Screen Ireland supported documentary The Flats to receive World Premiere at CPH:DOX
Posted: 15th February 2024
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is delighted to congratulate Alessandra Celesia, Jeremiah Cullinane and the creative team behind the Screen Ireland supported documentary The Flats, which has been selected to make its World Premiere at CPH:DOX, one of the biggest documentary festivals in the world. The festival announced today the films nominated across its six awards category.
Niklas Engstrøm, CPH:DOX’ Artistic Director, commented:
We’re thrilled to present this year’s competition films, which span from global geopolitics to intimate, existential queries. What unites these films is their ambition to engage with the world in a meaningful way. This year’s competition sharpens its focus on the most urgent issues of our time, from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza to gang violence in Sweden, exploring themes of identity politics, colonialism, and the foundational struggles for democracy and the fight against climate change. These films offer fresh perspectives, challenge aesthetic boundaries, and delve deeper into issues we thought we understood. We are delighted to unveil this programme, which promises to enlighten and inspire.”
The Flats is set in New Lodge, a Catholic neighbourhood in the heart of Belfast violently affected by the conflict in Northern Ireland. Today it is marked by social abandonment, yet the inhabitants have a proud sense of belonging and idealism that can be found in their humanity and caustic humour. Once paramilitary foot soldiers as teenagers, the men’s lives are now undermined by disillusionment and unemployment, like Joe, tormented by restless nights and poor health. The women, however, as always, stay busy to keep the community afloat. They have had enough of the nostalgia for “The Troubles.”
Directed by experienced actor and director Alessandra Celesia, the documentary is a co-production between Ireland, France, Belgium and the United Kingdom. Producers are Jeremiah Cullinane for Planet Korda Pictures, Jean-Laurent Csinidis for Films de Force Majeure, John McIlduff for Dumbworld and Geneviève De Bauw for Thank You and Good Night Productions. The Flats is proudly supported by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, Région Sud (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur), Northern Ireland Screen, BFI Doc Society, La SCAM (Brouillon d’un Rêve), Eurimages, Centre du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel de Bruxelles and RTBF (Belgium). The film is in contention for the festival's DOX:AWARD.
Founded in 2003, CPH:DOX has introduced its audience to some of the best Danish and international documentary films in Copenhagen for over 20 years. Previous Irish documentaries to have screened at the festival include Kim Longinotto’s Shooting the Mafia, Seamus Murphy’s PJ Harvey: A Dog Called Money and Sinéad O'Shea's A Mother Brings Her Son To Be Shot. This year's edition will take place from Wednesday, 13th March to Sunday, 24th March. More information and tickets can be found here.