KERRY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (KIFF) CELEBRATES ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY.
HIGHLIGHTS:
OPENING FILM – HOUSEWIFE OF THE YEAR
FESTIVAL ANNIVERSARY GALA – SPECIAL PRESENTATION OF SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE, STARRING CILLIAN MURPHY, EMILY WATSON AND EILEEN WALSH
REBECCA O’FLANAGAN IS THIS YEAR’S MAUREEN O’HARA AWARD RECIPIENT
Today (September 24th, 2024) Kerry International Film Festival (KIFF) is delighted to officially launch their 2024 film festival programme.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the festival returns to Killarney from October 17th-20th with a packed programme of features, documentaries, shorts and events. Tickets are on sale now from kerryfilmfestival.com.
Programme highlights include the festival’s Opening Film Housewife of the Year, Ciaran Cassidy’s poignant and heartwarming documentary that revisits the winners of the now-surreal televised contest, in an ode to a generation of Irish women and the challenges they faced in the home. Housewife of the Year, screening on Thursday, October 17th, will be preceded by the premiere of Dónal Dineen’s Dance to Remember. Exploring Dineen’s relationship with his father through Sliabh Luachra’s musical heritage, the short was the winner of the 2023 Kerry Short Film Bursary, which is funded by Kerry County Council Arts Office and the Arts Council of Ireland, and supported by Screen Kerry and Kerry ETB.
MAUREEN O’HARA AWARD:
Before the films, KIFF’s opening night will kick off with a presentation of its annual Maureen O’Hara Award. Established in 2008 as one of the first awards of its kind, the award celebrates women who have excelled in film, TV, and/or media. This year, KIFF is delighted to announce producer Rebecca O’Flanagan as the KIFF 2024 Maureen O’Hara recipient. Co-steering Treasure Entertainment, one of Ireland’s leading independent production companies, she has produced a wide array of award-winning films and television – including Smother, The Running Mate, My Brothers, Handsome Devil, and Flora and Son, to name but a few. Her latest release, Kathleen is Here, arrives in cinemas this October.
Speaking about receiving the award, Rebecca said, “I am thrilled and honoured to be this year’s recipient of the Maureen O’Hara award… So often, in these almost exclusively male worlds, Maureen O’Hara stood out as the worthy female counterpart: spirited, smart, beautiful, and quick-witted. She was my first female hero of the silver screen and was instrumental in developing my enduring love of cinema. So it is quite literally a dream come true to be linked to her in this real and esteemed way”.
KIFF will present Rebecca O’Flanagan with the KIFF 2024 Maureen O’ Hara Award on Thursday, October 17th at Randles Hotel Killarney.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION – SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE:
Screening as a Festival Anniversary Gala on Friday, October 18th, KIFF is excited to announce a special presentation of Small Things Like These, Cillian Murphy’s highly anticipated follow-up film after his recent Oscar win. Starring alongside Emily Watson and KIFF 2023 Maureen O’Hara recipient Eileen Walsh, Murphy plays Bill Furlong, a coal merchant in 1985 Ireland who makes a shocking discovery that forces him to confront the complicit silence of a town controlled by the Catholic Church. Directed by Tim Mielants (Wil, The Responder), the film has been adapted by playwright and screenwriter Enda Walsh (Disco Pigs, Hunger) from the 2021 novella of the same name by prolific Irish author Claire Keegan. Small Things Like These will screen on Friday, October 18th, followed by a Q&A with Eileen Walsh.
IRISH FEATURES:
Irish feature film highlights include Blurred Lines, directed by Mark Agar and written and starring Kerry native Siobhán Aislinn. The film was shot in Cloghane, Kerry and follows a group of friends on a New Year’s Eve gone wrong. KIFF will also showcase The Line, an insightful drama directed by Danny McCafferty which follows a prejudiced GAA coach as he strikes up a friendship with a young Ukrainian refugee who wants to join the team. Irish documentaries include The Swimming Diaries, Susan Thomson’s experimental documentary which traces the 25,000 metres she swam during the month her mother was dying, and the 2022 recipient of the Arts Council’s Reel Arts scheme; and Conor Walsh: Selected Piano Works, director Keith Walsh’s reverie that celebrates the work left behind by the late musician Conor Walsh, which received the Arts Council’s 2023 Reel Arts scheme.
INTERNATIONAL FEATURES:
More highlights across the weekend include the Irish premiere of New Zealand coming-of-age film We Were Dangerous, the feature-film debut of director Josephine Stewart-Tewhiu, from executive producers Taika Waititi and Carthew Neal (Jojo Rabbit); the Irish premiere of mystical Indian drama In the Name of Fire, winner in the Asian New Talent competition at the Shanghai International Film Festival; the Irish premiere of Damage, a timely Australian drama which follows a refugee taxi driver and his passenger, an older woman suffering from memory loss; and the Irish premiere of Aida Returns, in which director Carol Mansour documents the difficult and emotional journey of returning her mother’s ashes to her birthplace in Jaffa, Palestine.
