June 2024
Irish-Australian Arts News
June 2024
Sydney Film Festival has just kicked off with 6 Irish Films over 12 glorious days of cinema–including Australian/Irish boxing drama Kid Snow, the rude and riotous Kneecap, and the prize-winning doco The Flats.
There is also plenty of Irish content to stream with 2 TV shows on SBS OnDemand and a hit new Irish show Bodkin on Netflix. Sydneysiders can also enjoy Irish play Never Closer at Belvoir St Theatre and X Club gig featuring Irish DJ Shampain at Carriageworks.
And the Irish Film Festival is launching its EOFY Donation Appeal!
You can also see a collection of Irish events around Australia in our Events Diary at the bottom of this email.
Irish Films at Sydney Film Festival
Sydney Film Festival will be taking over Sydney soon!
SFF will be bring 6 Irish films to Sydney for their 12 day festival with multiple screening for each film. The Irish highlight is the Australian premiere of Kneecap, a comedy featuring the Irish language that has been making headlines worldwide. Kneecap is screening everyday for the final 3 days of the festival with the premiere being on Friday the 14th of June at the State Theatre.
The new Yorgos Lanthimos film Kinds of Kindness follows 3 stories where people’s lives take a turn. Kinds of Kindness stars Emma Stone and Willam Dafoe who previously worked with him on Poor Things. 2 of the 3 screenings have sold out so if this is of interest get your tickets ASAP.
Documentary The Flats follows the residents of a Belfast housing estate grappling with the unresolved legacy of the Troubles by staging re-enactments, laying bare a complex, brutal legacy with forensic precision.
Saoirse Ronan’s new film The Outrun follows the story of Rona returning to her childhood home to battle her struggle with drugs and alcohol. Ronan’s outstanding performance beautifully portrays her character’s fragility and grit as she journeys from destruction to serenity.
Aussie film Kid Snow is about a washed-up Irish boxer who is finally faced with a chance to redeem himself when he is offered a rematch against the man he fought a decade prior, on a night that changed his life forever. When he meets single mother Sunny, he is forced to contemplate a future beyond boxing.
There is also a family friendly option, My Freaky Family, a magical Australian-Irish animation, based on the popular children’s book The Floods, in which 12-year-old Betty discovers her mystical powers just as a dark force kidnaps her family. Magic, music, and marvellous adventures await.
Irish Thriller Bodkin on Netflix
There’s a new hit on Netflix and it’s a show out of Ireland.
Starring Irish talent Siobhán Cullen, Chris Walley, David Wilmot; the Thriller series Bodkin has been in the Netflix Top 10 since it’s release at the beginning of the month and is definitely worth checking out. The Show follows a group of podcasters set out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three strangers in an idyllic Irish town. But when they start to pull the strings, they find a story much bigger and stranger than they could have imagined.
Bodkin is 7 episodes with 2 episodes directed by Australian Nash Edgerton and 1 episode is directed by Dublin born director Paddy Breathnach.
Irish Film Festival End of Financial Year Donation Appeal
Help us keep the Irish Film Festival on the road by making a tax-deductible donation today!
It’s coming near that time of year again when the tax man looms!
The Irish Film Festival is a not-for-profit organization that relies on box office, grants, sponsorship and the generosity of donors to survive. When you donate to the Irish Film Festival, you help support Irish arts
and culture in Australia. We have just got charity status so all donations over $2 are tax deductible.
Wouldn’t you rather give your tax to support Irish artists!!
Please donate what you can to keep our festival afloat.
If you have any questions, contact the team on irishfilmfestivalaustralia@gmail.com
Other Stories
- Screen Ireland’s Where to Watch
Discover where you can watch Irish film and selected TV drama, animation and documentary, anywhere in the world. From films available to stream or just entering cinemas thiswebsite put together by Screen Ireland is worth checking out next time you’re looking for something to watch.
wheretowatchireland.com/home
- Galway DJ Shampain to feature in X Club gig
X Club returns to Australia for their biggest headline warehouse shows to date, as they present HIDE THE JUNK at Carriageworks – a day into night warehouse party featuring a star-studded lineup of house & techno’s finest DJs, including Ireland’s own SHAMPAIN – on Saturday 8 June as part of Vivid Sydney.
