CIFF 2019

FEB 28 — MAR 3 

AFI Silver is excited to host the 13th Capital Irish Film Festival (CIFF), co-presented by Solas Nua. Celebrating Irish identity, culture and artistry, CIFF brings the best in contemporary Irish cinema to the Washington, DC, area.

The festival opened with Nick Kelly's crowd-pleasing dramedy THE DRUMMER AND THE KEEPER and closes with stirring documentary LOMAX IN ÉIRINN, a look at American ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax's role in preserving Ireland's folk music heritage. Other highlights include FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2018 Toronto Film Festival; found-footage chiller THE DEVIL'S DOORWAY, with director Aislinn Clarke in attendance; and DON'T LEAVE HOME, Ireland's answer to GET OUT, with director Michael Tully in attendance; and highly anticipated horror THE HOLE IN THE GROUND, fresh from Sundance. Northern Irish actor Lalor Roddy (GAME OF THRONES) is set to attend the festival to discuss his roles in three of this year's selections – THE DEVIL'S DOORWAY, FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY and DON'T LEAVE HOME. CIFF is proudly supported by IFI International, Culture Ireland and Arts Council Ireland.

Opening Night | THE DRUMMER AND THE KEEPER
— Thurs, Feb 28, 2019 • 7:30 PM

Intro by Michael Lonergan, Deputy Head of Mission, the Embassy of Ireland, plus Q&A with director Nick Kelly and post-screening reception sponsored by the Embassy of Ireland
Winner of Best Irish First Feature at the 2017 Galway Film Fleadh, THE DRUMMER AND THE KEEPER explores the unlikely friendship formed between two young men: Gabriel, a reckless young drummer with bipolar disorder who revels in rejecting society’s rules, and Christopher, a 17-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome who yearns to fit in. Nick Kelly’s warm, thoughtful and insightful feature debut shows the strength of the human bond in the face of adversity with humor and honesty.
DIR/SCR Nick Kelly; PROD Kate
McColgan. Ireland, 2017, color, 94 min.

Closing Night | LOMAX IN ÉIRINN
— Sun, Mar 3, 2019 • 5:30 PM

Q&A with Dr. Todd Harvey, Folklife Specialist and Curator of the Alan Lomax Collection at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, and Paddy Meskell, Solas Nua Chairman of the Board
Irish composer Pól Brennan explores how American song collector Alan Lomax came to Ireland on a mission to save the folk music of the world. That trip resulted in the first LP of Irish traditional music — an album that sowed the seeds of the Irish traditional music revival in the 1970s. Lomax realized the music of the most marginalized people was as powerful as the highest form of art and he devised a plan to save the music of the world.
DIR/PROD Declan McGrath; SCR Felim MacDermott. Ireland, 2018, color, 52 min.

LOST AND FOUND
— Fri, Mar 1, 5:00 PM.

LOST AND FOUND explores seven interconnecting stories set in and around the lost and found office of an Irish train station. Daniel (director Liam Ó Mochain) tries desperately to hold on to his new job in the lost and found office. Eddie begs in the train station; every day he has a different story. Gabriel plans to surprise his girlfriend by proposing. A grandmother asks her grandson to retrieve a bracelet that she buried as a child in the garden of her childhood home in Poland. Moya visits a funeral home and signs the book of condolences not realizing the consequences. Paudge, a cranky pub owner, keeps redecorating his bar, but no matter how many grand openings he has, the locals stay away. Sile has set a date for her wedding — not having a groom won’t stop her!
DIR/SCR/PROD Liam Ó Mochain; PROD Bernie Grummell. Ireland, 2017, color,
96 min. 

THE DEVIL’S DOORWAY
— Fri, Mar 1, 7:15 PM

Q&A with director Aislinn Clarke and actor Lalor Roddy
What unholy terrors lurk behind the walls of a secretive Irish convent? Northern Ireland, 1960: Father Thomas Riley (Lalor Roddy, DON’T LEAVE HOME, FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, HUNGER) and Father John Thornton (Ciaran Flynn) are dispatched by the Vatican to investigate reports of a miracle — a statue of the Virgin Mary weeping blood — at a remote Catholic asylum for “immoral” women. Armed with 16mm film cameras to record their findings, the priests instead discover a depraved horror show of sadistic nuns, Satanism and demonic possession. Inspired by the infamous true histories of Magdalene Laundries — in which “fallen women” were held captive by the Irish Catholic Church — this found-footage occult shocker is a chilling encounter with unspeakable evil.
DIR/SCR Aislinn Clarke; SCR/PROD Martin Brennan, Michael B.
Jackson; PROD Katy Jackson. UK/Ireland, 2018, color, 77 min. 

