AS WITH any anniversary, there will be celebrations, but the day-to-day running of the Irish Film Festival London (IFFL) is still paramount to ensure that the quality is never compromised.
Kelly O’Connor is the director of IFFL and is excited for the St Patrick’s Day Festival plans.
“What’s great about St Patrick’s Day is that it’s really appealing and more family friendly, so everyone can come along,” she explained. “There are lots of different things for everyone to do, so it’s a great opportunity for us to show some of the film productions emerging from Ireland.”
The St Patrick’s Day spectacle from the IFFL is a collaboration from Irish organisations right across the industry. As well as the IFFL, the Irish Film Institute and the Irish Film Board have lent a hand in putting the day’s events together.
The past 12 months have been particularly successful for the industry in Ireland and the programme on March 15 will have a variety of fantastic films on display.
The feature film of the day this year will be The Legend of Longwood – a family drama focusing on a young girl who moves from New York to Ireland and sets out to protect her new home from a mysterious Black Knight who haunts the village.
IFFL will also screen one of the most critically acclaimed Irish productions of last year – which narrowly missed out on an Oscar.
Boogaloo and Graham, a Belfast short film was up for Best Live Action Short in February – having already nabbed the 2015 BAFTA in the same category.
This Michael Lennox-directed film tells the story of Jamesy and Malachy. The pair find themselves over the moon when their soft-hearted dad presents them with two baby chicks to care for, but the two boys are in for a shock when their parents announce that big changes are coming to the family.
“The programme focuses on the very best of recent Irish film both features and shorts,” Kelly O’Connor said.
Best of all – it is totally free to go along and see some of Ireland’s best productions from the past year
March 15, Prince Charles Cinema, Leicester Square, 12.30-5.30pm
ST PATRICK'S FILM FESTIVAL LONDON PROGRAMME
The St Patrick’s Day Film Festival will take place throughout the afternoon at The Prince Charles Cinema near Leicester Square from 12.30pm to 5.30pm, with Irish films being aired throughout the day.
12.30 - 1.30pm
Anywhere But Here: A short film about falling in love.
4 Bhanrion: Four elderly Irish sisters play a nasty game of poker to decide who will take care of their ailing and irritable mother in this hilarious dark comedy.
The Tree: A weary man’s struggle through an arid world desperate for food.
Home: A film about how our lives are shaped by the homes in which we grow up.
1.30 - 2.30pm
Boogaloo and Graham: A short film about the lives of two young boys in 1970s Belfast.
Two Sugars: Intern Ireland: A documentary about interns, the Irish economy, and the benefits of the JobBridge scheme.
Cutting Grass: It’s a hot summer and as young inner-city boy Donal tries his hand at cutting lawns for pocket money, his luck starts to change when he meets a mysterious stranger.
The Daisy Chain: A woman looks back at her childhood and the games she used to play. Voiced by Fiona Shaw.
Somewhere Down the Line: A man’s life, loves and losses are shown through the exchanges he has with the passengers in his car.
2.30 - 3.30pm
Sophie at the Races: Nine-year-old Sophie and her wayward mother Hariette journey to the race to meet Sophie’s dad for the first time but things quickly fall apart as Sophie realises that everything isn’t as it seems.
Tea with the Dead: This animation drama follows Frank, a gentle unassuming embalmer in a small town in Connemara.
Rockmount: A film about an 11-year-old Roy Keane who will stop at nothing to get on the starting 11 of his football club.
An Ode to Love: A lonely man on a desert island explores the highs and lows of romantic love when a mysterious companion is washed ashore.
3.30 - 5.15pm
The Legend of Longwood: When 12-year-old Mickey Miller moves from New York to Ireland, she soon discovers a link between herself and the 300-year-old legend of the mysterious Black Knight, who regularly haunts the sleepy Irish village.
