The Los Angeles Irish Film Festival has announced the program for the 2011 Los Angeles Irish Film Festival (Thursday, September 29 through Sunday, October 2, 2011) including the U.S. premiere of “Dreaming the Quiet Man” and the West Coast premiere of “The Swell Season”. On Opening Night, the festival will also honor the renowned Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan (“The Guard,” “The Others,” “Waking Ned Devine,” “Some Mother’s Son”) accompanied by a special screening of Sony Classics’ critically acclaimed box office hit “The Guard,” a comedic thriller written and directed by John Michael McDonagh (“Ned Kelly”), starring Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle and Fionnula Flanagan. LAIFF is celebrating the film as a landmark for Irish cinema being the most successful independent Irish film in Irish box office history.
“We are thrilled to be presenting some notable premieres and we are honored to be paying tribute to the superb actress, Fionnula Flanagan accompanied by a special screening of “The Guard,” in which she stars, which is one of the most entertaining films of the year. Fionnula Flanagan is an international star and one of Ireland’s national treasures and has been a friend to the Los Angeles Irish Film Festival since our inception,” said Festival Director, Lisa McLaughlin. “We are also delighted that this year The Los Angeles Irish Film Festival was asked to participate in Culture Ireland’s “Imagine Ireland,” a programme that was launched as a celebration of the Irish imagination this year by the Irish Government in the belief that arts and culture are vital to Ireland’s recovery and the relationship between our two countries. We are especially proud that Gabriel Byrne, whose documentary “Gabriel Byrne: Stories From Home” was presented by the Los Angeles Irish Festival, is the Cultural Ambassador for Imagine Ireland.”
A comedic fish-out-of-water tale of murder, blackmail, drug trafficking and rural police corruption, “The Guard,” the feature directorial debut of John Michael McDonagh, will screen at the Opening Night Gala on Thursday, September 29 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences©’ Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. “The Guard” stars Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Rory Keenan, Mark Strong, Fionnula Flanagan, Dominique McElligott, Sarah Greene and Katarina Cas. Shot by Larry Smith against the epic grandeur of Ireland, the scenery juxtaposes with the inventive soundtrack from Americana/alternative country band Calexico. The film is produced by Chris Clark, Flora Fernandez Marengo, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe; Executive produced by Martin McDonagh, Don Cheadle, Lenore Zerman, Ralph Kamp, Tim Smith, Paul Brett, David Nash. “The Guard” is distributed in the US by Sony Classics.
The screening will be preceded by a live performance from celebrated soprano Judith Mok of her successful one-woman show “Molly Says No” about Molly Bloom the heroine of James Joyce’s “Ulysses”.
The Opening Night Event, which will include a reception and live musical entertainment, is hosted by Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board. The rest of LAIFF’s program of screenings will take place at the Aero Theater, Cinematheque, 1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, California. LAIFF’s hospitality center at ‘Living By Lynne Leventen’ art gallery on Montana Avenue will present Curt Gunther’s rare never-before-seen photographs of The Beatles from their 1964 inaugural North American tour. Lennon, McCartney and Harrison all had Irish roots.
The 2011 Los Angeles Irish Film Festival is co-presented by The American Cinematheque. The Irish Film Board (Bord Scannán na hÉireann), Ireland’s national film agency is a partner of LAIFF. Sponsors include Culture Ireland, The Irish Film Institute, ELMA (European Languages and Movies in America), LA Galaxy, The Huntley Hotel Santa Monica, Kensington Caterers, Santini Wines, Rosemarie McCaffrey, Reel Ireland, Bushmills, Kerrygold, Guinness, MyIrishPride.com, Rosti Chicken, Grafton on Sunset, Living by Lynne Leventen on Montana Avenue, Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau, Tala and Women In Film International. The Shangri-La hotel in Santa Monica is the Closing Night sponsor.
For more information about the festival including the complete line-up, and to purchase tickets to Closing Night and general admission tickets to individual films at LAIFF go to http://www.lairishfilm.com.
US PremiereLAIFF will present the US premiere of the documentary “Dreaming the Quiet Man”.
The documentary “Dreaming the Quiet Man,” directed by Sé Merry Doyle, delves into the psyche of director John Ford and his twenty-year struggle to bring his homage to his parents’ homeland, the Oscar winning “The Quiet Man,” to the screen. When it was released “The Quiet Man” became a monster hit all across the world and won Oscars for Best Director and Best Cinematography. Its impact went way beyond the Irish Diaspora and it still resonates with international audiences almost 60 years later. The film features contributions from commentators and filmmakers including Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, Jim Sheridan and, exclusively, Maureen O’Hara.