THE HOLE IN THE GROUND
— Fri, Mar 1, 9:30 PM

Sarah (Seána Kerslake, A DATE FOR MAD MARY) moves her precocious son, Chris, to a secluded new home in a rural town, trying to ease his apprehensions as they hope for a fresh start after a difficult past. But after a startling encounter with a mysterious new neighbor, Sarah’s nerves are set on edge. Chris disappears in the night into the forest behind their house, and Sarah discovers an ominous, gaping sinkhole while searching for him. Though he returns, some disturbing behavioral changes emerge, and Sarah begins to worry that the boy who came back is not her son.
DIR/SCR Lee Cronin; SCR Stephen Shields; PROD Conor Barry, John Keville. Ireland,
2019, color, 90 min.

2019 Capital Irish Film Festival Shorts Program
— Sat, Mar 2, 11:00 AM – Tickets only $8!

Total runtime approx. 92 min.

• DAY OFF
  DIR Stephen Hall; SCR Peter McNamara; PROD Ronan Cassidy. Ireland, 2016, 14 min.
• WHIRLPOOL
  |DIR/PROD Brian Stynes; SCR Michael Linehan. Ireland, 2018, 17 min.
• MOTHER & BABY
  DIR/SCR Mia Mullarkey; PROD Alice McDowell. Ireland, 2017, 18 min.
• THE INVENTION
  |DIR/SCR/PROD Leo McGuigan; PROD Margaret McGoldrick. UK, 2018, 19 min.
• LATE AFTERNOON
  DIR/SCR Louise Bagnall; PROD Nuria González Blanco. Ireland, 2017, 9 min.
• GRÁ & EAGLA [LOVE & FEAR]
  DIR/SCR Caitríona Ní Chadhain; PROD Nigel Gilhooly. Ireland, 2018, 15 min. In English and Irish with English subtitles

CAPTAIN MORTEN AND THE SPIDER QUEEN
— Sat, Mar 2, 1:00 PM – Tickets only $8!

Created by talented animators from the west of Ireland, Estonia, Wales and Belgium, CAPTAIN MORTEN is Ireland’s first stop-motion feature animation. Dreamy 10-year-old Morten whiles away his days building his toy ship and trying to avoid the ire of his reluctant guardian, Anna. It goes some way to distracting him from missing his Father, Captain Viks, who is away at sea. Morten hopes to be a captain one day, just like him. After a chance meeting with the inept magician Senór Cucaracha, Morten is magically shrunken down to the size of an insect and trapped aboard the deck of his own toy ship. But with a wicked Spider Queen and Scorpion Pirate already aboard, being captain is going to be anything but child’s play!
DIR/SCR Kaspar Jancis; PROD Kerdi Oengo, Robin Lyons, Mark Mertens, Paul Cummins. Ireland/Estonia/
Belgium/UK, 2018, color, 79 min.

GRACE & GOLIATH
— Sat, Mar 2, 3:00 PM

Intro by Norman Houston, Director, Northern Ireland Bureau, plus post-screening reception sponsored by the Northern Ireland Bureau When Hollywood big shot Josh Jenkins (Emy Aneke) sweeps into Belfast to make a movie, it’s not long before everything goes wrong and he’s left stranded and penniless. Feeling sorry for the actor, Lily (Olivia Nash), a hotel cleaner, invites him to stay with her crazy family — and gradually the people of this “strange” city manage to touch his heart. GRACE AND GOLIATH is the powerful story of how one man’s goliath ego is brought down by one single dose...of Grace.
DIR Tony Mitchell; SCR Maire Campbell; PROD Joan Burney Keatings. UK/Ireland, 2018, color,
93 min. 

I, DOLOURS
— Sat, Mar 2, 5:45 PM

Q&A with journalist and producer Ed Moloney
Dolours Price, the infamous IRA radical convicted of bombing England’s Old Bailey in 1973, granted a series of revealing interviews in 2010 on the strict condition of their posthumous release. The interviews, brought to life through vividly cinematic reenactments, uncover the birth of her fierce commitment to Irish Republicanism. Price revisits the bombing and the 200-day hunger strike that followed, and discusses her role in the disappearances of some suspected Republican informants. Set against her haunting testimonial are vivid fictional re-enactments masterfully interspersed with documentary footage.
DIR/SCR Maurice Sweeney; SCR/
PROD Ed Moloney; PROD Nuala Cunningham. Ireland, 2018, color, 82 min. 

