SPRING SCREENINGS
January 2023
Nebraska
NEBRASKA
Woody, is a bad-tempered old fellow living in retirement in Billings, Montana. He is assuming that leonine blankness of the incipient dementia patient: in close-up, his face is a ravaged, deserted landscape in itself. Woody has received a junk-mail flyer appearing to promise him a lottery payout of $1m. He doesn’t trust the post so insists on collecting it in person from an office in Lincoln, Nebraska. It is an obvious scam but Woody becomes obsessed with making the journey on foot if necessary, because his drinking problem rules out getting behind the wheel. So just to humour his dad and spend a little quality time with him, David offers to drive. They encounter an inadvertent family reunion in his nearby hometown of Hawthorne, where some painful family secrets are exhumed.Woody, is a bad-tempered old fellow living in retirement in Billings, Montana. He is assuming that leonine blankness of the incipient dementia patient: in close-up, his face is a ravaged, deserted landscape in itself. Woody has received a junk-mail flyer appearing to promise him a lottery payout of $1m. He doesn’t trust the post so insists on collecting it in person from an office in Lincoln, Nebraska. It is an obvious scam but Woody becomes obsessed with making the journey on foot if necessary, because his drinking problem rules out getting behind the wheel. So just to humour his dad and spend a little quality time with him, David offers to drive. They encounter an inadvertent family reunion in his nearby hometown of Hawthorne, where some painful family secrets are exhumed.
Date and time: ThursdayLocation St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland, The Square, Donabate. Co. Dublin. K36 Y521
February 2023
Everything Went Fine
Everything Went Fine (Tout S’est Bien Passé)
Director: François Ozon
Cast: Sophie Marceau, André Dussollier, Charlotte Rampling
FILM INFO:
113 minutes, France, 2021, 12A
Two sisters are faced with a difficult decision when, following a stroke, their elderly father asks for help with his assisted suicide. François Ozon’s handling of this difficult subject, which is based on the real experience of his late friend and colleague Emmanuèle Bernheim (screenwriter on Ozon’s Swimming Pool), is understated, light in touch and features outstanding acting performances.
Eight-five year old André is a wealthy and successful art-collector, used to doing everything on his own terms. So, when he suffers a stroke, which leaves him unable to continue life as before, he asks his two daughters for help with his assisted suicide. The burden of dealing with this falls to his eldest daughter Emmanuèle, who must navigate the challenging consequences and practicalities of André’s decision.
Acclaimed director François Ozon’s handles this difficult subject, which is based on the real experience of his late friend and colleague Emmanuèle Bernheim (screenwriter on Ozon’s Swimming Pool), with an understated and light touch. Aided by an outstanding cast, with a particularly excellent Dussollier, the result is a poignant and powerful drama.
Festivals:
Cannes Film Festival 2021
San Sebastián International Film Festival 2021
Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival 2022
Everything Went Fine (Tout S’est Bien Passé)
Date and time: ThursdayLocation St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland, The Square, Donabate. Co. Dublin. K36 Y521
March 2023
Wadjda
Meet Wadjda, a sarcastic, funny and streetwise ten-year-old girl whose unconventionally carefree demeanor not only sets her apart from most girls in her school but also frequently lands her in the headmistress¹s office. Living in Riyadh with her young, beautiful mother who struggles with an absentee husband looking to marry a second wife, Wadjda strikes up a friendship with Abdullah, a neighborhood boy drawn to her confidence and charm. She spots a shiny green bicycle in the local shop and becomes determined to scrounge up enough money to buy it so that she can race Abdullah, a culturally unacceptable action with potential societal repercussions. Wadjda enters her school¹s Koran recitation competition with her eye on the cash prize. As her school continues to crack down on the individual rights of its students, Wadjda stands steadfast, wise beyond her years and in opposition to a society loathe to recognize self-expression, a girl unwilling to surrender what she wants.
Wadjda
Date and time: SundayLocation St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland, The Square, Donabate. Co. Dublin. K36 Y521
April 2023
An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl)
Nine-year-old Cáit (Catherine Clinch) is sent by her dysfunctional family to spend the summer with an Aunt and Uncle she has never met before. Through the tender care of her aunt Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley) Cáit finally feels loved and safe. Despite himself, her uncle Sean (Andrew Bennett) forges a bond and for the first time, Cáit experiences the warmth of a loving home. The once quiet Cáit blossoms in their care, but in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one.
Wonderfully recreating the feel of a country home in 1980s Ireland, An Cailín Ciúin, adapted from Claire Keegan’s acclaimed short story, Foster, is a genuine, deeply felt portrait of the bonds that sustain us.
Awards
Winner, Best Feature Film, Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury, Berlin International Film Festival, 2022
Winner, Best Film, Irish Film & Television Awards, 2022
Winner, Best Director, Film, Colm Bairéad, Irish Film & Television Awards 2022
Winner – Best Irish Film Award, Dublin Film Critics Circle, Dublin International Film Festival, 2022
An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl)
Date and time: ThursdayLocation St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland, The Square, Donabate. Co. Dublin. K36 Y521
May 2023
The Gravediggers Wife.
Guled, a gravedigger, and Nasra are a loving couple, living on the outskirts of Djibouti city with their teenage son Mahad.
Nasra is ill and needs an operation to save her life, but the cost is beyond their means. Guled considering his options wants to return to his village to claim his inheritance. Nasra fears the outcome of this journey because they were banished years before as they were from different tribes, and their marriage was forbidden.
The Gravediggers Wife
Date and time: ThursdayLocation St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland, The Square, Donabate. Co. Dublin. K36 Y521
June 2023
Compartment No. 6
Young Finnish archaeology student Laura is convinced by her lecturer – and lover – to take a trip to an ancient site of petroglyphs near the Arctic Circle.
When she embarks on the long-distance train journey to take her there, she has to share her carriage with the Ljoha a seemingly foul-mouthed, misogynistic drunk travelling to his new job as a miner. Initially they despise each other, but, the more time Laura spends with Ljoha the more they connect and Ljoha reveals an unforeseen kindness beneath the macho façade.
Winner of the Grand Prix at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No. 6 is a warming and unexpected tale of adventure, self-discovery and human connection.
