Galway Film Fleadh 2024

This exciting programme of premiere live-action drama shorts explores different narrative structures. We see shorts that stick to classical narrative storytelling, while others play with the form and method of their storytelling.

This programme includes work from debut directors as well as more established filmmakers.

Film Titles: Farfalle; Weight; The Crucible; Florence; THE LEPER; Why the Sun & Moon Live in the Sky

*Please note, this programme touches on adult topics at times and is not suitable for younger audiences.

Director(s): Mika Gustafson

Writer(s): Mika Gustafson, Alexander Öhrstrand

Producer(s): NIMA YOUSEFI

Cast: Bianca Delbravo, Dilvin Asaad, Safira Mossberg, Ida Engvoll, Mitja Sirén, Marta Oldenburg

In a working-class area of Sweden, sisters Laura (16), Mira (12) and Steffi (7), get by on their own, left to their own devices by an absent mother. With summer on the way and no parents around, life is wild and carefree, vivacious and anarchic. But, when social services call a meeting, Laura has to find someone to impersonate their mom, or the girls will be taken into foster care, and separated. Laura keeps the threat a secret, so as not to worry her younger sisters. As the moment of truth draws closer, new tensions arise, forcing the three sisters to negotiate the fine line between the euphoria of total freedom and the harsh realities of growing up.

Language(s): Swedish

In this selection of shorts we highlight the day-to-day trauma and second-hand baggage we all carry from our relationships and family.

This program includes work from debut directors as well as more established filmmakers.

Film Titles: The Painted Man; Woodlice; Return; Fairview Park; For the Land is Mine; Conveyance; Dead On Arrival

*Please note, this programme touches on the topic of violence and gore and is not suitable for younger audiences.

Director(s): Laurence Durkin, Kevin Brennan

Writer(s): Kevin Brennan, Laurence Durkin

Producer(s): Kevin Brennan, Laurence Durkin

TerraForma is the story of how the remote desert island of Ascension was 'terraformed' by Victorian scientists into a tropical paradise.

The Victorian naturalists who transformed this island reshaped the ecology to fit the political and economic demands of their society. The new environment, seemingly a paradise, was in fact a mirror image of their ambition, their empire, and their understanding of the world. Many believe that future plans to geo-engineer our planet, or terraform others, would follow the same pattern.

TerraForma asks what the island's story might teach us about the fate of our planet, in a future where terraformed landscapes and human-engineered environments may come to warp our understanding of 'nature' itself.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Adriana Yañez

Writer(s): Adriana Yañez

Producer(s): Gal Buitoni, Luiz Ferraz

This documentary presents a group of women who are close to their 60s and share a common past: they were the base of the first women's soccer team in Brazil. When they started to play, football was forbidden for women.

The experiences they had during their trips around the world playing football in the ’80s and ’90s, however, did not guarantee them any notoriety. Their stories were never told, and the financial return they received at the time was negligible.

The film intimately follows the routine of each one of them in the present day, reflecting on where the dreamed plans went, and how they deal with memory, choices and aging.

Post show discussion will follow.

Language(s): Portuguese, English

Director(s): Jacob Perlmutter, Manon Ouimet

Producer(s): Signe Byrge Sørensen, Manon Ouimet, Jacob Perlmutter

30 years after a chance encounter, Maggie and Joel, aged 75 and 84, are still very much in love. But their relationship is not without complications. Joel Meyerowitz is a world-renowned photographer with major exhibitions and 40 books to his name. British-born Maggie Barrett is a talented, but less recognised, artist and writer. In the shadow of mortality, each with a long and dramatic life behind them, the hard truths of life provoke in Maggie and Joel an attempt to find a shared inner peace while there is still time.

Language(s): English

This thrilling selection features the best in new international short filmmaking from around the world. These dramas, documentaries and animations were previously screened at TIFF, SXSW, and Sundance, and we are honoured to be hosting their Irish Premieres.

Film Titles: On the 8th Day; ENCHUKUNOTO (The Return); Friends on the Outside; Tennis, Oranges; Chickenshit; Lullaby; The masterpiece

Director(s): Vanessa Hope

Producer(s): Ted Hope, Vanessa Hope, Cassandra Jabola, Ivan Orlic, Sylvia Feng

With unprecedented access to Taiwan’s first female president, Tsai Ing-wen, director Vanessa Hope crafts a fascinating portrait of Taiwan and the country’s struggle to preserve its hard-won democracy.

