ENDA MURRAY LOOKS BACK AT THE FIRST TEN YEARS OF THE FESTIVAL

“One of the festival highlights has been our bold and fearless coverage of Irish politics and the screening of films which are both revealing and risky. Primary among these was the screening of NO STONE UNTURNED by the Oscar nominated director Alex Gibney in 2018.

The film’s producer, Trevor Birney, introduced the film in Sydney and was then subsequently arrested in Belfast and charged under the official secrets act for material which he included in the film.

In July 2020, the charges against Trevor were dropped and the chief of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Simon Byrne, made an unreserved apology.

Continuing on the topic of Northern Ireland we screened JOHN HUME IN AMERICA in 2018 which chronicled the role of Northern Irish politician John Hume in the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Peace Agreement.

While collecting tickets, I was approached by a man who bore an uncanny resemblance to John Hume and discovered he was none other than John Hume’s brother Harry, who had settled many years before in Melbourne.

On several occasions we were ahead of the curve in championing new talent – including early film appearances by young Barry Keoghan, Lola Petticrew and Hazel Doupe.

The festival screening of THE YOUNG OFFENDERS was memorable for the impenetrability of the Cork duo’s accent, and the fruitless search for a Cork person who could translate the dialogue! We’ve screened a number of diverse, first-class music films including THE DRUMMER AND THE KEEPER and DUBLIN OLDSCHOOL in 2019 which explored rock ‘n roll and mental illness, and the Dublin rave scene respectively.

Rewinding back to 2015 and our first film festival brought a screening of the Irish language film AN DUBH INA GHEAL (Assimilation) which explored the connections between Irish and Indigenous ancestry, language and poetry. I’m delighted to have kept strong links to the Irish language and to screen the breakout hit AN CAIlÍN CIÚIN (THE QUIET GIRL) in 2022.

The Festival’s Opening Night Parties are now legendary, with the Irish community letting their hair down in a congregation of arts and music. It’s wonderful to be the catalyst for events where the Irish community can celebrate their creativity and storytelling.”

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