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| Gold opens this year's Capital Irish Film Festival |
From our friends at Sola Nua...
The ninth annual Capital Irish Film Festival kicks off on Feb. 5 with Niall Heery’s Gold, a comedy that has won the hearts of audiences since its premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh in July. Showing at the E Street Theater, Gold is an offbeat comedy with dramatic depth starring David Wilmot (Calvary) and Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones). A father returns after a 12-year absence to find his girlfriend, the mother of his daughter, has married his self-important gym teacher.
CIFF continues at the Goethe-Institut from Feb. 6-8 with An Bronntanas (The Gift) a thriller in Irish and English set off the West Coast of Ireland. In An Bronntanas a lifeboat crew must decide between following the law and saving their village. It’s a favorite of Irish Breaking Bad fans and is Ireland’s submission to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film. Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank, an eccentric musical odyssey, that premiered at Sundance will head the program on Feb. 7. Also that day is a special program of music and moving image. This unique concert presentation of work by Irish composers, filmmakers and media artists is also a contest that will be judged by the audience. The program includes heartwarming animated opera, an edgy take on Irish dance and abstract video art with ambient electronics.
Award-winning feature documentary Blood Fruit tells the story of Irish supermarket workers who created national news by refusing to sell produce from South Africa during the Apartheid years. It will be followed by a director’s talk with Sinead O’Brien on Feb. 8.
Docudrama A Terrible Beauty, which offers a fresh perspective on the bid for Irish independence known as the Easter Rising of 1916, will close the festival on Feb. 8. Afterwards there’s a closing reception with the producer of the film, Dave Farrell.
Visit www.solasnua.org/ciff to download a brochure or view our complete lineup and watch trailers. A variety of passes and single screening tickets are available at http://bit.ly/solastix.
The Capital Irish Film Festival is a production of Washington-based Solas Nua, the only U.S. organization dedicated exclusively to contemporary Irish Arts. It is sponsored by Culture Ireland.
Gold Synopsis: The Irish Times calls Gold "the sort of picture you want to hug." Gold tells the story of Ray who returns to his hometown to visit his dying father and reconnect with Abbie, the daughter he abandoned more than a decade before. These days Abbie is being groomed for athletic success by her highly competitive stepfather who just happens to be Ray’s former teacher. Still, Ray does his best to reconnect with his daughter and ex-wife, but things don't always go to plan and he risks ruining everyone's life.
Gold Director: Niall Heery is a writer-director based in Dublin, Ireland. He won the Breakthrough Talent Award at the Irish Film & Television Awards for his first feature film Small Engine Repair. In addition to directing Gold he co-wrote the screen play with Brendan Heery. We are pleased to announce that Niall Heery will attend CIFF 2015. He'll be available for an audience meet and greet after the screening.
CIFF Special Guests: Niall Heery (Gold, Director); Sinead O'Brien (Blood Fruit, Director); Dave Farrell (A Terrible Beauty, Executive Producer); Colin Farrell (A Terrible Beauty, Project Manager and Actor).
