peter flynn
festival director

dawn morrissey
festival producer

harvey o'brien
associate director

• Selected Trailers of this year's films
• Full details on this year's BIFF Award Winners
• Aidan Quinn: 2007 Excellence Award Honoree

Welcome to the 9th Annual Magners Irish Film Festival, yet another sampling of the very best of contemporary Irish and Irish-related cinema.  As always the festival will feature a wide range of features, documentaries and shorts.  The majority of these will be receiving their US premieres and many will be introduced by their filmmakers.  We will again be featuring the 2007 BIFF (Boston Irish Film Festival) Award winners including this year’s Excellence Award honoree Aidan Quinn.  And there will also be the usual array of parties and receptions, hosted by festival sponsors Jurys Boston Hotel, Grafton Street Bar & Grill and Tommy Doyle’s Pub and Restaurant.

We are also pleased to announce the introduction of some new elements to the program, namely a series of educational programs designed for filmmakers and the general public.  On Friday Nov. 9th we will be hosting a symposium on short film distribution, which will be run in conjunction with Emerson College.  While on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the Harvard Film Archive we will be partnering with the Huston School of Film & Digital Media in Galway to offer a series of lectures on Irish cinema. 

FULL PROGRAM LISTING BELOW!

AN EVENING WITH AIDAN QUINN

7:00PM

SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY | Directed by Aisling Walsh  | With Aidan Quinn, Iain Glen, Marc Warren [2003, 100 min.]
Admission: $10 (includes Excellence Award Ceremony to follow)

Spanish Civil War veteran William Franklin (Aidan Quinn) is assigned to teach at an Irish Reformatory School in 1939.  Haunted by the horrors of the war and appalled by the brutality of the Catholic Brothers, he takes it upon himself to protect his students from the fascist regime of the school’s headmaster Brother John (a ferocious Iain Glen).  Unflinching in its depiction of institutional violence, writer/director Aisling Walsh’s multi-award winning film is not without tenderness, however.  At the film’s center is Quinn’s touching and compassionate performance as a man haunted by the horrors of war but determined not to lose his faith in humanity.  He is the film’s moral center and it is arguably the best performance of his career.

8:45PM [Immediately following above screening]

2007 EXCELLENCE AWARD CEREMONY

The Magners Irish Film Festival is proud to present this year’s Excellence Award to celebrated stage and screen actor Aidan Quinn.  Born in Brooklyn to Irish parent, Mr. Quinn spent his childhood alternating between Ireland and the US.  It was in Ireland at the age of 19 that he decided to be an actor.  Stage work in the late 70s, early 80s gradually gave way to roles in such films as Reckless (1984), Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) and The Mission (1986) and an Emmy-nominated performance in the TV miniseries An Early Frost (1985).  Since then Mr. Quinn has alternated roles in high-profile Hollywood films such as Legends of the Fall (1994) and Music of the Heart (1999) with smaller Irish films such as The Playboys (1992), This is My Father (1998, which he also produced) and Song for a Raggy Boy (2005).  He has also been featured in a variety of TV work including Two Of Us (2000), Empire Falls (2005), The Book of Daniel (2006) and most recently Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007) for which he earned his second Emmy nomination.

10:00PM | GRAFTON STREET PUB & GRILL

OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION [Free to Public]
The Magners is on us as filmmakers and festival attendees mix and mingle at one of Harvard Square’s best-loved nightspots – Grafton Street Pub and Grill, located at 1230 Mass Ave. 

2007 Excellence Award honoree Aidan Quinn.

Aidan Quinn in the award-winning Song for a Raggy Boy (2005).

2-5PM | EMERSON COLLEGE

DISTRIBUTING YOUR SHORT FILM IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE: A Symposium Workshop for Filmmakers | At the Bordy Theatre, Emerson College 216 Tremont Street, Boston. | Free to Public

“Distributing Your Short Film in the Global Marketplace” is a three-hour symposium designed to demystify the processes of short film distribution and prove that talented and motivated filmmakers can reach audiences around the globe through film festivals, television and the Internet.

