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Opening Night Craic!
Join us for one of our famous Opening Night parties - a celebration of Irish culture, music and song in each of the Palace cinemas where our Festival is screening.
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Irish-Australian Shorts Program
The Irish Film Festival will, for the first time in its history, present a session of Irish-Australian short films in cinema screenings in Sydney and Melbourne. These films are the product of the interweaving of Irish and Australian themes and cultures through their producers, directors, actors or themes. Ranging from comedy, LGBTQIA+, doco, experimental, dance and history, these shorts represent a new generation of Irish Australian creative talent, who are expressing their heritage in cinematic terms. Runtime 65 minutes (in cinema) 50 minutes (online) Ten Years of Yes (Cinema Exclusive)Directed by Alan Fitzgerald Sydney Queer Irish, an inclusive community group for Irish expats and their friends in Sydney, prepare to…
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The Spin
Four months of overdue rent, three valuable records, two clueless friends and one hell of a journey! Lifelong pals Dermot and Elvis are quirky, music-loving Tyrone boys who are down on their luck. In a bid to save their much-loved record shop, they embark on a road trip from Omagh to Cork to collect a box of priceless records, meeting an eclectic mix of characters along the way: a nun, a stripper, a stuffed fox and an angry chicken. Ireland is a small place; you could walk it in a month, cycle it in a week, or thumb it in a day; however, for our hapless heroes, a simple road…
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Never Stop the Action
A supernova in a New York City subway carriage, NEVER STOP THE ACTION is a kaleidoscopic journey through time and space. We begin our trip in The Bronx, catching a 5am D-Train with our guides Teshi and Casey, two old friends recently reunited at an all night dance party. On their long subway ride through the awakening metropolis, our two merry pilgrims share stories to pass the time – stories that take us out of the train on surreal swerves into vivid imaginary universes. Their tales focus on singularities; unique moments in time, paths taken that forever change lives, social flash points, points of no return. As they get closer…
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In Time: Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny is one of Ireland’s most outstanding artists and this is the first film account of his life – a portrait that reveals his peerless contribution to Irish culture and music. A founding member of Planxty, The Bothy Band and Moving Hearts, Lunny played a central role in reviving and transforming Irish traditional and folk music for new generations. He won RTÉ Radio 1 Folk’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025. In Time: Dónal Lunny fuses music with the personal arc of Dónal Lunny’s biographical journey, bringing the artist into being on screen. It explores how pivotal moments in his creative and personal life have intersected with major cultural, political…
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Fidil Ghorm
A beautiful, contemporary Irish-language movie, FIDIL GHORM is one for all of the family; bringing together traditional Irish music and culture and the innocence and resilience of 10-year-old Molly, who’s on a heartfelt mission to bring her father out of a coma. Believing that winning the All-Ireland Fiddle Competition might wake him, she’s determined to follow in his musical footsteps and invoke the magic in the music. Set in Rathmullen County Donegal, FIDIL GHORM combines a magical film score and the breathtaking scenery of Donegal’s Wild Atlantic Way and Lough Swilly, setting the scene for a story full of emotion, joy and laughter. With a G-rating, this is one for music-lovers of all…
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David Keenan: Focla ar Chanbhás
This award-winning bilingual documentary is an intimate and poetic exploration of the life and artistry of musician David Keenan (Dáithí Ó’Cianáin). Four years after the breakthrough success of his debut album Beginner’s Guide to Bravery, Dundalk-born songwriter, musician, and composer David Keenan finds himself at a crossroads. Known for his evocative lyricism and compelling live performances, Keenan invites us into his world of words as he returns to the studio to create new music; “Anger is easy to portray, it’s the hurt that’s hard”. Over the course of 500 days, the film offers an unfiltered look at Keenan’s creative process, the challenges of navigating an ever-changing music industry, and the…
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Christy
17-year-old Christy is at a crossroads. Kicked out of his suburban foster home, he moves in with his estranged older brother Shane and his young family. As far as Shane is concerned this is a temporary arrangement, but Christy begins to feel at home on Cork’s working-class Northside. As he makes friends and begins to let the community in, he also reconnects with his past through his seemingly more corrupting extended family, despite Shane’s efforts to protect him. Shane wants something better for Christy at any cost – even if it means he has to push him away. As the brothers look to reconcile their turbulent past, their family and…
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June 2025
There’s lots happening this month with Bloomsday events and a slather of Irish films playing at the Sydney Film Festival. Plus: the low-down on Pierce Brosnan’s Irish accent controversy, Irish connections in the upcoming MIX TAPE series, and a double pass to give away in each IFF city (Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney) for the new Irish film FOUR LETTERS OF LOVE which opens next month in cinemas across Australia!
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IRISH-AUSTRALIAN EVENTS DIARY
August Friday 01 August The Rugby Lunch: Lions 2025 An exclusive Lansdowne Club experience to celebrate The Lions Tour return to Sydney Australia for the first time in 12 years Presented by The Lansdowne Club, Sydney. Tickets here Saturday 9 August Traditional Irish and Popular Folk Music with Blarney Stone Join Terri, Phil, Brendan and Col of ‘Blarney Stone’ in an Irish Sing-a-Long and Celtic Music session! These sessions happen on the second Saturday of every month at Cardigan Bar. Cardigan Bar, Sandgate Queensland. More information here Thursday 14 August The Bard and the Harper: An Evening with Clíona Molins Join The Celtic Club at The Wild Geese Hotel for…
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Opening Night Craic!