DON’T LEAVE HOME
— Sat, Mar 2, 8:30 PM

Q&A with director Michael Tully and actor Lalor Roddy
After unveiling her new sculptural exhibit on Irish urban legends, artist Melanie Thomas (Anna Margaret Hollyman) is contacted by Father Alistair Burke (Lalor Roddy, THE DEVIL’S DOORWAY, FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY) a reclusive Irish priest who, legend has it, once painted the portrait of a young girl who later disappeared. Now, summoned by Burke and his cohort to the Irish countryside for a special art commission, Melanie eagerly accepts the offer, never stopping to consider that some urban legends might be true. Being praised as “GET OUT with Catholic guilt in the Irish countryside” (Indiewire), DON’T LEAVE HOME proves that not all mysteries should be solved.
DIR/SCR Michael Tully; PROD Jeffrey Allard, Walter S. Hall,
George Rush, Ryan Zacarias. U.S., 2018, color, 86 min.

UNDER THE CLOCK
— Sun, Mar 3, 11:00 AM

Winner of the Súil Eile Award at the Irish Film Festival London, UNDER THE CLOCK explores the social history of Ireland through the heartwarming tales of ordinary people whose relationships began at one of Ireland’s most famous meeting places. Be it the romance of a first date, a nostalgic reunion of old friends or the curious excitement of a visiting tourist, UNDER THE CLOCK unites stories of love and loss, hope and disappointment that all began under Dublin’s iconic landmark, Clerys’ clock.
DIR Colm Nicell; SCR/PROD Garry Walsh; PROD Eilish Kent. Ireland,
2018, color, 76 min.

THE SILVER BRANCH
— Sun, Mar 3, 12:45 PM

THE SILVER BRANCH is a philosophical vision of the life of farmer/poet Patrick McCormack, descendant of generations of farmers who have cultivated the wild landscape of The Burren in County Clare, Ireland — a story of renewed hope in man’s ancient connection to the natural world. When Patrick and his rural community are drawn into a divisive battle with the government’s Office of Public Works over a planned visitor center, he and a small group of friends take the fight to the Irish High Court in order to protect the fate of this iconic wilderness.
DIR/SCR Katrina Costello; PROD Ken O’Sullivan. Ireland, 2017, color, 75 min.

FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY
— Sun, Mar 3, 2:30 PM
Q&A with actor Lalor Roddy

From the producers of SING STREET and ONCE, playwright Carmel Winters’ rousing tale of filial love and personal freedom about the fortunes of a young Irish Traveller with a gift for pugilism won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and the Audience Award at the 2018 Cork Film Festival. Encouraged from a tender age by her father’s affection for Muhammad Ali, Frances (Hazel Doupe, MICHAEL INSIDE) has the fire and discipline to be a great fighter — if only people could see past their narrow notions regarding her gender. Frances was still little when her mother died and her father, Michael (Dara Devaney), was incarcerated. When Michael is released years later, he decides to pack up the caravan, take the kids and go a-roaming. Various altercations on the road as well as a ripe old grudge with a bigoted police officer provide Frances with opportunity to prove her abilities. But will the otherwise loving Michael’s sexist views allow her to shine?
DIR/SCR Carmel Winters; PROD
David Collins, Martina Niland. Ireland, 2018, color, 101 min.

METAL HEART
— Sun, Mar 3, 7:30 PM

On the cusp of adulthood, fraternal twin teen sisters Emma (Jordanne Jones) and Chantal (Leah McNamara) are worlds apart. Emma is self-conscious, and unsure of which path to take in life — she dreams of starting a band with her best friend Gary, who secretly has a crush on her. Chantal, meanwhile, is beautiful, confident and knows exactly where her life is headed. When their parents go away for the summer, their simmering sibling rivalry threatens to boil over, especially when the mysterious boy next door moves back in.
DIR Hugh O’Conor; SCR Paul
Murray; PROD Claire McCaughley, Rebecca O’Flanagan, Robert Walpole. Ireland, 2018, color, 90 min. NOT RATED

A record number of filmgoers attended the 13th annual Capital Irish Film Festival last weekend at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. Almost 500 audience members gave us written feedback on their impressions of the Festival films.

The Drummer and The Keeper, Director Nick Kelly and Producer Kate McColgan, and I, Dolours, Director Maurice Sweeney and Producers Ed Moloney and Nuala Cunningham tied for Audience Favorite. Second in the voting for Audience Favorite was Lomax in Eirinn and the third was Float Like a Butterfly.

You can help your favorite films from the Festival find U.S. distribution by going to IMDb.com and rating them there.