Irish Film London, an organisation that champions Irish film and animation in the UK, will host a summer season of uplifting Irish films to encourage live audiences back to cinemas following Covid-19 closures.
The Irish for Hope will present Irish stories imbued with hope for new beginnings, better tomorrows and the goodness that can be found in humanity. The series of feature films and shorts will entice film lovers back to the auditorium to enjoy the communal pleasure of cinema.
The series will feature films for all ages, including animation, narrative and documentaries, and provide a window into the lives of Irish women, musicians, teenagers and children, and into the experiences of activists, people of colour and the LGBTQ+ community.
The Irish for Hope runs from Saturday 7 August to Sunday 22 August and will be shown in selected cinemas in Central and East London. The programme includes:
- Wolfwalkers (7 August, 4:15pm BST, Rio Cinema) – an Oscar-nominated, hand-drawn animation film that encourages young people to hold onto their dreams and hope for a better future embracing difference and diversity.
- Dating Amber (8 August, 3:45pm BST, Rio Cinema) – an affecting comedy-drama about LGBTQ+ teens who face homophobic bullies while dreaming of their futures together.
- Songs for While I’m Away (17 August, 6:20pm BST, Bertha DocHouse) – the first screening of a documentary that offers a fresh perspective on the life of legendary Irish rock star, Phil Lynott, showing how a Black working-class Irish lad rose to fame against the odds.
- The 8th (21 August, 4:15pm BST, Rio Cinema) – apowerful female-led documentary that charts the coming together of veteran feminist activist, Ailbhe Smythe and self-styled glitter activist, Andrea Horgan, to spearhead a successful campaign to win back Irish women their reproductive rights.
- The shorts programme (22 August, 3:45pm BST, Rio Cinema) – a specially curated selection of films by young and emerging filmmakers across all genres, including animation, poetic documentary, comedy, drama, English language, Irish and Brazilian Portuguese. Programmed by Madeleine Casey, Irish Film London Shorts Programmer.
The screenings are part of Film Feels Hopeful (www.filmfeels.co.uk), a UK-wide cinema season, supported by the National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network, that celebrates films’ unique ability to connect us and inspire hope.
You can purchase tickets for The Irish for Hope season here: irishfilmfestivallondon.com.