ifi december programme

DECEMBER 2013

KILL YOUR DARLINGS

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THE IRISHFILM INSTITUTE

EXHIBITPRESERVEEDUCATE

The Irish Film Institute is Ireland’s national cultural institution for film. It aims to exhibit the finest in independent, Irish and international cinema, preserve Ireland’s moving image heritage at the IFI Irish Film Archive, and encourage engagement with film through its various educational programmes.

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GIFT CARDStuck for a Christmas present idea this year? Why not give an IFI Gift Card! On our new cards you can add credit which can be spent or topped up, and it will slip neatly into your wallet. Valid for use in the IFI Film Shop, IFI Café Bar and IFI Cinemas, it’ll take the hassle out of Christmas shopping this year!

Our monthly pub quiz returns on Wednesday, December 4th at 21.30 where you can test your knowledge while enjoying a drink in the IFI Café Bar. Naturally, there’ll be a film round! Team sizes are not limited (within reason!) and entry is FREE. Be prepared for a night of brain-teasers and posers!

PUB QUIZ

Shaken or stirred? Served on the rocks or straight up with a twist? Join us for a special night of cocktail making in the IFI Café Bar on Wednesday, December 11th at 19.00. Our mixologist will show you how to create fabulous drinks so you’ll be knocking up dirty Martinis in no time! Tickets €20. Book by calling 01 679 8712.

COCKTAILSJoin us for this month's Afternoon Talk, On the Missions, on December 11th (14.00) when Edel Robinson, in conversation with IFI Curator, Sunniva O’Flynn, will discuss her research at the IFI Irish Film Archive on films made by Irish missionary societies. She will screen extracts from a number of missionary films which were made for vocational and fund-raising purposes. This event is FREE but ticketed.

Out

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DIRECTOR’S NOTEDIRECTOR’S NOTE

DECEMBERAT THE IFI

This December the IFI programme features some Christmas classics, a focus on Lithuanian cinema, and a Bruce Dern season.

Last December our dear friend and colleague Pete Walsh passed away. Pete was the IFI Cinemas Manager and the main programmer for 18 of our 21 years here at Temple Bar. For his anniversary this month, we wanted to mark his passing and legacy. After numerous discussions with Pete’s colleagues and family, two areas consistently emerged that Pete was passionate about – good film writing and seeing as many movies as possible! Because of this, we decided to merge the two and, this December, we are pleased to announce the Pete Walsh Critical Writing Award. We are inviting anyone and everyone with a strong interest in cinema to write about a film they saw at the IFI (or elsewhere) during the course of 2013. Entries will be evaluated by a panel of industry experts. The winner of the inaugural Pete Walsh Critical Writing Award will be offered a pass for a year of free films at the IFI. Full details on the Award will be announced this month, so please visit our website for further details on how to apply.

As Ireland’s national cultural institution for film, cinema exhibition is central to all our activities at IFI. We nurture future cinema audiences through our very active schools’ programme. Yet we are conscious that, for young people, watching film is just one aspect of their multi-platform media lives. Keeping film an active part of these lives is one of our aims. Finding out how, what and why they watch is part of achieving it. We were delighted, therefore, to have had the opportunity to investigate young people's media usage through a research project carried out with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). The project focused on 12-13 year olds, at the crucial in-between stage of primary and secondary education. The results of this research project will be launched on December 5th, and the full report will be available online at www.ifi.ie

This month sees the release of Alexander Payne’s (The Descendants) latest film Nebraska (from December 6th) starring Bruce Dern, which provides us with the perfect opportunity to celebrate the work of this extraordinary character actor. Having won the Best Actor Award for Nebraska at Cannes earlier this year, this short season looks back at previous unforgettable performances in titles including Bob Rafelson’s The King of Marvin Gardens and his Oscar nominated performance in Hal Ashby’s Coming Home.

December also sees a focus on Lithuanian cinema to coincide with their Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This short programme consists of features made over the last five years and provides a window into the country’s film industry. A particular highlight will be the sci-fi romance Vanishing Waves which won Best Film at JDIFF this year, and we’re delighted that the director Kristina Buožytė will be in attendance at the screening.

If you’re stuck for Christmas shopping ideas, make sure to visit the IFI Film Shop which has perfect stocking fillers for everyone. For the person who truly has everything, IFI Gift Cards are the ideal present. Of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a season of festive delights, and this year’s selection includes the classic It’s a Wonderful Life and Michael Curtiz’s White Christmas starring Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney.

On behalf of everyone at the IFI, I’d like to wish all of our patrons and supporters a very merry Christmas.

Ross KeaneDirector

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Blue is the Warmest ColourJeune & JolieleviathanParklandsaving mr. BanksJust a sighkill Your darlingsneBraskathe sWell season Far out isn't Far enough: the tomi ungerer storYthe innoCents it's a WonderFul liFethe PatienCe stoneall is lostmoon man

DEC NEW RELEASES & IFI CLASSICS

SEASONS & EVENTS CALENDARDATE SCREENING TIME

4THWED

IFI CAFÉ BAR: PUB QUIZ 21.30

6THFRI

IFI LITHUANIAN FILM FOCUS: VANISHING WAVES

18.15

7THSAT

IFI LITHUANIAN FILM FOCUS: VORTEX 13.00

8THSUN

MR. BANKS SAVED!: MARY POPPINSIFI LITHUANIAN FILM FOCUS: EASTERN DRIFT

15.40 16.00

9TH MON

MR. BANKS SAVED!: MARY POPPINS 18.15

10THTUE

ONCE MORE WITH FEELING!: ONCE IFI FRENCH FILM CLUB: JUST A SIGH

18.3020.45

11THWED

AFTERNOON TALK: ON THE MISSIONS FROM THE VAULTS: SAINTS AND SINNERS IFI & SET COLLECTIVE: SUNSET BOULEVARD IFI CAFÉ BAR: COCKTAIL EVENING