Invisible Nation is a living account of Tsai’s tightrope walk as she balances the hopes and dreams of her nation between the colossal geopolitical forces of the U.S. and China. Archive footage and TV news excerpts illustrate the long history of this constantly colonized island, and provide context for the current political situation.

Language(s): English, Mandarin Chinese

Director(s): Chaysen Beacham

Writer(s): Bill Haney

Producer(s): Chaysen Beacham

Cast: Finn Haney, William Chris Sumpter, Katherine Laheen, Paul Guilfoyle, Ross Partridge

On his 18th birthday, TJ receives a key from his estranged ex-con father. The key unlocks a timeworn ’68 convertible, and a challenge to drive across America – in the hopes of repairing his sense of family. Supported by a band of loveable oddballs, and held together by humour and grit, TJ discovers that sometimes the longest road is the fastest way home.

Language(s): English

Director(s): Paul Kennedy

Writer(s): Paul Kennedy

Producer(s): Aideen Hand

Cast: Ciaran McMenamin, Pat Shortt, Judith Roddy, Gerard Jordan,Kathy Kiera Clarke

When Young Henry’s wealthy uncle starts courting “the Widow” Maureen Tweed, he starts to fear that he’ll be written out of Old Henry’s will. Conspiring with his wife, Pauline – and a chauffeur with a chequered past, known as Gerry the Wheels – Young Henry puts a plan in motion to make sure that the Widow Tweed never sees a penny of the inheritance he thinks is rightfully his. However, when Pauline’s guilt threatens to expose them, fear and distrust starts to seed within the trio. Not knowing who can trust whom, their dirty deed leads to a series of events that there is no coming back from, for any of them.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Terry McMahon

Writer(s): Leke Akinorwo

Producer(s): Leke Akinorwo, Terry McMahon

Cast: Moshood Fattah, Yakubu Muhammad, Sani Danja, Maryam Booth, Maryam Ibraheem Yarkasa, Chidi Nechi

Naïve, idealistic, and passionate; when Tony is sent to teach in Northern Nigeria, he believes he can transcend all cultural differences through his commitment to the children. But, when a girl collapses in his class and there are no female teachers to help the girl, Tony has no idea that his life-saving intervention might cost him his own life.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English, Hausa

Director(s): Sandy Kennedy

Writer(s): Sandy Kennedy

Producer(s): Sandy Kennedy

Cast: Barry McGovern, Ruth McGill

At Sea is a hypnotic, hallucinatory reverie at the edge of liminal space. It is a visceral human experience, a rupture, a rhapsody of sound and image, moving beyond the sensory, to be carried deep in the body.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Ciaran Cassidy

Producer(s): Colum McKeown, Maria Horgan

Housewife of the Year tells the story of Ireland’s treatment of women through the prism of a unique, surreal, live-televised competition, that has to be seen to be believed. A generation of Irish women competed in front of a live audience for the title of "Housewife of the Year".

The former contestants share their direct experiences of marriage bars, lack of contraception, Magdalene laundries, financial vulnerability, boredom and shame, and of course, of being contestants in the competition. It is a poignant, often hilarious, uplifting story of a resilient generation of women, and how they changed a country.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Anthony CHEN

Producer(s): Anthony Chen, Meng Xie

Cast: Haoran Liu, Dongyu Zhou, Chuxiao Qu

Three lost souls find tentative connection in a frozen world in this delicate and lyrical poem about alienation and the nostalgia of youth. Set in the cold winter of Yanji, a town on China's northeastern border, The Breaking Ice follows the blossoming relationship between three young adults in their 20s. The young urbanite Haofeng, visiting from Shanghai, feels lost and adrift. By chance, he goes on a tour led by Nana, a charming guide who instantly fascinates him, and introduces him to Xiao, a personable but frustrated restaurant worker. Over the course of a weekend, the three quickly bond as they confront their individual traumas, and their desires slowly thaw.