Moderator Sue Biely is the Director of Business Development & Social Responsibility and Co-Founder of The Nimble Company, a multi-platform media company creating and managing media brands for the post-tv generation, including the beta interactive community hip hop site RapSpace.tv.  Sue will be joined by an expert panel of industry professionals, which include:

• Derry O’Brien, founder and director of Ireland Network TV, an Irish-based film distributor with an international profile
• Shane Smith, Director of Programming for Movieola The Short Film Channel, an online provider of cutting edge short films
• Megan O’Neill, Vice President of Acquisitions and Production for AtomFilms, a leading entertainment provider of short content via internet, broadband services, and mobile devices
• Cara Longo, Manager of Acquisitions & Programming for the Sundance Channel, formerly Director of Scheduling for the Independent Film Channel

Acknowledging that shorts constitute a unique genre with specific modes of distribution and exhibition, Sue and her panel will discuss what makes a good short film good and how making the right decisions can maximize your film’s exposure and get you established.  Discussions will approach distribution from a global perspective, addressing festivals, television, and online video streaming.

Members of the public are advised to arrive there at least 20 minutes ahead of the scheduled start time to ensure a seat.

Distributing Your Short Film in the Global Marketplace will take place at the Bordy Theatre, 216 Tremont Street in Boston's Theatre District.

Supported in part by the Ireland Funds. The Ireland Funds is the largest worldwide network of people of Irish ancestry and friends of Ireland dedicated to raising funds to support programs of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education and community development throughout the island of Ireland.

Supported in part by Network Ireland Television an Irish-based TV program and DVD distributor which has specialized in short film distribution internationally for the past 12 years.

7:00PM

THE FRONT LINE | BIFF AWARD WINNER: BEST FEATURE | Directed by David Gleeson | With Eriq Ebouaney, James Frain, Gerard McSorley [2006, 93 min.] | Director David Gleeson in Person! | Admission: $10

Trailer online! Click here.

Joe Yumba, a Congolese ex-pat with a mysterious past is granted asylum in Ireland and is later joined by refugee woman and her 9 year old son who he claims are his family.  Employed as a security guard for a Dublin bank, all seems well until a ruthless gang kidnaps Joe’s family.  Their plan is to force him to help them break into the bank’s vault, but the cunning Joe turns the tables on the gang and begins to play its members off of each other. One of the most acclaimed Irish films of recent years, David Gleeson’s exhilarating heist film is both a compelling character study and an unflinching look at contemporary Dublin.  “A terrific film that reminds us what big screens were made for,” The Sunday Independent.  

Plays with:

DEEP BREATHS | BIFF AWARD WINNER: BEST SHORT FICTION | Directed by P.J. Dillon | With Allen Leech, Amy Huberman [2007, 15 min.] | Actor Allen Leech in Person!

When Danny (Allen Leech) sees Bridget the woman he loves boarding a train with a stranger, he decides to follow them.  What he discovers reveals a shocking truth.  Working from a taut script by Roger Karshan, director P.J. Dillon crafts a tense, beautifully photographed film that is hard to forget.

9:30PM | TOMMY DOYLE'S PUB & GRILL

AWARD WINNERS RECEPTION [Free to Public]
Come and join us at Tommy Doyle’s Pub & Restaurant (96 Winthrop St., in Harvard Sq.) to meet and mingle with this year’s BIFF Award Winners. 

Eriq Ebouaney in The Front Line, this year's BIFF Award Winner for Best Feature.

Allen Leech and Amy Huberman in Deep Breaths, this year's BIFF Award winner for Best Short.

3:00PM

SHORT ORDER | Directed by Anthony Byrne | With Emma de Caunes, Rade Sherbedgia, Jack Dee [2005, 100 min.] | Admission: $8

Trailer online! Click here.

Short Order opens with a flamboyant song and dance number - aping Hollywood’s Technicolor musicals of the 40s and 50s - then sharply shift gears to focus on the darkly comic antics of an oddball group of chefs, waiters, food critics and delivery people whose lives and loves are intertwined in the business of food. Playing out over one long night in an unidentified restaurant, the film centers on short order cook Fifi (Emma de Caunes) – whose culinary skills are such that her food can cause orgasms!  Fifi, however, is in a rut and is in desperate need to escape her humdrum life.  Short Order is a wonderfully colorful, funny and sexy confection, exuberantly directed by Anthony Byrne and acted with considerable charm by an eclectic cast that includes Vanessa Redgrave and John Hurt!

5:00PM

CRÉ NA CILLE (GRAVEYARD CLAY) | Directed by Robert Quinn | With Brid Ni Neachtain, Mac dara O Fatharta, Peader Lamb [2007, 93 min.] | Admission: $8

Caitriona Phadin dies and takes with her to the grave all the rage and hatred that had consumed her while living. The primary source of Catriona’s bitterness is her sister Nell, who long ago had stolen from her the man she loved.  But death has done little to assuage Catriona’s anger and in the graveyard clay of Connemara she reflects on her life’s disappointments and looks forward to her still-living sister’s downfall.  Based on the celebrated novel by Mairtin O Cadhain, Robert Quinn’s literate translation is a fiercely funny black comedy, wonderfully acted and beautifully shot.