14.00 18.30 18.30 19.00

13TH FRI

FAR OUT ISN'T FAR ENOUGH + TOMI UNGERER Q&A

18.30

14THSAT

BRUCE DERN: DRIVE, HE SAID ONCE MORE WITH FEELING!: ONCE

14.00 16.15

15THSUN

IRELAND ON SUNDAY: CROÍ TRODACH 13.00

16THMON

BRUCE DERN: THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS

18.30

17THTUE

70MM SCREENING: GREMLINS 18.30

18TH WED

FEAST YOUR EYES: TRADING PLACES BRUCE DERN: THE DRIVER

18.15 20.45

20TH FRI

WILD STRAWBERRIES: SUNSHINE ON LEITH IFI CHRISTMAS CRACKERS: MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS

11.00 18.15

21STSAT

IFI CHRISTMAS CRACKERS: WHITE CHRISTMAS IFI CHRISTMAS CRACKERS: MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS

13.30 16.00

22NDSUN

BRUCE DERN: COMING HOME IFI CHRISTMAS CRACKERS: THE BISHOP'S WIFE

16.00 16.10

23RDMON

IFI CHRISTMAS CRACKERS: WHITE CHRISTMAS IFI CHRISTMAS CRACKERS: THE BISHOP'S WIFE

13.30 18.15

27THFRI

WILD STRAWBERRIES: SUNSHINE ON LEITH 11.00

29THSUN

IFI FAMILY: MARCH OF THE PENGUINS 11.00

From sun 1st From sun 1st From sun 1stFrom sun 1stFrom sun 1stoPens Fri 6thoPens Fri 6thoPens Fri 6thoPens Fri 6th

oPens Fri 13th oPens Fri 13th oPens Fri 13thoPens Fri 13thoPens Fri 27thoPens Fri 27th

For a breakdown of times and dates of IFI New Releases & IFI Classics, check out our weekly schedule on www.ifi.ie or the IFI ads in The Irish Times on Fridays and Saturdays. You can also sign up to receive our weekly ezine by emailing [email protected] (you can unsubscribe at any time).

Scan the QR code to take you straight to the IFI homepage on your smart phone.

TIMES

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DECEMBER 2013NEW RELEASES & IFI CLASSICS

FROM DEC 1ST At 15 years old, Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) is tentatively embarking on relationships and exploring her sexuality. She meets Emma (Léa Seydoux), an aspiring artist with dyed blue hair, and Adèle’s world is turned upside down. The women embark on an intense love affair that will have a lasting effect on them both. Kechiche’s adaptation of Julie Maroh’s graphic novel has caused considerable controversy since it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes earlier this year,

with complaints about the director’s working methods and a focus on the film’s intimate depiction of lesbian sex threatening to detract from its brilliance.

Beyond the furor, Blue is the Warmest Colour emerges as a daring film that evocatively depicts the pleasures of being in love and the pain of heartbreak while acknowledging the fragile line between those two states.

(LA VIE D’ADÈLE CHAPITRES 1 ET 2)

FILM INFO:179 minutes, France, 2013, Colour, D-CinemaNotes by Michael Hayden

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR


While on summer holiday with her family, beautiful 17-year-old Isabelle loses her virginity, an experience which leaves her cold and disillusioned. She yearns for something more and takes to prostitution, becoming addicted to the money she makes and revelling in the attention she gets from men, whether they are charming or obnoxious. Presenting a pretence of normality to her school friends and loving family, it’s not long before she finds herself out of her depth in an adult world where she

desperately wants to feel empowered. Featuring a remarkable break-through performance from Marine Vacth in her first leading role and referencing Rimbaud’s poem No One’s Serious at Seventeen, the latest feature from the increasingly prolific François Ozon (Potiche, In the House) is this sensitive, typically intelligent portrait of a year in the life of a young sexually inquisitive woman measured out in the four seasons.

FROM DEC 1ST

JEUNE & JOLIE

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FROM DEC 1ST The winner of the Michael Powell Award at this year’s Edinburgh Film Festival, Leviathan depicts life on board a battered old fishing trawler which is being tossed around on the treacherous Atlantic Ocean. Presenting images filmed on a number of cameras that have been positioned around the boat, the filmmakers confront the audience with crashing waves, pouring rain, cranking machinery, gutted fish and ravenous seagulls, along with occasional moments of calm below deck.

Without voiceover or narrative, this makes for visceral viewing, and a film that defies easy definition. It is factual filmmaking that doesn’t resemble conventional documentary, a piece of visual art that cannot be confined to gallery walls, while some reviewers have noted references to science fiction and horror films. The work of British filmmaker Lucien Castaing-Taylor and his frequent collaborator Véréna Paravel, Leviathan promises a unique cinematic experience.

EXCLUSIVELY AT IFI†

FILM INFO:87 minutes, France-U.K.-U.S.A., 2012, Colour, D-CinemaNotes by Michael Hayden

LEVIATHAN

FROM DEC 1ST Fifty years ago, on 22 November, 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated while being driven in a presidential motorcade along Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. America has struggled to come to terms with that murder ever since, and those events have been scrutinised and pored over by historians and cultural commentators, frequently revisited in film and literature. Parkland recreates that tragic day taking the point of view of a number of individuals caught up

in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, among them doctors and nurses who tried to save the President’s life at the Parkland hospital; the Dallas Secret Service; Abraham Zapruder, who fatefully filmed the assassination; and Lee Harvey Oswald’s brother. With an outstanding ensemble cast, director Peter Landesman weaves stories together imagining how real people were affected at this moment in history with an unsentimental, rigorous honesty.

FILM INFO:93 minutes, U.S.A., 2013, Colour, D-CinemaNotes by Michael Hayden

PARKLAND

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FROM DEC 1ST Disney studios made Mary Poppins in 1964, and it remains a perennial family favourite, with iconic performances from a cast including Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, and the unforgettable songs of the Sherman Brothers. Walt Disney had tried to make the film as early as 1938, but P.L. Travers, the writer of the books on which the film is based, refused to give up the rights. Saving Mr. Banks imagines Disney’s negotiations with Mrs. Travers in the run up to the film’s production,

presenting Disney as a genial autocrat used to getting what he wants and Travers as an overly prim and precious Anglicised lady determined to protect her creation.