Presented in collaboration with the East Asia Film Festival Ireland (EAFFI)

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): Mandarin Chinese, Korean

Director(s): Haroula Rose

Writer(s): Coburn Goss, Haroula Rose

Producer(s): Liz Cardenas, Mary Munez, Ian Keiser

Cast: John Ashton, Becky Ann Baker, Ivy O'brien, Rob Huebel, Chandra Russell, Josh Radnor

The Landrys gather for the weekend to fix up their family home in Chicago. Graham (Josh Radnor) really wishes his life was in a better place, especially since he’s reconnected with his college crush, Dana (Chandra Russell). Sue (Becky Ann Baker) is looking forward to the next chapter in her life when an incident at her retirement party forces her to question things, including her marriage to complacent Roy (John Ashton). Then, Will (Rob Huebel), the television star, blows in. What starts out as a benign family get-together ends up spiraling out of control as some bombshell news threatens to tear everything apart.

Post show discussion will follow.

Language(s): English

Director(s): Pedro Freire

Writer(s): Pedro Freire

Producer(s): Tatiana Leite

Cast: Yara de Novaes, Juliana Carneiro da Cunha, Carol Duarte, Átila Bee

In Rio de Janeiro, 1997, Malu, a 50-year-old unemployed and bipolar actress, cares for her elderly mother, Lili, in a favela. Joana, Malu's estranged daughter, returns, sparking conflict. After a fight over Joana's career choice, Malu is left alone. Years later, diagnosed with a severe condition, Joana returns to care for Malu. They reconcile on a journey to São Paulo, finding peace in their relationship. World Premiere Sundance 2024.

Language(s): Portuguese

Director(s): Nick Kelly

Writer(s): Nick Kelly

Producer(s): Nick Kelly

Cast: Nick Kelly, Seán Millar, Kevin Anderson, Pauline Bourdon, James Dove, Tom Dunne, Dermot Lynch, Olivia O’Leary, Claire O’Neill, Alexia Kelly

Veteran musician and filmmaker Nick Kelly sets off to cycle from his home in Dublin to the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, carrying all his gear on his bike and playing shows en route, to prove it’s possible to tour live music without driving. He's accompanied by his long-suffering friend and musical partner Seán Millar, who tracks Nick’s progress by bus, and joins him onstage each night. The day they finally played Glastonbury Nick turned 60, officially outliving his famous politician father. So, while inspired by environmental concerns, The Song Cycle is also a story about other forms of sustainability too. A funny, moving and thought-provoking film about Mother Nature, Father Time and Brothers on the Road.

Post show discussion will follow.

Language(s): English

Director(s): Clair Titley

Producer(s): Megumi Inman, Andee Ryder, Ian Bonhôte

This true story of a Japanese reality TV star left naked in a room for more than a year, tasked with filling out magazine sweepstakes to earn food and clothing, prompts innumerable questions about our culture of oversharing.

Before the onslaught of reality television in the West, there was an ominous harbinger in Japan of what was to come in our oversharing-obsessed culture. The Contestant traces the experience of aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, nicknamed Nasubi, who unwittingly became an extreme case study.

Language(s): Japanese, English

Director(s): Leticia Tonos Paniagua

Writer(s): Leticia Tonos Paniagua, Junior Rosario, Rodolfo Báez

Producer(s): Miguel Tejerina Alba, Leticia Tonos Paniagua, Jalsen Santana, Rafael Elías Muñoz

Cast: Jalsen Santana, Sophie Gaëlle, Paz Vega

In a world devastated by chemical warfare, with a dwindling human population that beckons the spectre of its extinction, a lone scientist plans to ensure a future. In seeking an antidote to the sterility that has blighted the last vestiges of the male human population, conservation biologist Tania, in tandem with Vida, an artificial intelligence system, has found a symbiotic relationship. The arrival of Azarias, a mysterious and troubled traveller, disrupts the solitary environment Tania has built. But as the two become more relaxed in each other’s presence, Vida feels her own relationship with Tania – and by turn her sense of belonging – is threatened.

