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Lights, Camera, Action for the 68th CORK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL


The Carrigdhoun Newspaper attended the 68th CORK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL launch in St. Peter's on Cork's North Main Street. This year's Festival will take place from Thursday, the 9th to Sunday, 26th November, in various locations across the city, including the Reel Picture Ballincollig and Blackpool; Cinemax Bantry; Gate Cinemas Midleton and Mallow; and Regal Cinema Youghal.

The Opening Night Gala is the Irish premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos' award-winning Poor Things. Highlights in the packed 2023 programme, featuring over 200 films, include the International Gala and Irish premiere of acclaimed All Of Us Strangers, starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, and written and directed by CIFF alumnus Andrew Haigh; the World premiere of So This Is Christmas, from award-winning Irish filmmaker Ken Wardrop; the Irish premiere of Eileen, directed by William Oldroyd and starring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie; and the Irish premiere of the highly anticipated Cannes Jury Prize winner, Fallen Leaves, from renowned filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki.

There is enormous Irish interest in this year's Festival, including premieres from acclaimed Irish filmmakers Paul Duane (All You Need Is Death), Alan Gilsenan (The Days Of Trees), and Paul Mercier (Prospect House), all of whom compete for the CIFF Best New Irish Feature award, alongside So This Is Christmas and the previously announced world premiere and Irish Gala One Night In Millstreet.



Paul Mescal in All of Us Strangers


On the night, CIFF Director & CEO Fiona Clark spoke about this year's expanded Festival: "I'm hugely proud of the whole CIFF team for their dedication in bringing together this world-class programme, which I believe cements our reputation as one of the most prestigious and dynamic film festivals internationally … but we're very excited to bring the world to Cork with a special guest programme from Cannes Director's Fortnight, and to showcase a selection of films in venues across the county of Cork, expanding our reach and enabling wider audiences access to an exciting programme selection of cultural cinema."


The Documentary Gala at the Festival is the powerful, disarmingly funny Is There Anybody Out There?, which marks the Irish premiere of this new film from inspiring filmmaker Ella Glendining, who will attend the Festival. The Festival will showcase a strong selection of Documentary features at the 2023 event, continuing its long-standing focus on highlighting factual storytelling that examines the important societal issues of the day. This focus continues with Doc Day as part of the Festival's Industry Programme, presented in partnership with Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland.


The Festival also continues its commitment to championing the work of short filmmakers, and three of the Festival Shorts awards – the Grand Prix Irish Short, the Grand Prix International Short, and the Grand Prix Documentary Short – are Academy Award®-qualifying, ensuring that the winners in Cork will be automatically longlisted for the Oscars®. Lord David Puttnam will announce the short film award winners on Thursday, 16th November.


The 68th Cork International Film Festival will run from Thursday, the 9th, to Sunday, 26th November, 2023. For more information and to view the full programme, and to stay up to date with the latest news and programme announcements, visit corkfilmfest.org.


The Carrigdhoun Recommendations

All of Us Strangers: Directed by Andrew Haigh, the film stars Irish sensation Paul Mescal (Normal People) and Andrew Scott. The story follows Adam and his mysterious neighbour Adam. The pair develop a relationship, but Adam is preoccupied with memories of the past and finds himself drawn back to the suburban town where he grew up and the childhood home where his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) appear to be living just as they were on the day they died, 30 years before.


One Night on Millstreet Directed by Andrew Gallimore, this documentary relives the infamous boxing match between Super Middleweight Champion Chris Eubank and Steve Collins from Cabra in 1995—a must-see for any sports fans.


With Love, From Aiden is a 12-minute short directed by Laois man, Reuben Harvey. It is a dark satire family drama, experimental AI Aidan attends sister Sarah's birthday, realising he never truly belonged in her family. He thanks Sarah for teaching humanity and unveils a surprise gift. Harvey produced this short as his Graduation film from IADT.


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