IRISH FILM FESTIVAL CONTEMPORARY IRISH FILM MARCH 1,2,3&4, 2007 ROXIE FILM CENTER SAN FRANCISCO AT NEW COLLLEGE 3117 16th STREET (AT VALENCIA) SAN FRANCISCO 4TH ANNUAL 2007 Festival Theme: Ireland in Transition Reflecting the Changing Perceptions of Ireland at Home and Abroad. ROXIE PHOTO: NANCY THOMPSON PRESENTED BY THE IRISH ARTS FOUNDATION SUPPORTED IN PART BY SF GRANTS FOR THE ARTS CO-PRESENTED WITH THE
Thanks to our community sponsors Cara Glass Celtic Scaffolding Claddagh Refrigeration Dovre Club Terry Dunne Plumbing Emerald Moving & Storage Paddy Flynn s, Burlingame Conor Forde Painting Harrington s Inc. Furniture Moving Irish Bank Irish Herald Irish Times Moving and Storage Irish Network Eamonn Kavanagh Painting Knights Catering McCarthy Moving Durty Nelly s Kate O Briens Kieran Saunders Electric Setanta Angus McCarthy McCarthy Moving New College Irish Studies Program O Neill s Irish Pub - San Mateo O Reilly s Holy Grail - San Francisco Perfection Painting Phoenix Irish Pub - San Francisco Plough & Stars - San Francisco Maire Rua for Hair San Francisco Bay Guardian Swig Tir Na Nog Day Care With special thanks to: Ms. Emer Deane, Consul General of Ireland & Vice- Consul Ms.Una Fannon; Bart Murphy; Eric Henry, Film Arts Foundation; Bill and Rick at the Roxie Cinema; Marissa Aroy; Stephen Gardner; Fidelma McGinn; Rory Lenny & Mark Woodard at Magners; Robert Ryan at Setanta Sports; Richard Spencer; Sinead Carey from Murphys Irish Stout; Ruth Craig from the Irish Dariy Board; Graeme Blackmore from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant; and Aoife Coughlan of the Irish Film Institute. The San Francisco Irish Film Festival is presented by the Irish Arts Foundation and co-presented with the San Francisco Film Arts Foundation. The Irish Arts Foundation was founded in 1985 to present quality Irish and Celtic art and cultural events. Funded in part by Grants for the Arts of the San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund and Culture Ireland - an Irish Government agency whose mission is to promote Irish culture abroad. Festival Staff Niall McKay - Director Bill Roarty & Conor Howard - Executive Producers Niamh Ryan, IAF Board Kimberley Darling Richard Martin Patrick Murray Festival Judges Richard O Connell - Production Manager - ITVS; Nicholas O Neil - Producer Website: SFIrishFilm.com
Friends! Hibernophiles & Cineastes! Welcome to the 4th Annual, SFIRISH Film Festival:Filum 07. We are delighted to be back in the recently refurbished & fiercely indepenent Roxie Film Center, now under the tutelage of the equally independent New College of California. This year we continue to attempt to showcase the best of contemporary Irish Film. We hope that this years Liquorice All Sorts of award winning shorts, compelling documentaries & premiere West Coast screenings will keep you engaged over the four day festival. Sincere thanks to all our sponsors! Enjoy the Filums & support Emmet Rovers for the Cup! Sincerely - Conor Howard, IAF A Coming of Age for Irish Cinema By Niall McKay Last year, Irish films took home a record number of awards. Martin McDonnagh s Six Shooter, received an Academy Award, and Undressing My Mother brought home the European Film Award (both films screened at the San Francisco Irish Film Festival last year). This year, Ken Loach s The Wind That Shakes the Barley (starring Cillian Murphy) won the Golden Palm D or at Cannes. The San Francisco Irish Film Festival will arrange a special screening of The Wind That Shakes the Barley following the film festival. Earlier this year, John Carney s Once took home the audience award at Sundance. Once is a charming story about a Dublin busker who falls in love with a Czech immigrant. The San Francisco Irish Film Festival will co-present a screening of Once with the San Francisco International Film Festival in April. Ireland has taken capital earned from its high tech economic success and reinvested it into the movie