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Spring may have sprung in Ireland but here in Sydney it’s like a wet Sunday in Belmullet as the rain keeps lashing down! Luckily we have some great suggestions for you with a new TV show featuring Andrew Scott and a great new doco on Ireland’s best loved trad act the Bothy Band. March was a huge month with St Patrick’s Day and the Oscars and now we’re looking forward to what April has in store! It’s the lucky month of March and everyone will be flocking to the pubs to grab a pint of Guinness. We provided a breakdown of St Patrick’s Day celebrations that we’ve found being held around Australia but don’t forget to also visit your local Irish pub. There were a couple of awards shows in Feb with Irish wins and 2 more IFF Q&As are on YouTube including our opening night Q&A for Lakelands. Hollywood’s awards season has started and Irish co-production ‘Poor Things’ has been receiving lots of attention, as well as ‘Oppenheimer’ star Cillian Murphy. Irish actors Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan have also shared attention. We have a collection of Irish films being released in 2024 and 2 more of our Q&As are on YouTube. Another successful Irish Film Festival has finished and while the team have been busy wrapping up the festival and completing reports, there’s been mountains of Irish news – so much that we couldn’t possibly cover it all in this newsletter. The full list of films for the 2023 Irish Film Festival have officially been announced! From tales of tragedy to triumph, the 9th Irish Film Festival Australia will showcase a new Ireland in 2023 with stories from our past that deserve to be heard. A diverse mix of dramas, documentaries and comedy, we have carefully selected quality films that will move you in ways that only Irish stories can. We are delighted to announce our BEST FILM AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE SCREENING! What a huge few weeks it’s been for the Irish community in Australia. The passing of one of Ireland and the world’s finest artists Sinéad O’Connor sent a ripple of shock and mourning across the globe, while we also witnessed a surge of support for our own Girls in Green during their time Down Under for the Women’s World Cup. We recently announced the dates for this year’s Irish Film Festival, with Irish stories and talent on screen continuing to shine in Australia thanks to SBS. And check out our calendar for all the other exciting events happening over the coming weeks and months. The Festival is back bigger than ever from October 5 to November 5, with special screenings taking place in 5 capital cities and streaming online across Australia. With Irish productions and talent proving extremely popular across the globe, we are looking forward to announcing our carefully selected program of movies and documentaries that reflect a new Ireland in 2023 whilst sharing stories that need to be heard. This month the Irish and Australian sports community is buzzing with the countdown to the Women’s World Cup, this year being hosted in Australia and kicking off in Sydney on the 20th with the very first game against the Republic of Ireland.May 2024
We also have an IFTA Award wrap-up up with Cillian Murphy taking home another win for Oppenheimer and in Sydney the Irish Support Agency have announced that nominations are open for their Community Appreciation Awards.April 2024
We have a recap of the Oscar winners and the Irish Oscars (aka the IFTA Awards) have announced their nominations. We also have the last of the IFF23 Q&As on Youtube and there are some new Irish shows and movies available to steam. You can also find a Hollywood Reporter article on Why Ireland Is Thriving as a Film Hub which is worth a read.March 2024
February 2024
Save the date: Gaelic Club Céilí Band All-Stars concert at the Gasoline Pony on Friday, March 8th.December 2023
For many of us, the tragic passing of The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan was a major milestone.
We have other cultural news and have put together an events diary for 2024 too.2023 Film Festival Lineup
Opening Night Movie
Opening Night Movie:
LAKELANDS
Starring Éanna Hardwicke (Normal People) & Danielle Galligan (Kin, Shadow and Bone)
Galway Film Fleadh
Kerry International Film FestivalAugust 2023
Save The Date
July 2023
We’ve got some Irish movie news, including the one everyone’s talking about right now having recently made its way Down Under; the fascinating documentary on Sinéad O’Connor. We’ve also highlighted a few quality Film Festivals worth checking out, whilst the 2023 Galway Film Fleadh program is currently being announced.