7:00PM

ON BROADWAY | BIFF AWARD WINNER: DIRECTOR’S CHOICE | Directed by Dave McLaughlin | With Joey McIntyre, Eliza Dushku, Jill Flint [2007, 98 min.] | Writer/Director Dave McLaughlin in Person! | Admission: $10

Trailer online! Click here.

Following the death of his beloved uncle, budding playwright Jack O’Toole becomes determined to write and stage a play about his Boston Irish family.  Initially Jack’s efforts meet with opposition from those about him, particularly his father Martin and cousin Billy.  Even Jack’s wife Kate is less than enthused, believing that her husband’s energies would be better spent fixing the roof than writing plays.  But ultimately, Jack’s belief in the play wins out – the play is staged in the backroom of the local bar (in reality Waltham’s Skellig Pub) and family and friends gather round in support.  Writer/director Dave McLaughlin has made a warm, funny and ultimately moving film - a loving valentine to the Boston Irish.

Emma de Caunces in the sexy comedy Short Order from director Anthony Byrne.

Brid Ni Neachtain in Robert Quinn's visually striking adaptation of Martin O Cadhain's Cre na Cille (Graveyard Clay).

Dave McLaughlin's On Broadway (above) winner of this year's Director's Choice BIFF Award.

12:30PM

BIFF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM 2007

THE GREEN GRASS OF HOME: IRISH-AMERICAN CINEMA IN THE 1950s | A talk by Prof. Tony Tracy, Associate Director of the Huston School of Film & Digital Media. Free to Public

This session will explore thorough the use of clips and discussion how American cinema represented Irishness in the post-war period. Tony Tracy will discuss how the movies of the period moved progressively away from realistic depictions of Irish in America to the more romanticized and nostalgic visions of The Quiet Man (1952), Captain Lightfoot (1954) and The Search for Bridie Murphy (1956) before finally giving up on any reality at all, at all, in Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959).

2:00PM

BLOODY SUNDAY: A DERRY DIARY | Directed by Margo Harkin [2007, 90 min.] | Admission: $8

On 30th January 1972 the British Army shot dead thirteen unarmed civilians on a civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland. Confidence in British justice evaporated among the victims’ families when Lord Widgery exonerated the soldiers and blighted the reputation of those killed and wounded. Filmmaker Margo Harkin follows the families’ long search for the truth at the new Tribunal of Inquiry into `Bloody Sunday’ held in Derry and London over a 6-year period.  The result is a compassionate and heartfelt film, charged with moral outrage and pointed political commentary.

4:00PM

THE HUNGER STRIKE | BIFF AWARD WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY | Directed by Margo Harkin [2007, 60 min.] | Director Margo Harkin in Person! | Admission: $8

Of all the volatile periods in Northern Ireland's recent history the Hunger Strikes is one of the most impassioned and significant historically.  It was a key event in the relationship between the British Government and Irish Republicans, a unifying force for nationalists and a focal point for world opinion.  It brought Sinn Fein into electoral politics and is largely responsible for the strong electoral position they have achieved today.  The 25th anniversary of the death of Bobby Sands took place on 5th May 2006.  Filmmaker Margo Harkin revisits the dramatic story of how and why Sands and 9 others died a death so extreme it convulsed politics in Northern Ireland and Britain and drew world wide attention to the one of the most extreme protests in prison history.  A painful and memorable film, The Hunger Strike is the definitive telling of this tragic period in Anglo-Irish history.

6:00PM

NO GO – THE FREE DERRY STORY | Directed by Vinny Cunningham | Narrated by Bernard Hill [2007, 59 min.] | Admission: $8

On the 14th of August 1969 the British Army were deployed onto Northern Ireland’s streets for the first time, to relieve an exhausted RUC in the wake of the Bogside riots. Confronted with a ring of barricades manned by rioters, the troops were faced with a difficult dilemma – attempt to remove the barricades and provoke a confrontation, or leave the barricades intact and allow the Bogside to remain beyond official control.  Filmmaker Vinny Cunningham confronts the actions of the British army head on in this powerful follow-up to his 2004 film Battle of the Bogside, which screened here in 2005.

Plays with:

FRONGOCH | Directed by Rosie Nic Cionnaith [2007, 51 min.]