West Coast Premiere
LAIFF will also present the West Coast premier of the documentary “The Swell Season” directed by Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins and Carlo Mirabella-Davis. Most people know Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, the charmingly un-Hollywood actors and singer-songwriters who starred in the film “Once,” for their memorable – and temporarily interrupted – 2008 Oscar win for Best Original Song (“The Swell Season”). Yet behind the award was a more complex story of Hansard and Irglová’s onscreen romance becoming reality, and the grueling two-year world music tour that threatened to permanently fracture their relationship. Shooting in crisp black and white, documentarians Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins and Carlo Mirabella-Davis explore the upsides and downsides of artistic collarboration, success and love as they follow the Irish musical couple on their difficult yet constantly
illuminating journey.
Special ScreeningThe compelling documentary “The Pipe” will be co-presented with Women in Film International, followed by a Q&A with producer, Rachel Lysaght. Four years in the making, “The Pipe” tells the story of the small Rossport community which has taken on the might of Shell Oil and the Irish State. The discovery of gas off this remote coastal village has led to the most dramatic clash of cultures in modern Ireland. The rights of farmers over their fields, and of fishermen to their fishing grounds, has come in direct conflict with one of the world’s most powerful oil companies. When the citizens look to their State to protect their rights, they find that the government has put Shell’s right to lay a pipeline over their own. Already 5 locals have spent 94 days in jail rather than let the proposed Shell pipeline cross their lands. This once tranquil area is engulfed in turmoil, as huge numbers of police drafted in. Normal policing has broken down following baton charges, surveillance, arrests, and a hunger strike by a local schoolteacher.
The festival dates are Thursday, September 29 through Sunday, October 2, 2011.
THE STEVE BRENNAN TRIBUTE AWARD TO FIONNULA FLANAGAN
The Los Angeles Film Festival is dedicated to remembering and cheering the vibrant, all-embracing life of Steve Brennan – veteran journalist and International Editor for the Hollywood Reporter, author of “Emeralds in Tinseltown,” filmmaker, incomparable character and friend.
The 2011 Los Angeles Irish Film Festival’s Opening Night Steve Brennan Tribute will be presented to esteemed Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan. LAIFF are delighted that Fionnula Flanagan will attend Opening Night on Thursday, September 29 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood to receive the annual Steve Brennan Award. Previous recipients of this award include the late actors Robert Shaw, director Irvin Kershner and Richard Harris.
International star FIONNULA FLANAGAN’s vast body of work includes starring roles in feature films, television and theatre, as well as experience behind the scenes as a producer. Raised in Dublin, Flanagan’s Irish roots shine in such distinctive Irish films as “Waking Ned Devine,” “Some Mother’s Son” and “James Joyce’s Women” – a tour-de-force, which she also wrote and produced. Her feature film credits include the box-office hit “The Others,” for which she won a Saturn Award, “The Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood,” “Youngblood,” “Sinful Davey,” “Ulysses,” “Mr. Patman,” “A State Of Emergency,” “Reflections,” “Final Verdict,” the Oscar®- winning “In The Region Of Ice,” “Death Dreams,” “Mad At The Moon” and “Money For Nothing”. Fionnula has starred with Felicity Huffman in “Transamerica,” which garnered her rave reviews and for which she was awarded an Irish Film and Television Award (IFTA) for ‘Best Supporting Actress.’ Flanagan’s other film credits include the feature films “Yes Man” with Jim Carrey, “The Invention Of Lying” with Ricky Gervais and “Christmas Carol” with Jim Carrey and Bob Hoskins, “The Irishman” with Ray Stephenson and Christopher Walken, “Coming and Going” with Rhys Darby and “The Guard” starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle. Fionnula’s latest film “When Angels Sing” which she stars with Harry Connick Jr., Kris Kristofferson, Lyle Lovett and Willie Nelson opens this fall. Flanagan also recently wrapped production on the Irish
language television mini-series Paddywhackery for the TG4 channel in Ireland.