industry - creating a new breed of Irish filmmakers which are pushing the limits of movie making as previous generations have pushed the limits of literature. In the last three years, over 30 feature films were produced in Ireland, creating 6,000 jobs and netting the Irish economy over $200 million. The country is now investing over 166 million euros in the next three years into the industry. Films to watch out for next year are Lenny Abrahamson s The Garage, Paddy Breathnach s Shrooms, and a film adaptation of J.P. Donleavy's The Ginger Man, starring Johnny Depp. The San Francisco Irish Film Festival is also forging relationships with the 911 Media Center in Seattle and Irish Screen Los Angeles and will co-present an evening of Irish Film and Television in both cities in March 2007 (see pp. 7). Niall McKay, is an Irish writer & filmmaker & director of the SF Irish Film Festival. Page 3
THURSDAY - MARCH 1ST - 8PM OPENING RECEPTION AND REMARKS - 6:30PM PORK STORE CAFE - 3122 16TH STREET (ACROSS THE STREET) - (415) 626-5523 OPENING NIGHT FEATURES NUN MORE DEADLY - Director Dave O Sullivan Raymond Chandler on his Holidays in Wexford... - 13 mins STUDS - Director Paul Mercier Brendan Gleeson stars in STUDS, an action comedy that follows the cup-run of an amateur football team and the magical effects of a new mysterious manager. - 90 mins MAGNERS N SHORTS (Short films and free Magners Irish Cider) FRIDAY - MARCH 2ND - 7PM OUCH - Directed by Ken Wardrop Documentary about circumcision... Ouch... - 8 mins PEACE CUBED - Directed by Ronan Carr A poet, a leprechaun, and a rubber doll try to use bondage to solve all the troubles of Northern Ireland. - 15 mins WHAT IF - Directed by Alan Walsh This Comedy tells the story of two movie stuntmen looking for a way out of the business. - 20 mins UNACCOMPANIED - Directed by Emer Martin Drama about children who go missing from the Department of Social Service in Dublin. Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting) plays a social worker who finds atraumatized young boy from Africa on the streets of Dublin. - 18 mins BADLY DRAWN ROY - Directed by Alan Shannon Roy, Ireland s only animated character, was born into an ordinary live action family. This fly-on-the-wall documentary allows exclusive access into Roy s life where we learn of the prejudices he must overcome daily. - 22 mins MAGNERS N IRISH TELLY (Irish Telly and free Magners Irish Cider) FRIDAY - MARCH 2ND - 9PM CHRISTY - Directed by Alex Gill and Michael Donnelly Documentary about a gay homeless man in Dublin. - 16 mins PATHS TO FREEDOM - Directed by Alex Gill and Michael Donnelly Documentary about a gay homeless man in Dublin. - 25 mins SONG FOR REBECCA -- Directed by Norah McGettigan In the film which was first screened at Cannes this year, Laura returns home for the funeral of her best friend, Rebecca. Home is a remote island off Ireland. - 40 mins Page 4
SATURDAY - MARCH 3RD - 3PM - MATINEE A Blast from the Past: IRISH DESTINY - (1926 B&W - Silent) - Directed by George Dewhurst This feature-length docudrama details the history of the Irish rebellion against British rule, and the formation of the Irish Republican Army in 1926. - 73 mins FRIDAY - MARCH 3RD - 7PM IRISH TV NIGHT - A Magners for every attendee and award-winning Irish telly. PURE MULE - Directed by Eugene O'Brien Award-winning playwright, Eugene O'Brien creates six stories focusing on the weekend of one particular character from a Friday until a Monday morning. - 58 mins Bachelors Walk - Directed by John Carney Bachelors Walk, a comedy-drama based around three single men living in a house in Dublin s Bachelors Walk. - 58 mins FRIDAY - MARCH 3RD - 9PM - FEATURE PRESENTATION MAN ABOUT DOG - Directed by Paddy Breathnach Man About Dog, the No.1 Smash Hit in Ireland, tells the hilarious story of three luckless losers from Belfast who have a week to pay back 50,000 to the local bookmaker. - 89 mins SUNDAY - MARCH 4TH - 3PM IRISH/PHILIPINO DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMS: MEGAN AND CLAUDIA - Director/Producer Patrick Butler Megan and Claudia are cross dressing Filipino s navigating the social norms of Dublin. - 2 mins HERE TO STAY - Directed by A. O Brien & A. Grossman A gay Filipino nurse campaigns to update Irish labor and immigration laws. Here to Stay tells a timely story about the human side of labour migration into Ireland. - 72 mins OTHER IRISH EVENTS IN MARCH 2007 CROSSROADS - IRISH AMERICAN FESTIVAL March 8th through March 17, 2007 NewCollege.edu/IrishStudies or 415-437-3427 155th Annual ST. PATRICK S DAY PARADE Saturday, March 17, 2007-11:30AM - 2nd & Market Street to Civic Center ANDREW MACNAMARA AT THE PLOUGH & STARS March 15, 16, 17, 22, 23-116 Clement, SF - ThePloughAndStars.com Page 5
IRISH DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMS: SUNDAY - MARCH 4TH - 6PM 'NA DEORAITHE' ('THE EXILES') - Directed by Liam Nolan Na Deoraithe (The Exiles) considers the similarities between the experiences of the thousands of migrant workers living in Ireland at present with that of Irish workers living in Britain during the 1950s. - 25 mins THE BROTHERS -- Directed by Mikey O Flatharta An unforgettable story of two brothers, Paddy and Nicholas Butler from Co. Waterford. The story narrates the lives (and deaths) of the two brothers who lived together on their farm in the Comeragh Mountains. - 25 mins ÁBHAR MACHNAIMH -- Directed by James Kelly Documentary about Colman Doyle has photographed Ireland for the past five decades, chronicling in his images the changing nature of the country s social and political character. - 52 mins IRISH GAY CINEMA: SUNDAY - MARCH 4TH - 9PM CHRISTY - Directed by Alex Gill and Michael Donnelly Documentary about a gay homeless man in Dublin. - 16 mins GOLDFISH MEMORY - Directed by Elizabeth Gill Goldfish Memory is a story set against the beautiful backdrop of a Dublin steeped in bossa nova music. It features a cast of attractive characters who fall in and out of love with each other. - 85 mins March 2 11, 2007 Zellerbach Playhouse on the UC Berkeley Campus Presented by the UC Berkeley Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies For more information, call 510-642-9925 or visit: http://theater.berkeley.edu Dolly West s Kitchen takes place in Ireland s County Donegal, just across the border from Northern Ireland, during the final years of World War II. Ireland is a neutral country in the war, but tensions are running high as there is fear of possible British invasion. Amidst this setting unfolds the story of Dolly West s close-knit family. Family members struggle to come to terms, not only with the effects of war on their country, but also with one another as issues of jealousy, adultery, sexual identity and divided loyalties come to the fore. Page 6
IRISH SCREEN LA RALEIGH STUDIO (OPP PARAMONUT STUDIO) - 5300 MELROSE, HOLLYWOOD, CA The San Francisco Irish Film Festival has joined forces with Irish Screen LA to present an evening of Irish Film and Television at Raleigh Studios in Los Angles. MONDAY - MARCH 5TH - 5:30PM MAGNERS N SHORTS PROGRAM (Short films and free Magners Irish Cider) (SEE - FRIDAY - MARCH 2ND - 7PM PROGRAM LISTING) MONDAY - MARCH 5TH - 9PM MAN ABOUT DOG - Directed by Paddy Breathnach Man About Dog, the No.1 Smash Hit in Ireland, tells the hilarious story of three luckless losers from Belfast who have a week to pay back 50,000 to the local bookmaker. - 89 mins IRISH REELS - SEATTLE CENTER - IRISH HERITAGE WEEK The San Francisco Irish Film Festival has joined forces with IRISIH REELS to present an evening of Irish Film and Television at Seattle Center, Seattle.MON SATURDAY & SUNDAY - MARCH 17TH - 18TH - 2 & 5PM MAGNERS N SHORTS PROGRAM (Short films and free Magners Irish Cider) (SEE - FRIDAY - MARCH 2ND PROGRAM LISTING) IRISH/PHILIPINO DOCUMENTARIES - (SEE SUNDAY - MARCH 4-3PM PROGRAM) Page 7
SUPPORTS THE SAN FRANCISCO IRISH FILM FESTIVAL