25 SHORT FILM PROGRAMMES:
The heart of KIFF lies in its short film programme, and throughout the weekend, nearly 200 Irish and International shorts will be screened across three venues, totalling 25 Short Film Programmes. All shorts will be in competition for the prestigious KIFF 2024 Awards, and winners will be announced Sunday, October 20th in the Great Southern Hotel, Killarney. Having received the highest number of entries ever this year, KIFF is honoured to present a diverse selection of high-quality films across all genres, and continue to be a platform for emerging filmmakers in Ireland and worldwide.
KERRY ON CAMERA:
Celebrating 25 years has provided ample opportunity for the festival to look inwards and continue to champion Kerry as a county teeming with ample inspiration and talent. Attendees are invited to look to the past with IFI Local Films for Local People – Kerry Kaleidoscope, the Irish Film Institute’s travelling programme, curated by IFI Head of Irish Film Programming Sunniva O’Flynn, which brings films from the IFI Irish Film Archives back to the communities from which they originated. Kerry Kaleidoscope includes a Kerry travelogue from 1934; footage of then-inhabited Blaskets in the 1930s; the closure of Kenmare Train Line in 1960; and holidays in Ballybunion in 1963. As well as this, Jesse Gilbert, Kerry Filmmaker in Residence, will present his new documentary Gleann, a love letter to a remote valley on the Beara Peninsula, in which its inhabitants discuss life, love, death and bees. For filmmakers young and old, SONAR, a youth-run filmmakers club based in Killarney will present the SONAR Filmmakers Showcase, a programme of films illustrating their hard work and talent. The Kerry Connection Short Film Programme also returns on Sunday, October 20th, presenting a wide array of fiction and documentaries either made in Kerry, or by filmmakers hailing from the Kingdom.
FAMILY PROGRAMME:
For younger audiences, KIFF is delighted to present an expanded Family Programme. On Sunday, October 20th, in the Great Southern Hotel, Killarney, families can enjoy two free short film programmes: Shorts for Shorties, an ideal first cinema trip for very young attendees, and Family Friendly Shorts, a programme of shorts for ages 8+ which focus on themes of wellness, family, and friendship. There will also be a free screening of Puffin Rock і нові друзі; the Ukrainian dub of hit film Puffin Rock and the New Friends, voiced by members of the Ukrainian community living in Ireland. Beloved animated family feature The Iron Giant, which also celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2024, screens as part of the festival in IMC Cinema Killarney on Sunday, October 20th.
WORKSHOPS AND INDUSTRY EVENTS:
Alongside screenings, there will also be a selection of events held in ANAM Arts & Cultural Centre, Killarney. On Friday, October 18th, Kerry secondary school students will have the opportunity to attend Fresh Starts!, a Careers in Screen panel and screening of films from Ireland’s Young Filmmakers of the Year, presented by Fresh Film and National Talent Academies. Also on Friday, October 18th, eager creatives can discover the art of screenwriting and content development with Kerry College’s hands-on taster workshop, where you can learn the fundamentals of how to write a logline, structure, plot points, formatting, and more in a one hour workshop designed to ignite your creativity. Audiences who see We Were Dangerous on Saturday, October 19th will also enjoy a selection of short one minute films made by Kerry College students as part of a 48 hour film challenge. On Saturday, October 19th, Jessica Leen, Filmmaker and Artistic Director of West End House School of Arts, will lead a Women In Film Panel discussion and screening with filmmakers Ayla Amano, Lisa O’ Connor, Christiane Reicke, and Martha Dunlea.
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS:
Join KIFF for a special 25th Birthday Party and Drinks Reception, at the Killarney Plaza Hotel on Friday, October 18th at 7:00pm. Filmmakers and film-enjoyers are also invited to KIFF Club, which returns to Courtney’s Bar, Killarney on Friday, October 18th and Saturday, October 19th. A crackling zone of creativity and chat, come along on Saturday night at 9:30pm for the inaugural KIFF Film Quiz and test your knowledge against the other festival-goers.
Speaking about this year’s celebrations, Festival Programming Director Amy Louise O’Callaghan said, “It’s incredibly exciting to present such a packed schedule for KIFF’s 25th anniversary. Film festivals offer an amazing opportunity to engage with new experiences and cultures, chat directly to filmmakers, and learn new skills. This year, all of our events in St Mary’s Church of the Sloes, the Great Southern Hotel, and ANAM are free of charge, so I’d implore everyone to check out the programme, grab tickets to whatever strikes your interest, and take a chance on something new!”
Please keep an eye on KIFF’s social media for additional announcements regarding KIFF 2024 films and events!
The Kerry International Film Festival is supported by many organisations including the continued generosity of their principal funders: Kerry County Council, Screen Ireland/Fís Éireann and Failte Ireland. KIFF is incredibly grateful to their title sponsor Kerry Airport, to RTE Supporting the Arts, as well as their hospitality partners Randles Hotel, Killarney Plaza, and the Great Southern Killarney.
All the information on the above and more can be found on KIFF’s website. Tickets, event registration, and festival passes will be available to purchase from www.kerryfilmfestival.com