Los Angeles Irish Film Festival 2011 Program
OPENING NIGHT FILMS
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Program commences at 7pm
TRIBUTE TO FIONNULA FLANAGAN
PERFORMANCE BY JUDITH MOK
SPECIAL SCREENING OF “THE GUARD”
Director: John Michael McDonagh
Producers: Chris Clark, Flora Fernandez Marengo, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe
Writer: John Michael McDonagh
Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Rory Keenan, Mark Strong, Fionnula Flanagan, Dominique McElligott, Sarah Greene and Katarina Cas
Edited by: Chris Gill
Music by: Calexico
US Distributor: Sony Classics
Synopsis: A comedic fish-out-of-water tale of murder, blackmail, drug trafficking and rural police corruption. Two policemen must join forces to take on an international drug-smuggling gang – one, an unorthodox Irish policeman and the other, a straitlaced FBI agent. Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) is an eccentric small-town cop with a confrontational and crass personality and a subversive sense of humor. A longtime policeman in County Galway, Boyle is a maverick with his own moral code. He has seen enough of the world to know there isn’t much to it and has had plenty of time to think about it. When a fellow police officer disappears and Boyle’s small town becomes key to a large drug trafficking investigation, he is forced to at least feign interest when dealing with the humorless FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) assigned to the case. And so the scene is set for an
unlikely friendship and explosive finale.
“MUSIC FILMS”
Friday, September 30, 2011
7.30pm THE KILLING JOKE (Short musical feature) 15mins 2011
Director: Sebastian Lopez
Producers: Juan Pablo Cartagena
Writers: Sebastian Lopez
Cast: Gustavo Marzo, Clarisa Staracci
Edited by: Sabrina Mottino
Music by: Colin Devlin
Synopsis: The Killing Joke is a 15-minute suspense/fiction short film about a mysterious woman that finds a red balloon tied up to a curious little box on an eerie derelict street. Using classic elements of suspense and working within a seventies aesthetic, ‘The Killing Joke’ is an action packed film that pays homage to some of the horror movies from that era.
THE SWELL SEASON (Documentary) 91mins 2011
Directors: Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins, Carlo Mirabella-Davis
Producers: Carlo Mirabella-Davis
Cast: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová.
Edited by: Nick August
Synopsis: Most people know Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, the charmingly un-Hollywood actors and singer-songwriters who starred in the film “Once,” for their memorable 2008 Oscar win for Best Original Song (“Falling Slowly”). Yet behind the award was a more complex story of Hansard and Irglová’s onscreen romance becoming reality, and the grueling two-year world music tour that threatened to permanently fracture their relationship. The film explores the upsides and downsides of artistic collaboration, success and love as they follow the Irish musical couple on their difficult yet constantly illuminating journey.
NO JERICHO (Short Music video)
Director: Niall McKay
Editor: John Murphy
Synopsis: Grammy winner Susan McKeown performs No Jericho from her forthcoming album Belong Accompanied by Ryan McGiver, Eamon O’Leary, Doug Wieselman & Shahzad Ismail
THE COMMITMENTS (Feature) 118mins 1991
Director: Alan Parker
Producers: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais
Writers: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais (screenplay) based on the
novella by Roddy Doyle
Cast: Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Colm Meaney, Glen Hansard, Andrea Corr
Synopsis: A young hustling Dubliner shapes a ragtag bunch of miscreant Irish kids into a full-blown rock’n’soul revue despite their best efforts to self-destruct. The raw talents of the Irish performers imbue Motown soul classics with Celtic heart. Paul Bushnell, the music arranger, will be present.
SPOTLIGHT SCREENING
Saturday, October 1, 2011
5pm: BYE BYE NOW (Documentary) 15mins 2011
Director: Aideen O’Sullivan, Ross Whitaker.
Producer: Aideen O’Sullivan, Ross Whitaker.
Editor: Andrew Hearne
Synopsis: Bye Bye Now! is an amusing, poignant documentary about the fate of the Irish phone box, which has gone from the center of society to the verge of extinction. This short documentary intertwines wonderful anecdotes with the warmest of characters as they recount their memories of the small concrete structure that was so important in rural Ireland.
THE PIPE (Documentary) co-presented by Women in Film International / Q&A with producer Rachel Lysaght to follow screening 81mins 2010
Director: Risteard O’Domhnaill
Producer: Rachel Lysaght
Synopsis: A compelling documentary film four years in the making, The Pipe tells the story of the small Rossport community which has taken on the might of Shell Oil and the Irish State. The discovery of gas off this remote coastal village has led to the most dramatic clash of cultures in modern Ireland. The rights of farmers over their fields, and of fishermen to their fishing grounds, has come in direct conflict with one of the world’s most powerful oil companies. When the citizens look to their State to protect their rights, they find that the government has put Shell’s right to lay a pipeline over their own.