Here are two great roles for actors as fine as Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson to relish, and they are wonderful in this delightful and moving film enlightening a particular moment in Hollywood history.

FILM INFO:126 minutes, U.S.A.-U.K., 2013, Colour, D-CinemaNotes by Michael Hayden

SAVING MR. BANKS

(LE TEMPS DE L’AVENTURE)


Taking time out from performing in an Ibsen play at a provincial theatre, actress Alix travels on an early morning train to Paris for an audition. On board, she notices a doleful, English speaking passenger, and though they only have a brief exchange when he asks for directions, she remains intrigued by him. Alix proceeds to have a difficult day; her mobile phone battery runs down, her credit card is maxed out and she cannot contact her elusive boyfriend, yet her initial anxiety passes

and her trials prove to be liberating. She tracks down the man she saw that morning, and they make a connection.

Centred on a perfectly measured performance from Emmanuelle Devos, and with Gabriel Byrne an ever reliable presence, Jérôme Bonnell delivers an affecting and humorous tale of a Parisian brief encounter with considerable class.

JUST A SIGH

FROM DEC 6TH

FRENCH FILM CLUBThere will be a French Film Club screening of this on December 10th at 20.45. IFI and Alliance Française members can get discounted tickets for €7 to this screening. Please request at the IFI Box Office.

See page 20 for our screenings of Mary Poppins in December.

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FROM DEC 6TH A freshman at Columbia University, Allen Ginsberg first encounters Lucien Carr when Carr is reciting salacious passages from Henry Miller aloud in the school study library. Ginsberg is immediately fascinated, and drawn into Carr’s libertine world of heavy drinking, mind-expanding drugs, jazz, poetry and grandiose manifestos, with William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac part of the clique. There’s sex, too, though while Ginsberg coyly avoids declaring his obvious desire for Carr, David Kammerer

is an older man skirting around the group who has no such qualms in declaring his claims on the flamboyant student. The world is at war, and these are young men determined to change everything. Based on true events, Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan are part of an exceptional cast in John Krokidas’ feature debut, an evocative, exhilarating depiction of the Beats before the best minds of that generation were destroyed by madness.


KILL YOUR DARLINGS

FROM DEC 6TH After Woody Grant (a grizzled, magnificent Bruce Dern) receives junk mail guaranteeing a million dollar prize, he is determined to travel the 850 miles from Billings, Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska – on foot, if necessary – to collect his winnings, ignoring his family’s protestations. To keep him safe, and shut him up, son David (Will Forte) eventually agrees to drive him there. The two end up in Woody’s hometown of Hawthorne, unable to leave as relatives and friends gather when news of the

‘win’ gets out. David learns that there is much more to his taciturn, ornery coot of a father than he had realised.

Writer Bob Nelson provides Payne with a superb screenplay, laced with comedy and pathos, in which even the smallest character is clearly defined, and the supporting characters are often the most memorable, particularly June Squibb as Woody’s long-suffering wife.

FILM INFO:115 minutes, U.S.A., 2013, Black and White, D-CinemaNotes by Kevin Coyne

NEBRASKA

See page 13 for our season of Bruce Dern films.

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FROM DEC 6TH A simple, heartfelt love story about two musicians meeting on the streets of Dublin and falling in love while they write songs together, Once is one of the most celebrated and treasured Irish features of recent times. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who played the protagonists in the film and composed its soundtrack, memorably won Academy Awards for their musical collaboration. In a case of life imitating art, the pair fell in love, recorded an album together and embarked

on an international tour. Beautifully presented in black and white and featuring wonderful performances from stages around the world, this intimate documentary follows the couple as they deal with the pressures of fame and the impact it has on their relationship. The Swell Season is as moving and disarming as the film that first bought Hansard and Irglová to the attention of the world.

See page 20 for screenings of Once in December.

FILM INFO:91 minutes, U.S.A.-Czech Republic-Ireland, 2011, Black and White, D-CinemaNotes by Michael Hayden

THE SWELL SEASON

FROM DEC 13TH Celebrated as a children’s author for books such as The Three Robbers and Moon Man (the film adaptation of which also screens this month, see page 11 for details), Tomi Ungerer’s distinctive animation has also addressed political issues with the protest posters he produced supporting America’s civil rights movement and damning its war in Vietnam, while his vivid works of erotica indicate a wild imagination that refuses to be contained. Born in the Alsace region and marked by a

tormented youth growing up during World War II, Ungerer’s wanderlust took him to New York, Nova Scotia and West Cork, where he currently resides. Brad Bernstein’s documentary portrait celebrates Ungerer’s work with charming animated sequences and there are contributions from supporters and contemporaries, though it’s the interviews with Ungerer himself that make it compelling. White-haired, chain-smoking, passionate and eloquent, Ungerer’s genius is evident.


FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY

Tomi Ungerer will attend the 18.30 screening on December 13th and take part in a Q&A.

IFI IRISH SHORTS These screenings will include Clare Langan’s IFB-funded short State of Suspension. 6 minutes, Ireland, 2012.

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FROM DEC 13TH Miss Giddens is appointed to watch over two orphans, Miles and Flora, living in the grand and stately home, Bly House. The governess starts the job with enthusiasm and good intentions, but, after witnessing some unsettling events and hearing about the fate of her predecessor, Miss Giddens begins to have suspicions about the children, fearing they may be possessed. Jack Clayton’s adaptation of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw was recently cited by Martin Scorsese as one of the

scariest films ever made and could well be cinema’s greatest ghost story. Freddie Francis’ gleaming black and white cinematography, the nuanced script, mostly written by Truman Capote, and what is possibly the finest performance of Deborah Kerr’s stellar career, are some of the elements that combine to ensure that The Innocents endures as a potent and unsettling proposition.