After the 1916 Rising, 1800 Irishmen were found guilty of insurrection and interned in Frongoch, a now forgotten Welsh prison camp.  Dubbed “Britain’s biggest blunder,” Frongoch brought together the cream of a generation of revolutionary nationalists and laid the seeds for the War of Independence when Michael Collins brought the Empire to its knees and established the Irish Free State.  Rosie Nic Cionnaith visually striking Irish-language docudrama blends archival footage with dramatic recreations to tell the story of Frongoch and the role it played in contemporary Irish history.

Tony Tracy is Associate Director of the Huston School of Film and Digital Media at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Formerly Senior Education Officer at the Irish Film Institute, he is a regular writer and broadcaster on film and contributes to the a wide variety of film related events.

12:30PM

BIFF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM 2007

CONTEMPORARY TRENDS IN IRISH CINEMA | A talk by Prof. Tony Tracy, Associate Director of the Huston School of Film & Digital Media | Free to Public

Tony Tracy will discuss the kinds of films being made in Ireland in recent years providing insight into the prevailing themes and issues and explaining the current funding and production structures available to young Irish filmmakers.  The difficulties that these filmmakers face in getting the films seen will also be explored

2:00PM

BLIND VISION | Directed by Brendan J. Byrne [2007, 72 min.] | Admission: $8

Richard Moore’s world went dark on May 4th1972 when he was struck by a stray rubber bullet on his way home from school in Derry.  Over 30 years later a Californian doctor thinks that he can restore Richard’s sight.  But Richard is unsure he wants the operation.  Documentary-maker Brendan J. Byrne chronicles Richard’s journey as he confronts the British soldier who shot him and slowly comes to terms with the possibility of having his sight restored.  A remarkable and emotionally compelling film about rehabilitation and reconciliation and the power of the human spirit to find redemption in tragedy.

4:00PM

SHORTS PROGRAM:

Admission: $8

THE WEDNESDAYS | Directed by Conor Ferguson. 14 min.

Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien have been prisoners of their old age for too long.  But the chance discovery of a stolen quantity of hallucinogenic drugs provides all the escape they need. Conor Ferguson directs with a fine balance of comedy and poignancy.

A DOSE OF THE GUILTS | Directed by Bryan Baker. 7 min.

A one-night stand with a wealthy woman puts a man in an uncomfortable position . . . when her husband walks in on the scene.  Writer/director and co-star Bryan Baker provides a novel spin on this familiar scenario.

PILGRIM | Directed by Matthew Darragh. 4 min.

Matthew Darragh’s award-winning short animation features a walking fridge lost in a desert and determined to keep its cool. Pilgrim is a funny, charming and imaginative CG short rivaling the best of Pixar.

THE CLEANER | Directed by Noel Kearns | 13 min.

Stefan, an immigrant cleaner working in a London hospital is asked to translate for an injured man who has been rushed to Accident & Emergency.  But Stefan recognizes the man as a brutal warlord from his homeland.  An intense and morally complex drama from writer/director Noel Kearns.

HESITATION | Directed by Virginia Gilbert.  17 min.

A middle-aged man, holidaying at a resort, is repeatedly disturbed by a spirited French boy.  What begins as an irritation, however, mounts uncontrollably into an irrational hatred with chilling consequences.  Working from her own script, director Virginia Gilbert deftly builds tension, maneuvering her characters towards an unsettling collision with icy precision.

I LOVE YOU SUZIE | Directed by Fiona Ashe. 3 min.

A man sets off with a bouquet of flowers for his beloved Suzie, but will he have the resolve to deliver them?  A charming short, directed by Fiona Ashe from a script by Trish Groves.

ANOTHER RUN THROUGH | Directed by Bobby Thompson. 23 min.

Movie critic and bartender Martin Kelly looks back over an 18-month relationship with his live-in girlfriend Leah.  A lighthearted look at love, jealously, commitment and the nature of male-female relationships from local filmmaker Bobby Thompson.

6:00PM

KM64: BIRTH OF A SKATEPARK | Directed by David Keating [2007, 70 min.] | Admission: $8

David Keating’s exhilarating documentary tells the story of ex-NFK pro-footballer Justin Amour who quit his job selling mobile generators to build one of the world’s biggest and most extreme skateparks . . . in a chili field in Mexico.  Keating’s camera captures all the excitement of extreme skateboarding but ultimately this is a story about faith, synchronicity, and about doing what it was you set out to do – no matter how crazy it may seem.

7:30PM

THE TIGER’S TAIL | Directed by John Boorman | With Brendan Gleeson, Kim Cattrall, Ciaran Hinds, Sinead Cusack [2007, 103 min.] | Admission: $8

Trailer online! Click here.