Sydney’s newest dance floor experience, X CLUB. and friends are set to take over the post-industrial space with a frenetic, unrelenting lineup of techno and drum & bass.
For more info and tickets visit carriageworks.com.au/events/x-club-2024/
Check out an interesting interview with Shampain here. - Never Closer at Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney till 16th June
Northern Ireland 1987. Deirdre is struck – between arguments, nations, and the lives she almost lived. But when her old schoolfriends gather in her kitchen yet again for Christmas Eve, their growing differences push to the surface a powder keg, waiting for the tiniest spark. And then one of them turns up with her surprise fiancé. He’s English.
Set against the backdrop of The Troubles, this brilliant debut play is an unforgettable drama of home, friends, the decision to leave or stay, and the possibility of forgiveness.
belvoir.com.au/productions/never-closer-2024/Deadline Article: How Ireland’s Booming Screen Sector Shows No Signs Of Slowing Down And Why It’s “An Overnight Success, Thirty Years In The Making”
Ireland’s screen industry is having a moment with a notable strong Irish presence at international Film Festivals and Awards Shows. There are many Irish productions or Irish co-productions making the rounds and Irish actors continue to earn international acclaim.
deadline.com/2024/05/hot-spots-how-irelands-booming-screen-sector-shows-no-signs-of-slowing-down-why-its-an-overnight-success-thirty-years-in-the-making - Northern Irish series Blue Lights, season 2 on SBS OnDemand
Belfast based drama `Blue Lights’ follows new police recruits Grace, Annie, and Tommy, as they learn the ropes in a high-pressure environment. Grace is a former social worker who has decided to switch careers in her forties, Annie has had to leave everything she knows behind, and Tommy finds it challenging to be on the frontline. The team deal with divided communities, criminal gangs, and struggle to know who to trust, all while wondering if they have made the right choice in joining the PSNI.
sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/blue-lights
- Hit Irish comedy The Dry on SBS OnDemand
Shiv Sheridan (Gallagher), a woman recovering from alcoholism, returns home to Dublin to face a family who are not terribly supportive of her sobriety. She is 35, has spent the last ten years in London trying to make it as an artist but has nothing to show for it. Having lost her job at a gallery and fallen out with flat mates who were always partying, she returns home for her Granny’s funeral and asks her mother if she can stay. It is clear that the family all drink, sometimes to excess, and her brother does coke – so staying won’t be easy.
sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/the-dry
- Ireland at Eurovision
Eurovision 2024 was held from the 7th to the 11th of May in Malmö, Sweden and Ireland participated, making it to the grand final.
Ireland’s entry was Doomsday Blue performed by Macroom (County Cork) born singer-songwriter Bambie Thug. They finished the competition in 6th place, scoring 278 points to become Ireland’s highest scoring entry and earning Ireland’s best placement since 2000.
If you missed it, their grand final performance can be watched on the Eurovision Song Contest Youtube channel alongside other 2024 performances.
- Canberra Irish Club Film Society
The Canberra Irish Club Film Society is back, screening on the the third Sunday of each month. Between May and November they will screen BBC & RTE production Ireland, A Television History, a 13 part series written and presented by Robert Kee looking at the complexities of Irish history. The series was made at a time when The Troubles were still ongoing, and Kee attempted to explain them against a background of 800 years of Irish history. Interviews with eye witnesses with memories extending as far back as the 1890s helped to bring it to life.
Annual membership is $10 which gets you and a guest admission to all screenings for the year. If you’re interested email,
canberrairishclubfilmsociety@gmail.com
2024 EVENTS DIARY!
Click on the link above to check out our events diary from June 2024 onwards which includes some exciting news on Irish music national tours and other riveting stuff.
Add your event to our Monthly Newsletter
We have had some enquiries from Irish organisations about publicising their events in our newsletter. If you have an event coming up then get the info to us by the 21st of the month and we will do our best to include it in our newsletter. It helps if you can provide the text ‘ready to go’ and remember – a picture tells 1000 words so send some pics too!
Slán agus beannacht
Enda Murray
Director Irish Film Festival