IFI CLASSIC


FILM INFO:100 minutes, U.K., 1961, Black and White, D-CinemaNotes by Michael Hayden

THE INNOCENTS

(SYNGUÉ SABOUR)


FILM INFO:102 minutes, Afghanistan-France-Germany-U.K., 2012, Colour, D-CinemaNotes by Michael Hayden

In an unidentified Middle Eastern country ravaged by war, a woman in her 30s tends to her husband, once a celebrated warrior, now left in a coma after getting a bullet in the neck. She struggles to get him the medicine he needs and the mullah has told her that her husband will be well, but the woman is exhausted by scavenging and praying. She visits her aunt, a prostitute, who talks about the Persian myth of the patience stone, an object that will take on a person’s unhappiness

and suffering and shield them from pain. This provokes the woman to start a one way dialogue with her unconscious husband, offloading her fears, anxieties, and confessions.

Centred on an intensely moving performance from renowned Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, Atiq Rahimi’s adaptation of his own novel is a pertinent and poetic drama.

THE PATIENCE STONEFROM DEC 13TH

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FROM DEC 27TH A yachtsman is on a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean when his vessel is damaged in a collision with a shipping container. With his navigation equipment and radio wrecked in the accident, he must rely on a sextant and nautical maps, not to mention his own expertise and intuition, to guide him to safety. He embarks on a course that will bring him into conflict with the elements, the cruel sea appearing to wage a war against him alone. J.C. Chandor’s All is Lost is a dense thriller

about a man confronting his mortality, an audacious, near wordless film that forces viewers on to the edge of their seats from the opening scene and does not let up.

At its centre is a remarkable performance from Robert Redford, whose wizened, granite-like features reveal more about his unnamed character than dialogue could manage.


ALL IS LOST

FILM INFO:95 minutes, France-Germany-Ireland, 2012, Colour, D-CinemaNotes by Michael Hayden

While their parents have forgotten the man who lives in the moon, the children are comforted saying goodnight to him before they go to sleep. Yet Moon Man is too far away to know this, bored up in the sky all alone. He decides to hitch a ride on the tail of a passing comet, and lands on Earth. This is taken as an aggressive act by some grown-ups who have their own agenda in space, so Moon Man has to look to the children who love him for help. Faithfully adapted from Tomi Ungerer’s children’s

book (a documentary about the artist also screens at IFI this month; see page 9 for details) and a treat for all the family, Moon Man is the latest charming and distinctive animated feature from the Oscar nominated producers of The Secret of Kells, Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon.

MOON MAN

FROM DEC 27TH

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IFI CHRISTMAS CRACKERS

FROM DEC 13TH

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Struggling to find the funds necessary for the completion of a new cathedral, the main hopes of Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) rest on wealthy widow Mrs. Hamilton (Gladys Cooper). Prayers for guidance result in the appearance of suave angel Dudley (Cary Grant), who moves in mysterious ways to provide Henry with what he needs, rather than what he wants. His focus on the cathedral has resulted in his neglect of his family, wife Julia (Loretta Young) and daughter Debby (Karolyn Grimes, Zuzu in It’s a Wonderful Life). As Dudley spends time with Julia, Henry becomes jealous, and Dudley himself develops feelings for the mortal woman.

FILM INFO: 109 minutes, U.S.A., 1947, Black and White, D-CinemaNotes by Kevin Coyne

DEC 22ND (16.10) & 23RD (18.15)

Frank Capra’s evergreen classic is required viewing at this time of year. Famously a critical and commercial disappointment on its release in 1946, the film found a new lease of life on television, becoming a staple of Christmas scheduling. James Stewart is at his most likeable as family man and generous friend George Bailey, who, through cruel circumstance, finds himself in a dark place one Christmas Eve, preparing to throw himself off a bridge in his hometown of Bedford Falls. A higher power intervenes, and sends Angel (Second Class) Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers) to show George what life in Bedford Falls would have been like if he had never been born.

FILM INFO: 130 minutes, U.S.A., 1946, Black and White, D-CinemaNotes by Kevin Coyne

DEC 20TH (18.15) & 21ST (16.00)

MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS

Taking place over one year in the life of the Smith family as they look forward to the 1904 World’s Fair, Meet Me in St. Louis focuses on daughters Rose (Lucille Bremer), Esther (Judy Garland), Agnes (Joan Carroll), and ‘Tootie’ (a scene-stealing Margaret O’Brien). Esther’s blossoming relationship with the boy next door, John Truett (Tom Drake) is threatened when the girls’ father announces that the family is to move to New York, and matters come to a head at an elegant Christmas Eve ball. Featuring such beloved musical numbers as Under the Bamboo Tree, The Trolley Song, and Garland’s heartbreakingly poignant rendition of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, it’s no surprise that the film has become a Christmas classic.

FILM INFO: 113 minutes, U.S.A., 1944, Colour, D-Cinema Notes by Kevin Coyne

DEC 21ST (13.30) & 23RD (13.30)

Bob (Bing Crosby) and Phil (Danny Kaye) meet during the Second World War, where the latter persuades the former (a Broadway performer) that they should become an entertainment duo. Following the War, the two become a hit, eventually becoming musical producers. They then audition sisters Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy (Vera-Ellen), and are smitten, though Bob needs some persuading to reveal his feelings for Betty. The foursome ends up at a Vermont inn owned by the men’s former commanding officer, now fallen on hard times, and Bob puts out a call for their former division to come to the inn on Christmas Eve. With a treasury of songs by Irving Berlin, this is a must-see for fans of musicals.

FILM INFO: 120 minutes, U.S.A., 1954, Colour, D-CinemaNotes by Kevin Coyne

WHITE CHRISTMAS

THE BISHOP'S WIFE

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BRUCE DERNOne aspect of Bruce Dern’s performance as Woody Grant in Alexander Payne’s Nebraska is that he’s playing a character who is under-appreciated and taken for granted by those around him. There are parallels to a film career where contemporaries such as Jack Nicholson and Robert Redford graduated to be bona fide movie stars, while Dern carved out a reputation as a notable character actor, making his mark playing mostly bad guys, usually down the billing from bigger draws. David Letterman once asked him if he ever tired of playing “all these wackos and all these sickos”, to which Dern replied he didn’t recognise the characters as such, that “they're really just guys that kind of live just beyond where the buses run." A graduate of Lee Strasberg’s acting school, Dern worked on a number of Roger Corman films before appearing in some of the of the most vital and politically engaged films of the 1970s. With an overdue Oscar nomination for Coming Home arriving in 1979, Dern might have expected to find more leading roles. While few materialised, the recognition he received from directors such as James Foley and Quentin Tarantino was evidence that the work he’d done had not gone unnoticed. Dern is remarkable as Woody Grant, and it’s a role which won him the best actor award at Cannes this year. Nebraska may be the high point of his singular career, which the IFI celebrates in December with a selection of his finest films.

Introduction and film notes by Michael Hayden. See page 8 for notes on Bruce Dern’s latest feature, Nebraska, directed by Alexander Payne.

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BRUCE DERN

FILM INFO:95 minutes, U.S.A., 1971, Colour, D-Cinema

Based on Jeremy Larner’s expressionist novel, Jack Nicholson’s first credit as a director is this guerrilla film, a vivid portrait of campus life during an era of student protest. Hector (William Tepper) is a star player for the college basketball team conflicted both by the affair he is having with a married woman (Karen Black) and the radical politics spouted by his roommate Gabriel

(Michael Margotta), who is resisting the Vietnam draft and derides Hector for his commitment to sport above causes: “to you it’s poetry, to me it’s staying after school in your underwear.” Dern is excellent as the coach a generation removed from his charges, struggling to understand them.

DRIVE, HE SAID

DEC 14TH (14.00)

Jack Nicholson has delivered the most subtle performances of his career working with Bob Rafelson, and he’s the model of restraint here as depressive radio talk show host David playing against Dern’s motor mouth con artist Jason. They appear as brothers reunited in Atlantic City, where Jason has dragged David in an attempt to bring him in on his latest real estate scam.

Ellen Burstyn is terrific as Jason’s bitter aging beauty-queen girlfriend, László Kovács’ crafted cinematography exploits the eeriness surrounding the unfinished casino hotels, and the film amounts to a poetic and piercing critique of the American Dream.

THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS

FILM INFO:103 minutes, U.S.A., 1972, Colour, D-Cinema

DEC 16TH (18.30)

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BRUCE DERN

FILM INFO:127 minutes, U.S.A., 1978, Colour, 35mm

Dern received what is to date his only Academy Award nomination in 1979 for his role as Bob Hyde, a careerist Marine dutifully shipping out to Vietnam, while his wife Sally (Jane Fonda) finds purpose volunteering at a veterans hospital. Drawn to embittered paraplegic Luke Martin (Jon Voight), Sally has to choose between a man who believes in war and another disillusioned by his experiences.

Both of Dern’s co-stars won Oscars for their performances here, while Dern lost out on the Best Supporting Actor to Christopher Walken in The Deer Hunter, named Best Picture that year. Coming Home is a more sincere, realistic response to the war than Cimino’s epic, and a key film of the era.

COMING HOME

DEC 22ND (16.00)

FILM INFO:91 minutes, U.S.A., 1978, Colour, 35mm

Heavily referenced by Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive, Walter Hill’s enigmatic crime drama is a visceral, inventive gem. Dern appears as a hard-nosed cop used to getting his man who becomes obsessed with a daring getaway driver for hire (played by Ryan O’Neal) who evades him. The performances are mannered, the plot is unburdened by such things as back story or

subtext, the dialogue is sparse and the characters aren’t even named in the script. Yet these elements are pared back so its focus becomes LA’s buzzing neon environs and the thrilling chase sequences.

THE DRIVER

DEC 18TH (20.45)

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IFI LITHUANIAN FILM FOCUS

To coincide with Lithuania’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union this year, the IFI is pleased to collaborate with the Lithuanian Embassy in Ireland to present this programme reflecting the diversity and strength both in terms of style and content of the country’s film industry. The line-up consists of films all made in the last five years and the filmmakers come from three different generations. The features cover a wide range of themes and concerns including history (Vortex), identity (Vanishing Waves) and crime (Eastern Drift). Yet their titles are indicative of a common thread around a distinctive relationship with the natural world, and at the core of each of these films is a strong central character who provokes and enthrals the audience in equal measure. Opening the programme on December 6th is Vanishing Waves, the winner of best film at JDIFF this year and we are delighted that director Kristina Buožytė will attend the screening and take part in a Q&A afterwards. We look forward to an exciting weekend of Lithuanian cinema.

Introduction and film notes by Alice Butler.Supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to Ireland. The IFI would like to acknowledge the support of Arturas Jevdokimovas for his collaboration in assembling this programme.

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VANISHING WAVES

A sci-fi romance which draws on ideas and images reminiscent of Tarkovsky, Almodóvar and Michel Gondry, Buozytė’s sophomore feature is an intense, erotically charged twist on the star-crossed

lovers fable. Winner of Best Film at JDIFF this year, Vanishing Waves, co-written by Bruno Samper (who is also credited with developing the film’s impressive visual style) reveals what a significant talent Buožytė is. Depicting the experiences of medical researcher Lukas (Marius Jampolskis), who volunteers to take part in an experiment which aims to communicate with a young woman in a coma, the story convincingly generates a parallel reality which quickly begins to supersede Lukas’ own life.

(AURORA)

FILM INFO:124 minutes, Lithuania-France-Belgium, 2012, Subtitled, Colour, D-Cinema Notes by Alice Butler

DEC 6TH (18.15)

EASTERN DRIFT

A masterly but little-known filmmaker, Bartas first received critical acclaim for Three Days (1991), which won the FIPRESCI Prize for originality of style at Berlin, and The Corridor (1994), an outpour of anguish expressed by a mesmeric

cast. Eastern Drift is a more structured film than his previous work, in which Bartas takes the lead role as a drug-runner struggling with attempts to ditch his life of crime and settle down with his French girlfriend.

