March 2024

Irish-Australian Arts News
March 2024

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.

The Gaelic Club Céilí Band All-Stars will be playing at The Gasoline Pony on March 8. Limited tickets left, get them here.

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Happy St Patrick’s Day

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Irish Highlights at Awards Shows

Cillian Murphy is on a great awards run and is in a fantastic position to win his very first Oscar. In February he won Leading Actor at both the BAFTAs and SAG Awards. His film Oppenheimer won the most awards at the BAFTAs with 8 wins including Best Film and Best Director, the cast also won Cast in a Motion Picture at the SAG Awards. 

Element Pictures’ is also reaping wins for the Irish with 5 BAFTAs for Poor Things, most were in the craft categories with their biggest win going to Emma Stone for Best Leading Actress. The have a number of Oscar nominations and we’re sure they’ll win some awards on the night.

The Oscars are on the 11th of March and we’ll be covering them live on social media.

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IFF Q&As on YouTube

2 new Q&As from last year’s festival are now on YouTube.

We had the opportunity to talk to co-director Robert Higgens & Eanna Hardwicke who plays main character Cian from Lakelands which you can watch here.

We also got to talk to Sinead O’Shea, the director of Pray for Our Sinners which you can watch here.

You can also check out our 2023 Irish Film Festival Playlist which includes our festival trailer, director & actor shoutouts, and trailers for all the films shown in this year’s festival.

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Other Stories

• 2024 EVENTS DIARY!
  check out our events diary for March 2024 onwards which includes some Irish artists going on national tours.
  • The Gaelic Club Céilí Band All-Stars are back and performing a concert at the Gasoline Pony, Marrickville on Friday the 8th of March. Get tickets here.
  • On the 7th of March the Palestine Film Festival will be kicking off in Sydney with films Alam and Zoo. The festival will be running till the 17th of March and will also screen in Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart. Check it out here.
  • Sharon Shannon is touring Australia from the 8th – 17th of March kicking off her tour at Port Fairy Folk Festival, performing on the 14th as part of the Sydney St Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival, and finishing off her tour at the St Kilda St Patrick’s Day Festival. You can find a full list of locations at the ticket link in our events diary.
     
• The 2022 IFF-produced short documentary Peaches Queen of Éireann is now available to watch on YouTube. This 10-minute feature directed by Enda Murray and Scarlett Potter stars Dublin-born drag queen Peaches Queen is the lead up to their St Paddy’s Gay performance.
  You can also view the accompanying webpage here.
   
• The Shamrock Spitfire – Premiering in March in the UK, watch the trailer
  The story of Irish fighter pilot Brendan “Paddy” Finucane, who at the age of just 21, became the youngest ever Wing Commander in the Royal Air Force, and one of its greatest and most celebrated fighter aces during World War Two.
   
• Sinéad O’Connor has received a posthumous nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside 14 other artists. The new entrants will be revealed in a ceremony held in Ohio, date and venue TBA.
  https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68267253
   
• Irish actor, and star of Lakelands, Éanna Hardwicke has been selected for the 26th edition of European Shooting Stars, a prestigious initiative to promote European acting talent. The actor’s selection follows in the steps of Irish actors Ruth Negga, Domhnall Gleeson and Andrew Scott, all previous recipients of the honour, which is presented at the Berlinale Film Festival each year. 
  Read the full article here.
   
• In the Land of Saints and Sinners (Prime)
  Liam Neeson stars as a former assassin, Finbar Murphy, who leads a quiet life in a coastal Irish town, far from the political violence that grips the rest of the country. When menacing terrorists show up, Finbar soon discovers that one of them has been abusing a local girl. Drawn into an increasingly vicious game of cat and mouse, he must choose between exposing his secret identity and defending his friends and neighbours.
   
• Death of a Ladies Man (SBS OnDemand)
  While an alcoholic professor tries to deal with his marital woes, he is diagnosed with a brain tumour. He then begins to take control of his life and travels to his family home.
  We screened this film as part of the 2021 Irish Film Festival and had the opportunity to talk to director Matthew Bissonnette, you can watch the Q&A here.
   
• Season 2 of Irish crime Drama Kin is now available to stream on SBS OnDemand
  A boy is killed and his family embarks on a gangland war with an international cartel; but the Kinsellas have something the cartel does not: the unbreakable bonds of blood and family.

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Slán agus beannacht
Enda Murray
Director Irish Film Festival