Solas Nua’s Capital Irish Film Festival Announces Full Festival Line-Up
Posted: 2nd February 2024
Solas Nua, Washington, DC’s premiere contemporary Irish arts organization, has announced the full lineup of films for the 18th annual Capital Irish Film Festival (CIFF), which takes place from 29th February to 3rd March 2024 and is presented in partnership with AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. CIFF is one of the largest programs of Irish cinema in North America, showcasing the latest Irish dramatic and documentary features, shorts, art films, and animation releases by Irish and Ireland-based filmmakers. The four-day festival provides a platform that not only highlights the rich cultural heritage of Ireland but also amplifies the work of independent filmmakers working in Ireland.
The lineup includes 17 feature films (4 North American and 9 Regional Premieres), the addition of a third shorts program dedicated to films that have been funded by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland (20 short films across all programming), the Norman Houston Short Film Award winner, introductions and in-person Q&As with filmmakers, and special events with dignitaries.
CIFF Director Maedhbh Mc Cullagh shares:
In a year that has seen unprecedented growth and recognition of Irish film in the US it gives me great pleasure to announce our largest and most expansive CIFF program to date, presented in partnership with AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. There is an insatiable appetite and fervent passion for storytelling across this line up, and it’s such an honor to showcase the talent, skill and artistry of these filmmakers to our audiences in DC. As a whole, the program presents a rich, diverse and fascinating portrait of the Irish imagination and offers some telling insights into aspects of Irish life today. It highlights the majestic, stunning and diverse landscapes of Ireland and beyond our island, featuring, framing, and presenting other worlds through Irish eyes. The best way to engage with the program is to buy a pass and see them all.”
Festival highlights
Solas Nua will present a wide variety of Screen Ireland supported features, documentaries, and shorts, including the North American Premieres of That They May Face The Rising Sun, director Pat Collins’ eagerly anticipated adaptation of acclaimed Irish writer John McGahern's final award-winning novel, and Puffin Rock and the New Friends, a new action-packed film of the much beloved animated TV show by Academy-award winning Cartoon Saloon and award-winning creative-studio Dog Ears in a co-production with Penguin Books that celebrates belonging, courage and friendship set against the backdrop of climate change threatening Ireland's magnificent natural environment.
Other features include Ian Hunt-Duffy’s angst-inducing thriller-horror Double Blind; the sharp gritty gothic drama with a feminist twist Lies We Tell; Claire Dix’s debut feature Sunlight, a heartfelt and darkly comic tale of a recovering addict finding the courage to live without his terminally ill sponsor; Stolen, the outstanding critically acclaimed documentary by veteran filmmaker, Margo Harkin; Declan Recks’ award-winning Irish language feature Tarrac; the gripping sports documentary One Night in Millstreet; The Graceless Age - The Ballad of John Murry, Sarah Share's haunting look at the musician and artist’s life. There will also be a special screening of Julien Temple's Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan in a tribute to the late Irish musician Shane Mc Gowan.
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland short films will have a place of honour during the festival, with highlights from the agency's flagship Focus Shorts (Lamb, Two For The Road), Frameworks (Bog, Worry World) and Actor as Creator (Baby Steps, Cantata) schemes. Damian Farrell and Gerry Hoban's Shakes Versus Shav and the VM Discovers winning short Unhinged will also screen during the festival.
The Capital Irish Film Festival is supported by the Government of Ireland Emigrant Support Programme, Culture Ireland, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, Embassy of Ireland, Northern Ireland Bureau, Northern Ireland Screen, and the Irish Film Institute.
The full festival schedule and tickets for all screenings are now available on SolasNua.org/CIFF.
About Solas Nua
Solas Nua - ‘new light’ in Irish, is dedicated exclusively to contemporary Irish arts. Founded in 2005, Solas Nua acts as an ambassador and advocate for Irish arts in the U.S., promoting contemporary Irish culture, multi-disciplinary arts and creativity. Solas Nua commissions, produces and presents thought-provoking and groundbreaking work across genres, work that is cross-cultural, representing today’s Ireland – a contemporary, globally diverse society – and reflecting how Irish culture is shared across borders, ethnicity, and economic lines.