The film offers great performances, particularly from Klavdiya Korshunova’s prostitute on the run, and it retains the director’s talent for capturing a European underworld populated by those forever ignored by the mainstream.

(INDIGÈNE D’EURASIE)

FILM INFO:111 minutes, France-Russia-Lithuania, 2010, Subtitled, Colour, D-Cinema

DEC 8TH (16.00)

Accomplished director Gytis Lukšas’ most recent film is a convincing chronicle of the protracted and traumatic Soviet period of Lithuanian history. Shot in spartan monochrome, the story follows Juzik

(Giedrius Kiela), whose blissful early life in the countryside is ravaged by two tragic incidents.

After a stint in the military, Juzik leaves the bucolic setting of his home to work at a quarry, where he meets two women, both of whom bring chaos into his life from which he must find a way to emerge. This is a powerful, elemental film which unravels the cruel manner by which a corrupt system can impact the lives of its subjects.

(DUBURYS)

FILM INFO:140 minutes, Lithuania-Russia, 2009, Subtitled, Black and White, 35mmNotes by Alice Butler

DEC 7TH (13.00)

VORTEX

IFI LITHUANIAN FILM FOCUS

The director will attend this screening and take part in a Q&A.

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IFI EVENTS

IFI EVENTS

IRELAND ON SUNDAY WILD STRAWBERRIES ARCHIVE AT LUNCHTIMEIFI FAMILY MARY POPPINS ONCEFROM THE VAULTS IFI & SET COLLECTIVE70MM SCREENING FEAST YOUR EYES

Wild Strawberries is our bi-monthly film club for over 55s.

Cast off the pre- or post-festive blues with this little piece of cinematic sunshine from Scotland. Based on the smash hit stage play, it’s a kind of

Scottish Mamma Mia, using the songs of folk-pop group The Proclaimers. Young soldiers Davy and Ally have returned to Edinburgh after serving in Afghanistan. Love, job-seeking, laughter and tears all await them as they re-enter civilian life. Terrific performances are delivered from all round, including Peter Mullan and Jane Horrocks as Davy’s parents.

€3.85 per person including regular tea or coffee. Wild Strawberries is our film club for over 55s. If you are lucky enough to look younger, please don’t take offence if we ask your age.

DIRECTOR:Dexter Fletcher

FILM INFO:100 minutes, U.K., 2013

DEC 20TH & 27TH (11.00)

SUNSHINE ON LEITH

Ireland on Sunday is our monthly showcase for new Irish film.

Croi Trodach (A Fighting Heart) is the epic story of Johnny Kilbane (1889 – 1957), poet, politician and the longest reigning World

Featherweight Champion of all time. It’s a rags-to-riches story which begins on Achill Island, from where his ancestors originated, and ends in Cleveland, Ohio where Kilbane entertained and served his community until his untimely death in 1957.

Directed by Des Kilbane, himself a distant relation of Johnny, and co-authored by Andrew Gallimore, the film tells this remarkable life story using salvaged nitrate film of Kilbane’s World Title Fight in 1912.

The director Des Kilbane will participate in a post-screening Q&A.

(A FIGHTING HEART)

DIRECTOR:Des Kilbane

FILM INFO:56 minutes, Ireland, 2013

DEC 15TH (13.00)

CROÍ TRODACH

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Join us for free screenings of films from the IFI Irish Film Archive. Simply collect your tickets at the IFI Box Office. This month’s programme presents a seasonal selection of Wintry Wonders.

AMHARC ÉIREANN: AN NOLLAIG Christmas stories from Gael Linn’s newsreel. FILM INFO: 6 minutes, 1959-1963, Black and White

IRISH BASS FOR CHRISTMAS Niall Tóibín encourages foreign fisherfolk to come to Ireland for pre-Christmas Kerry angling holidays. FILM INFO: 23 minutes, 1969, Colour

IGLOO A THÓGAINT (BUILDING AN IGLOO) A film made by the Canadian Film Board and then translated into Irish to teach Irish schoolchildren the invaluable skill of igloo-building.FILM INFO: 10 minutes, 1949, Colour

BLESSED FRUITA woman seeks divine intervention when she thinks she's pregnant, but is unsure of the father. FILM INFO: 16 minutes, 1999, Colour

These screenings take place at lunchtime on Mondays and Wednesdays, with a double bill on Saturdays. Please check at the IFI Box Office or on www.ifi.ie for times.

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS DEC 29TH (11.00)

Whether it’s snowing outside or not, you and your family will love this heart-warming and brilliantly made documentary about the annual journey of the Emperor Penguins to their traditional breeding ground in Antarctica.

In freezing conditions and relying on only their instinct to guide them, these magnificent creatures leave their ocean home and head across ice into blizzards and gale force winds to find a mate. Accompanied by penguin song, they move and dance in a magnificent mating ritual. The females lay a single egg which the male penguin guards while the female returns all the way to the icy seas to find fish to feed the newly born young chicks.

You may think you know penguins from their many animated antics, but this documentary reminds us how truly magnificent they are. Voiced by Morgan Freeman.

Tickets: €4.80 per person, €14.40 family ticket (2 adults + 2 children/1 adult + 3 children)

DIRECTOR: Luc Jacquet

FILM INFO: 80 minutes, France, 2005

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From the Vaults is our monthly screening from the IFI Irish Film Archive.

Leslie Arliss’ acerbic precursor to The Quiet Man presents a similar home-coming scenario with a young

man, Michael Kissane (Kieron Moore) returning to a small Irish village (with Carlingford as the fictional Kilwirra). His welcome, however, is far from warm and is overshadowed by a two-year stint in prison following wrongful conviction for theft of the parish funds. He is looking for vindication from the villagers who are distracted from their shunning by two wealthy American visitors, a hot tip on the Grand National and a doomsday prophecy. This dark comedy exposes the hypocrisy of life in small-town Ireland and is a welcome British antidote to the more cloying representations made elsewhere.

