration: 107 mins
Synopsis : Based on true events that shocked the nation in the 1990s, the film tells the story of a mentally disturbed young man as seen through the eyes of his sister. Piece by piece she threads together the events that ultimately lead to the harrowing murders of a young mother, her child and a local priest in an East Clare forest. A chilling tale that ask questions about how and why the state appeared to do little or nothing to help him when it was clear he was not well.
Sing Street (IE)
Director : John Carney
Starring : Aidan Gillen, Jack Reynor, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Kelly Thornton
Genre : Comedy Drama - Duration: 106 mins
Synopsis : A boy growing up in Dublin during the 1980s escapes his strained family life by starting a band to impress the mysterious girl he likes. A charming and nostalgic film with solid character development and a superb soundtrack. A cross between Once and The Commitments…
Swallows and Amazons (EN)
Director : Philippa Lowthorpe
Starring : Andrew Scott, Rafe Spall, Kelly Macdonald
Genre : Family drama - Duration: 97 mins
Synopsis : Based on the classic, best-selling book by Arthur Ransome, it features four children on holiday with their mother in the Lake District in 1929; they are allowed to sail over to the nearby island in their boat Swallow and set up camp for a few days. They soon realise this has been the territory of some other girls who sail the Amazon, and the scene is set for serious rivalry.
The Carer (EN / HU)
Director : János Edelényi
Starring : Brian Cox, Coco König
Genre : Comedy drama - Duration: 89 mins
Synopsis : A witty drama that can be described as a cross between Still Alice and 45 Years, showing the human elements behind a debilitating disease and its effects on those around who all suffer. A retired Shakespearian actor suffers from Parkinson's and his family arrange a live-in carer, a young Hungarian woman who herself aspires to be on the stage. Wonderful performances with great dialogue and superb comic timing.
The Islands and the Whales (EN, US, DK)
Director : Mike Day
Starring : N/A
Genre : Documentary - Duration: 83 mins
Synopsis : A delicate documentary that looks at the cultural heritage of the islanders in respect of hunting whales and other animals, and the views of environmentalists, specifically those of Sea Shepherd, and also health concerns from high levels of mercury. It uses interviews rather than narrative for the dialogue. The director was accepted by the community due to his previous documentary on gannet catchers in Scotland, a practice which is also practiced in the Faeroes.
Whisky Galore (SC)
Director : Gillies MacKinnon
Starring : Gregor Fisher, Eddie Izzard, James Cosmo, Kevin Guthrie, Sean Biggerstaff, Naomi Battrick, Ellie Kendrick
Genre : Comedy drama - Duration: 98 mins
Synopsis : This light-hearted drama details the story of the inhabitants of the isolated Scottish island of Todday, in the Outer Hebrides, where gloom sets in as their wartime rationing of whisky runs out. When cargo ship the SS Cabinet Minister runs aground the shrewd islanders run rings around the buffoonish English Home Guard commander Captain Waggett and conspire to hide away cases of the precious amber nectar.
Y Llyfrgell / The Library Suicides (WA)
Director : Euros Lyn
Starring : Catrin Stewart, Ryland Teifi, Dyfan Dwyfor, Sharon Morgan
Genre : Thriller - Duration: 87 mins
Synopsis : A stylish, playful and enjoyably offbeat Welsh-language thriller, The Library Suicides (adapted from Fflur Dafydd’s bestseller Y Llyfgell) stars Catrin Stewart (a cult figure from her role as Jenny in Doctor Who) as twin sister librarians Nan and Ana who plan revenge when their author mother apparently commits suicide, with her final words suggesting her biographer murdered her. Set within the stately National Library of Wales.
In Welsh with EN sub-titles
Schedule
Special Guests
BIFS 2016 is deligthed to be able to confirm the following Special Guests will be attending to participate in post-screening Q&A sessions about their films:
- Atlantic: Richie O’Donnell (film-maker)
- Away: Timothy Spall (actor) or Juno Temple (actor) TBC
- Bliss!: Freya Parks (actor), Montserrat Lombard (actor), Rita Osei (director)
- Mammal: Jesus Gonzales (co-producer)
- Property of the State: Kit Ryan (director)
- Sing Street: Kelly Thornton (actor)
- The Carer: either Brian Cox (actor) OR Coco Konig (actor)
- The Island and the Whales: Mike Day (film-maker)
- Whisky Galore: Gillies MacKinnon (director)
- Y Llyfrgell / The Library Suicides: Euros Lyn (director - via Skype)
Ticketing
There are 4 options for ticketing, as follows:
- Individual Tickets: €8.80 per ticket for all films
- Children’s Tickets: For the Family films, “Peter & Wendy” and “Swallows and Amazons”, children’s tickets (U12) will cost €5.70 (with at least 1 adult ticket)
- Season Special Ticket (€25) – this enables the user to select 5 different films
- 1916 Double Bill: Tickets to attend both the After 16 shorts programme and the 1916: The Irish Rebellion documentary cost €12
Click here to purchase tickets
Events
- Shorts Workshop on Monday 26 September @ 14:00 @ Cathy Goedert (Rue Chimay)
- This Shorts Workshop is aimed at both those already active in the Luxembourg Film Industry as well as students interested in learning how to get started making films, many of whom would be following a Film Studies course. It will address Pre-Production (Storyboarding, Funding & Pitching, Casting & Crewing), Admin (Documentation) and Production & post-production (Technical: Equipment needs and Sound: ADR (automated dialogue replacement) and FOLEY).
- The BIFS 2016 Workshop will be led by Christine Morrow, Short Film Executive at Northern Ireland Screen, as well as Alex Maroulakis and Alvaro Garrido, co-founders of Drone Club Luxembourg, who will explain what types of drones are suitable for recording video as well as the legal issues around their use.
- Entry is free-of-charge for prior registration (email to geoff@bifilmseason.lu), or €10 on the door (without registration)
- Seminar on Ireland-Luxembourg co-Productions on Tuesday 27 September @ 18:30 @ Cinémathèque
- In collaboration with the Ireland Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ILCC), BIFS 2016 will feature an evening seminar addressing co-productions between Ireland and Luxembourg.
- Guy Daleiden, Director of Film Fund Luxembourg, will deliver a keynote address on the framework collaboration by highlighting the lead up to the formal collaboration agreement and its subsequent success. It will also include a panel discussion with contributions from Sean McCormack (animation): Two By Two / Ooops Noah is Gone (2015, co-production); Bernard Michaux (drama): The Runway (2010, co-production); Stephan Roelants (animation; Oscar nominated): Song of the Sea (2014, co-production); as well as Laurent Witz (short animation; Oscar winner): Mr Hublot (2013) – including “The making of Mr Hublot”.
www.ilcc.lu.