John Boorman’s savage indictment of Celtic Tiger Ireland features Brendan Gleeson (2006’s Excellence Award honoree) in the dual role of a wealthy Dublin businessman and his sinister down-and-out doppelganger who steals his identity.  Gleeson is terrific in both roles, proving once again that he’s one of Ireland’s finest actors. The director of such classics as Point Blank (1968), Deliverance (1972) and Hope and Glory (1987), tackles his first Irish subject since 1998’s acclaimed The General (which also starred Gleeson) and the result is a clever, twisted, surprisingly fun tale of corruption, greed and the social costs of Ireland’s so-called economic miracle.

Acclaimed filmmaker John Boorman's latest film The Tiger's Tail, starring Brendan Gleeson.

3:00PM

DOCS PROGRAM I | Admission: $8

SAOL AN MAOR | Directed by Sean O Cualain | 26 min.

Sean O Cualain’s award-winning documentary examines one of Ireland’s most terrible scandals – the pollution of its waters (and destruction of its fish stocks) by state-sponsored activities – and profiles the man who spoke out and made it known.

UP IN SMOKE | Directed by Gerald Fitzgibbon, Brian Scully | 25 min.

An entertaining examination of the introduction of the public smoking ban in Ireland in March 2004, Up In Smoke effectively captures the progression of this radical public health measure and its surprising success in a country renowned for its pub culture.

MY HEROIN HELL – RACHEL’S STORY | Directed by Alison Reilly | 44 min.

Broadcaster and filmmaker Alison O’Reilly tells the astonishing story of Rachel Keogh, a 27-year-old heroin addict from Dublin fighting to overcome her addition.  Rachel began injecting heroin when she was 15 and became the center of media attention when pictures of her arms were published in the Irish newspapers.  Now clean of drugs, Rachel’s unique perspective on her year’s as an addict provides the basis for this heart-wrenching documentary. 

5:00PM

DOCS PROGRAM II | Admission: $8

PIGEON HEADS | Directed by Adrian McCarthy | 26 min.

Filmmaker Adrian McCathy takes an affectionate and insightful look at Dublin’s obsessive pigeon fanciers as they make preparations for a major race.

MAKING PICTURES | Directed by Barry McCarthy. 15 min.

Filmmaker Barry McCarthy documents the internationally renowned Irish painter Declan O’Mahony at work.  The result is a spellbinding journey of brilliant color, tactile surfaces and the play of natural light.

THE MCDONAGH PICTURES | Directed by Ian Palmer | 25 min.

Ian Palmer’s award-winning film chronicles the history of an Irish Traveler family as captured in the family’s collection of photographs.  Made over the course of a decade, The McDonagh Pictures is an honest and intimate portrait of a way of life that is all but gone.

SIN SCEIL EILE: TELL ME A STORY | Directed by Catherine Donahue | 24 min.

Amidst social change in Ireland locals in a small village in Co. Kerry react to the Celtic Tiger and the changes that it has made to their lifestyle and culture.  Filmmaker Catherine Donahue offers fascinating insight into how Ireland’s longstanding traditions are being lost in the face of profound social change.

7:15PM

RI AN FHOCAIL | Directed by Sean O Cualain, Macdara O Curraidhin | [2007, 52 min.] | Admission: $8

Connemara-born Mairtin O Cadhain was the most acclaimed author of 20th century prose in Irish.  He is best known for his major novel Cre na Cille (the film adaptation of which also screens at this year’s festival), which has been translated into English as Graveyard Clay.  With terrific use of archival footage from Connemara and Dublin in the 40s and 50s, Ri an Fhocail profiles a giant among Irish writers whose work continues to demand attention and recognition.

Plays with:

PADRAIC O CONAIRE | Directed by Johnny White [2007, 52 min.]

Padraic O Conaire is one of Ireland’s best known yet least understood of writers.  The drunken dreamer, the merry prankster, generous to a fault, selfish in the extreme – such is the myth that surrounds O Conaire.  Filmmaker Johnny White delves behind the contradictions and hyperbole to find the truth behind the revolutionary socialist, nationalist, social critic and writer – but can we ever know the real Padraic O Conaire?

9:30PM | JURYS HOTEL BOSTON

CLOSING NIGHT RECEPTION [Free to Public]
Join us back at Jurys Hotel Boston (350 Stuart Street, Boston) to relax and unwind after what will undoubtedly have been a very eventful (not to mention exhausting) weekend.

Visit Magners online at: www.magnerscider.com