DIRECTOR:Leslie Arliss

FILM INFO:85 minutes, U.K., 1949, Black and White, 35mm Notes by Sunniva O'Flynn

DEC 11TH (18.30)

SAINTS AND SINNERS

John Carney’s simple, lo-fi story about an Irish busker and a Czech immigrant meeting on the streets of Dublin and falling in love while making music together retains the sincerity and charm that marked it out on its initial release.

The film made stars out of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, particularly after Falling Slowly was declared the Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 2008.

The newly released documentary The Swell Season depicts what happened to the pair after the success of the film. Here is the chance to see where it all started for them.

The Swell Season opens at the IFI on December 6th (see page 9 for notes).

DIRECTOR:John Carney

FILM INFO:85 minutes, Ireland, 2006, Colour, 35mmNotes by Michael Hayden

DEC 10TH (18.30) & 14TH (16.15)

ONCE

Saving Mr. Banks depicts the fraught and dramatic negotiations between author P.L. Travers and Walt Disney in getting Mary Poppins to the screen. The IFI offers the opportunity to revisit the result of Disney’s persistence, a Technicolour spectacle

about a nanny bringing magic and song into the heart of an unhappy banker’s family.

Featuring an iconic performance from Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke’s striking cockney accent, Mary Poppins is a durable treat, justly revered for its unforgettable songs composed by the Sherman Brothers, hits that include A Spoonful of Sugar, Let's Go Fly a Kite, and, of course, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. See page 7 for notes on Saving Mr. Banks.

DIRECTOR:Robert Stevenson


DEC 8TH (15.40) & 9TH (18.15)

MARY POPPINS

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At the core of Trading Places is a question of values; the value of wheat, orange juice and pork belly which, Ralph Bellamy explains to Eddie Murphy’s Billy Ray Valentine, is used to make bacon, “which you might find in a bacon, lettuce and tomato

sandwich.” Such truths abound in a film about two commodities brokers who wager that someone off the street could run their company as effectively as their most senior employee, Dan Aykroyd’s pampered Winthorpe who, as anticipated, turns into a wreck when stripped of his wealth. A memorable lowpoint sees Winthorpe dressed as Santa drunkenly tucking into a stolen fillet of salmon on a bus-ride home.

This screening will include the short film DIY Pastry by Aoife McElwain and Mark Duggan of Forkful TV (www.forkful.tv), and will be followed by festive foodie fare in the IFI Café Bar (tickets €20).

DIRECTOR:John Landis

FILM INFO:116 minutes, U.S.A., 1983, Colour, Blu-rayNotes by Alice Butler

DEC 18TH (18.15)

TRADING PLACES

In 1943, Flight Lieutenant Roald Dahl wrote his first book for children, The Gremlins, about the mischievous creatures blamed by air force pilots for mechanical mishaps. Walt Disney attempted to turn it into an animated film, but while he was

unsuccessful, gremlins appeared in a number of Warner Brothers cartoons and Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, one of the best-known episodes of The Twilight Zone.

In Joe Dante’s blend of comedy and horror, the town of Kingston Falls is overrun when Billy Peltzer doesn’t follow the strict instructions on how to care for his Christmas present, a mogwai called Gizmo.

Tickets €12.

DIRECTOR:Joe Dante

FILM INFO:106 minutes, U.S.A., 1984, Colour, 70mmNotes by Kevin Coyne

DEC 17TH (18.30)

GREMLINS

Screening to launch the fourth edition of their quarterly publication on the relationship between cinema and its architecture, the IFI is pleased to collaborate once again with the SET Collective to present Billy Wilder’s extraordinary Sunset Boulevard (1950).

An incisive comment on Hollywood has-beens and the industry in general, the film centres on struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) who stumbles upon a ghostly mansion and inadvertently becomes embroiled with its owner, forgotten and deluded silent film star, Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson).

Deeply intelligent and full of humour, Sunset Boulevard is a powerful study on the uncanny relationship between the haunted house and the haunted mind.

DIRECTOR:Billy Wilder

FILM INFO:110 minutes, U.S.A., 1950, Black and White, D-Cinema

DEC 11TH (18.30)

SUNSET BOULEVARD

In partnership with:

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IFI BESTMEMBERSMohamed AbbasMohammed AlkabourGerman AlonsoStephanie AndersonPaul BatesPaul BatesonChristine BaynesTony BoucherMichael BoyleAlan BoyneEugene BradyPaul BranchJeannette Brazel Eileen Brennan FreemanAlan BuckleyAnthony ButlerLouisa CameronEoghan CassidyKris CizmekJohn ClinchShane CogginMark ColemanKatrina CollinsTara CooganAnthony Coote

Peter CullivanConor CumminsDominic CunniffeBrian DaltonJohn DalyMarie-Claire De StoppelaarPete DiceVladimir DotsenkoSarah DunneBrendan FayKen FletcherStewart FloodJohn FlynnCatherine FravaloMichael GazdaLorraine GeogheganGearóid GillettTim GrantAyten GuneyRoderick HanlonJason HickeyMark IonasFred JohnstonGretta JonesCarmel Keane

Claire KehoeEileen Kelly Ethna KennonAlastair KennyAlan KeranHelen LahertChris LaveryJulie le BrocquyDerek LeonardDavid LynchFidelma MaddenLinda MaguirePat and Eilish MahonMary McCabeEadaoin McCarthyAlison McConeMark McDonnellEoin McKennaChris McLoughlinSean MisteilWayne MorganCarol MulhallFintan MurrayDavid MurtaghCiaran NaughtonLinda Ni Chualladh

Conall Ó DuibhirFiann Ó NualláinMaurice O'DonnellKillian O'HigginsMarc O'NeillMel O'ReillyPetra PeliskovaDeirdre PepperMarian QuinnAoife Reaper ReynoldsJames RidgeSimon RouseDanielle RyanMichael RyanJim SalisburyMatthew SammonSeamus ShieldsEugene SlevinJoseph SmythPaddy StapletonDavid TarrantPaul TyrrellBill WhelanHeidi WrightPaolo Zaccagnini

The IFI would like to thank the following patrons for their valued support as Best Members. To become an IFI Best Member, see www.ifi.ie or call 01 679 5744.

