Once Upon A Time in A Cinema to open Dinard British & Irish Film Festival as international rollout continues
Posted: 7th August 2026
David Gleeson's latest feature film, released nationwide to critical acclailm on May 1st, and now playing theatrically in the US and Canada has been named opening film of the Dinard British & Irish Film Festival’s 37th Edition ahead of a wave of territory releases across Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Once Upon A Time In A Cinema, the new feature from Writer/Director David Gleeson (Cowboys & Angels, The Front Line, Don’t Go, Tolkien) has been selected to open the 37th Dinard British & Irish Film Festival running 7th–11th October in Dinard, France. The film will have its French premiere as the festival's official Opening Film on Thursday, 8th October.
Starring Colin Morgan (Merlin, Belfast) as Earl Clancy, a small-town cinema operator struggling to survive a calamitous Friday night screening of 'Breathless’, the film also features Calam Lynch, Stanley Townsend, Clara Crichton, Niamh Cusack, India Mullen and Elaine O’Dwyer alongside Daniel Woodage and Clara Crichton in their feature debuts.
Released through Breakout Pictures on May 1st, Once Upon A Time In A Cinema opened on screens across Ireland to a wave of critical acclaim and public enthusiasm. Sold internationally through Myriad Pictures, the film has secured distribution across multiple territories. In addition to its US and Canada rollout where the film opened on July 31st, theatrical releases in the coming months are set for; UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Australia and New Zealand.
Speaking on the Dinard selection, David Gleeson commented: "To open the 37th Edition of the Dinard Film Festival is a great honour for all of us who worked on this film and a fitting showcase for a story that celebrates not just the cinema experience but cinema audiences too. I very much look forward to presenting 'Once Upon a Time in a Cinema' in France, the birthplace of the cinéaste."
Since its founding in 1989, the Dinard Film Festival has been an early champion of films that went on to conquer global audiences, awarding prizes to titles such as Shallow Grave (1994), Billy Elliot (2000), Bloody Sunday (2002) and Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) before they became internationally recognised successes. The festival is proudly supported by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland.