July 30th 2019: As the Irish Film Institute (IFI) embarks on a landmark refurbishment of its two biggest cinema spaces, its August schedule sees the visit of an internationally bestselling author, new releases from two masters of modern cinema, and the return of one of Dublin’s most beloved film festivals.
The IFI’s refurbishment works, which will see a wholesale renovation of Cinemas 1 and 2 including new seats with increased leg room, and new carpets and acoustic paneling, are scheduled to begin during the second half of the month and will result in a reduced number of daily screenings. However, the Institute will remain open throughout this time to showcase the best of Irish and international cinema, and allow audiences and visitors to enjoy a drink and a bite to eat in the IFI Café Bar or on its sun-soaked outdoor terrace.
On Saturday 17th at 20.00, the IFI is proud to welcome author George R.R. Martin for a very special sold-out screening of Fred M Wilcox’s seminal 1956 sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet in 35mm. Presented in association with Dublin 2019: An Irish WorldCon, the film remains one of the classic science fiction movies of the 1950s and will screen in a splendid CinemaScope print.
Following the screening, George R.R. Martin will be in conversation with Maura McHugh of Dublin 2019: An Irish WorldCon about Forbidden Planet and the influence such works have had on his own writing and career.
During the month, two legends of modern cinema return to our screens with films that debuted to ecstatic receptions at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. On Wednesday 14th, Quentin Tarantino unveils his 9th feature, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. Boasting an all-star cast led by Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie and Al Pacino, the film sees a faded television actor (DiCaprio) and his stunt double (Pitt) strive to achieve fame and success in the late 1960s during Hollywood’s Golden Age. The film will screen in 35mm on release.
The incomparable Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar is back with Pain and Glory from Friday 23rd, a drama centred on a once-feted film director consumed by memories of an impoverished yet idyllic childhood spent with his mother, played in flashback by Penélope Cruz. Almodóvar regular Antonio Banderas, who won Best Actor at Cannes for his performance, stars alongside Cruz.
The main programme of the GAZE Film Festival returns to the IFI this August for the first time since 2011. Over the course of the Bank Holiday weekend, the IFI and the festival will present three very different films including a centenary screening of Richard Oswald’s Weimar-era dramaDifferent from the Others, accompanied by a live score by Morgan Cooke; Daniel Day-Lewis’s breakthrough role in My Beautiful Laundrette; and John Butler’s delightful homegrown coming-of-age comedy Handsome Devil.
Headlining the month’s new Irish releases is Andrew McConnell and Garry Keane’s critically acclaimed documentary Gaza, an immersive look at an eloquent and resilient group of people living under siege in the heart of the Gaza Strip. The film, which features breathtaking cinematography, a beautiful orchestral score, and masterful editing, won the Dublin Critics’ Circle Award for Best Documentary at this year’s Dublin International Film Festival. The opening night screening on Friday at 18.30 will be followed by a Q&A with the directors, hosted by Deirdre O’Kane.
Other new releases in August include Harry Wootliff’s Only You; Ritesh Batra’s charming Indian romance Photograph; Isabella Eklöf’s controversial Holiday; Christian Petzold’s Transit; and Joanna Hogg’s hotly anticipated The Souvenir, starring Honor Swinton Byrne, Tom Burke and Tilda Swinton.
August is also an especially strong month for re-releases with a number of classics returning to the big screen including Spike Lee’s essential Oscar-nominated drama Do The Right Thing; Chan-Wook Park’s masterpiece Oldboy; Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious, starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman; plus a one night only screening of Apocalypse Now: Final Cut, Francis Ford Coppola’s masterful adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
The IFI Café Bar’s great value Meal Deal continues on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays where guests can avail of an IFI Café Bar main course and any standard screening ticket for just €19.Terrace @ IFI is now open throughout the summer with a new food and drinks menu; the Terrace’s resident DJs supply beats every Friday evening from 19.00.