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Stuck for Christmas gift ideas? Get inspired at the IFI Film Shop! From DVDs of your favourite Irish and international films, TV series box-sets and beautiful books, to handy gift cards, classic film posters and stocking fillers, you’ll find the ideal present in no time. We also have special Christmas offers and extended opening hours throughout December!

Don’t forget, if you’re an IFI Member, you’ll automatically get 10% off!* *Excludes gift vouchers/cards

If you have any queries, please ask our staff who will be happy to help you with all your shopping needs and specialist searches. IFI Film Shop, 6 Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 www.ifi.ie [email protected] 01 679 5727 @IFI_FilmShop

SPECIAL OFFERS FROM THE IFI IRISH FILM ARCHIVE:

GAA Gold DVDs from €6.99

3 for 2 on Seoda, Irish Destiny, The O'Kalem Collection,

GAA Football Gold & GAA Hurling Gold

ExTENDED OPENING HOURS FOR CHRISTMAS

ALSO OPEN CHRISTMAS EVE!

PICK UP THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT AT THE IFI FILM SHOP!

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R O B E R T R E D F O R DA L L I S L O S T

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B R I L L I A N T”E M M A P R I T C H A R D J O N E S - H U F F I N G T O N P O S T

“T H I S I S U LT I M AT E

R E D F O R D”M A R Y C O R L I S S - T I M E M A G A Z I N E

“U T T E R LY C O M P E L L I N G”H H H H H

G E O F F R E Y M A C N A B - T H E I N D E P E N D E N T

IN CINEMAS DECEMBER 26

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PUBLIC & CLUB SCREENINGSAround half of our films are classified by the Irish Film Classification Office, are open to the general public and do not require membership. Unclassified films require membership. You have two options: annual membership (€25 or €15 concessions) or daily membership (€1 per person each time you visit the cinema). For further details on membership, please go to www.ifi.ie or call our Box Office.

†The exclusivity status of films is correct at time of going to print

LOYALTY & MEMBERSHIPThe IFI Loyalty Card is free and allows you to earn points that you can later exchange for free cinema tickets. Membership gives you the chance to attend a free preview screening every single month and discounts when you spend at the IFI. Go to www.ifi.ie or call our Box Office for details. Please remember: no card, no points!

PARKINGOn presentation of your IFI cinema ticket, the Fleet Street Car Park will offer IFI patrons a special rate of €5.00 for 3 hours’ parking. Simply present the cinema ticket along with the parking ticket when you pay at the cash desk, prior to collecting your car.

BOX OFFICE & PRICESADMISSION FEESThese apply to regular IFI screenings and do not necessarily apply to special events or festivals. Reduced admission fees for annual members and their guests are detailed in brackets.

MONDAY – FRIDAY12.30pm to 6pm €7.60 (€6.90) Conc. €5.90 (€5.40)6pm to 10pm €9.00 (€7.90) Conc. €7.60 (€6.90)

SATURDAY – SUNDAY*12.30pm to 4pm €7.60 (€6.90) Conc. €5.90 (€5.40)4pm to 10pm €9.00 (€7.90) Conc. €7.60 (€6.90)

*including Bank Holidays

Credit card bookings can be taken between 12.30pm and 9.00pm on (01) 679 3477 or 24-hours at www.ifibooking.ie. Online and telephone bookings are subject to a booking fee of 50c per ticket to a maximum of €1 per transaction. There are no booking fees on any ticket purchase made in person at the IFI Box Office.

All cinema screens at the IFI are wheelchair accessible. If you are a wheelchair user, please let the IFI Box Office know at least 30 minutes in advance of a screening (01 679 5744 /[email protected]). To enable us to determine your requirements and assist you fully, we regret that we are unable to offer wheelchair bookings online.

CONTACT

YOUR VISITTO THE IFI

Films start at the times stated in this programme. Latecomers may be refused admission after the start of the feature.

LATECOMERS POLICY

IFI BOARDPatron: Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland Board Members: Lenny Abrahamson, Paddy Breathnach, Michael Collins, Maeve Connolly, Eve-Anne Cullinan (Chairperson), Sheila de Courcy, Garry Hynes, Neil Jordan, Margaret Kelleher, Trish Long, Kevin Moriarty, Patsy Murphy, Dr. Harvey O’Brien, Dearbhla Walsh.

Irish Film Institute, 6 Eustace Street,Temple Bar, Dublin 2

Box Office: (01) 679 3477, Web: www.ifi.ie

Facebook.com/irishfilminstitute Facebook.com/IFICafe

@IFI_Dub@IFI_Filmshop

R O B E R T R E D F O R DA L L I S L O S T

N E V E R G I V E U P

“O F F T H E S C A L E

B R I L L I A N T”E M M A P R I T C H A R D J O N E S - H U F F I N G T O N P O S T

“T H I S I S U LT I M AT E

R E D F O R D”M A R Y C O R L I S S - T I M E M A G A Z I N E

“U T T E R LY C O M P E L L I N G”H H H H H

G E O F F R E Y M A C N A B - T H E I N D E P E N D E N T

IN CINEMAS DECEMBER 26

PRESENTS

IN CINEMAS DECEMBER 6G

EMMA THOMPSONIS P.L. TRAVERS

TOM HANKSIS WALT DISNEY

WHERE HER BOOK ENDED THE REAL STORY BEGAN.

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D I S N E Y P R E S E N T S

IN CINEMAS NOVEMBER 29

www.disneymovies.ie

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ifi december programme

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