Women In Film International (WIFI)
“CLASSIC FILMS”
7.30pm DREAMING THE QUIET MAN (Documentary) 90mins 2010
Director: Sé Merry Doyle
Producers: Vanessa Gildea, Martina Durac
Synopsis: When it was released ‘The Quiet Man’ became a monster hit all across the world and won Oscars for Best Director and Best Cinematography. Its impact went way beyond the Irish Diaspora and it still resonates with international audiences almost 60 years later. This documentary delves into the psyche of John Ford and his twenty-year struggle to bring his homage to his parent’s homeland to the screen. The film features contributions from commentators and filmmakers including Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, Jim Sheridan and, exclusively, Maureen O’ Hara.
THE QUIET MAN (Feature) 129mins 1952
Director: John Ford
Producers: John Ford, Merin C. Cooper
Writers: Frank S. Nugent based on a story by Maurice Walsh
Cast: John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald
Synopsis: This classic film is the story of a retired American boxer returning to the Irish village where he was born, where he finds love, won five major awards and was nominated for another eight.
“CONTEMPORARY FILM”
Sunday, October 2, 2011
5pm: KNUCKLE (Documentary) Q&A with Ian Palmer and James Quinn
McDonagh to follow screening 97min 2011
Director: Ian Palmer
Producers: Teddy Leifer and Ian Palmer
Cast: Ian Palmer (voice), James Quinn McDonagh.
Synopsis: Residing in Ireland, the Travellers are a traditionally nomadic clan with a deep sense of communal pride. In a feat of dogged persistence, documentarian Ian Palmer followed the Travellers for 12 years, becoming close with the people and their traditions, particularly James Quinn McDonagh, the confident if reluctant bare-knuckle defender constantly called upon to fight his cousins. West Coast Premier.
7:30pm YUKI (Short film) 2011
Director: Jonathan Beer
Producers: Larry Cowan, Brian J. Falconer
Writers: Brian J. Falconer, Jonathan Beer
Cast: Haruka Abe, Junichi Kajioka, Lalor Roddy
Synopsis: Yuki’s world has changed. Without a medical diagnosis for her mother’s mysterious illness, Yuki knows it’s time to face her demons to have any chance of saving her mother.
PARKED (Feature) 90 min 2011
Director: Darragh Byrne
Producers: Jacqueline Kerrin, Dominic Wright
Writers: Ciaran Creagh
Cast: Colm Meaney, Colin Morgan, Milka Alroth
Synopsis: Lonely and beleaguered Fred Daly (Colm Meaney) returns to his native Ireland with no place to call home except his car. When pothead Cathal (Colin Morgan) parks next to him, the two strike up an unlikely friendship. With Cathal’s help, Fred begins to put his life back together little by little, and starts by introducing himself to cute, unusual music teacher Jules.
PENTECOST (Short Film) 11mins 2011
Director: Peter McDonald
THE RUNWAY (Feature) Q&A with Ian Power to follow screening 110mins 2010
Director: Ian Power
Producers: Ian Power, Macdara Kelleher, Brendan McDonald
Writers: Ian Power
Cast: James Cosmo, Kerry Condon, Demián Birchir, Jamie Kierans Synopsis: The Runway is inspired by the true story of a South American pilot who landed his plane near Mallow, in 1983. Against all odds, the people of the town came together to build a runway to get him home and briefly caught the imagination of the nation. It is the story of Paco, a young boy without a father who adopts the pilot and convinces the town to build a runway to get him home.
The 2011 Los Angeles Irish Film Festival is co-presented by The American Cinematheque. The Irish Film Board (Bord Scannán na hÉireann), Ireland’s national film agency is a partner of LAIFF. Sponsors include Culture Ireland, The Irish Film Institute, ELMA (European Languages and Movies in America), LA Galaxy, The Huntley Hotel Santa Monica, Kensington Caterers, Santini Wines, Rosemarie McCaffrey, Reel Ireland, Bushmills, Kerrygold, Guinness, MyIrishPride.com, Rosti Chicken, Grafton on Sunset, Living by Lynne Leventen on Montana Avenue, Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau, Tala , SHANGRI-LA Hotel in Santa Monica and Women In Film International.
For more information about the festival including the complete line-up, and to purchase tickets to Closing Night and general admission tickets to individual films at LAIFF go to http://www.lairishfilm.com.