Language(s): Spanish

Director(s): Oliver Schwehm

Writer(s): Oliver Schwehm, Catherine Bainbridge

Producer(s): Lisa M. Roth, Markus HIlss

Cast: Steppenwolf (John Kay, Nick St. Nicholas, Michael Monarch), Mars Bonfire, Alice Cooper, Klaus Meine, Taj Mahal, Cameron Crowe

On a magic carpet ride from Germany to Toronto to California, we follow the evolution of the band Steppenwolf, in a time when music was taking a cue from the darkening world around it. One of the most iconic and enigmatic bands in the history of rock music, their song “Born to Be Wild” opened the cult movie “Easy Rider” and became an anthem for an entire generation.

Director(s): Damian McCarthy

Writer(s): Damian McCarthy

Producer(s): Katie Holly, Laura Tunstall, Evan Horan, Mette-Marie Kongsved

Cast: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Steve Wall, Jonathan French

When Dani is brutally murdered at the remote house that she and her husband Ted are renovating, everyone suspects a patient from the local mental health institution, where Ted is a doctor. Soon after the killing, the suspect is found dead.

A year later, Ted is living in the half-renovated house with his new girlfriend, Yana, who is unsettled living there, believing Dani's ghost haunts the house. It's then that Dani's blind twin sister, Darcy, pays them an unexpected visit. Darcy, a psychic and collector of haunted items, has arrived believing that there was more to her sister's murder than people know, and she has brought with her the most dangerous item from her cursed collection to help her exact revenge.

Caveat director Damian McCarthy once again proves his skills as a connoisseur of fear.

Winner of the Midnighter Audience Award at SXSW.

Language(s): English

This collection of premiere shorts delves into the development of Irish characters, emphasising their inner strength and resilience.

This programme includes work from debut directors as well as more established filmmakers.

Film Titles: Nay Day; Medicinal; Bunker Baby; All That's Carried; Earmark; One More Round; Wife of the Future

*Please note, this programme touches on violent topics and is not suitable for younger audiences.

Director(s): Kirk Hendry, Neil Boyle

Writer(s): Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Producer(s): Camilla Deakin, Ruth Fielding, Stephen Roelants, Sarah Radclyffe, Barnaby Spurrier

Cast: Sally Hawkins, Cillian Murphy, Raffey Cassidy, Aaron MacGregor, Ken Watanabe

This family animation, based on the best-selling novel by Michael Morpurgo, Kensuke’s Kingdom, features an impeccable voice cast including Sally Hawkins, Cillian Murphy and Ken Watanabe. A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime. Excitement turns to terror when a violent storm erupts and Michael and his dog, Stella, are swept overboard. They are washed up on a remote island, terrified and struggling to survive. One day, Michael discovers he is not alone when he is confronted by a mysterious Japanese man who has lived there secretly since World War Two, angry that Michael has arrived. However, as dangerous invaders threaten their fragile island paradise, Michael and the old man, Kensuke, join forces to save their secret world.

Language(s): English, Japanese

RECORDING THE TROUBLES interrogates the dissemination of information in the media during the Troubles. In association with aemi.

The Memories of Others Uncovering Japanese photographer Akihiko Okamura’s extraordinary work in Ireland during the Troubles, and the artistic and emotional impact of its recent rediscovery. This film was made in collaboration with Photo Museum Ireland, Dublin, and the Akihiko Okamura Archive, Tokyo.

Few Can See (2024) Few Can See examines the legacy of broadcast censorship of the conflict in the north of Ireland and political movements during this era. The project attempts to recreate material absent from state archives due to censorship.

Director(s): Francesco G. Raganato

Writer(s): Alessandro d’Ottavi

Producer(s): Mattia Mor, Livio Basoli

A heartfelt documentary investigates the enduring bond between the city of Genoa and its historic football club, Genoa FC. It celebrates the unwavering passion of its fans as a timeless testimony to their loyalty and community spirit. The documentary highlights the passion of the fans as an act of faith, regardless of scores and results. Through interviews with iconic figures such as Rodrigo Palacio, Domenico Criscito and Diego Milito, the film celebrates Italy’s oldest fan base, describing their bond as “a disease” that unites generations. The match between the legends of Genoa, in an empty Luigi Ferrari Stadium, evokes epic, romantic memories.

Language(s): Italian

Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is proud to present the World Premiere of an exciting selection of new Irish short films funded under the agency’s Focus Shorts and Frameworks short film schemes. The Frameworks projects included in this line-up are co-funded by Screen Ireland and RTÉ.

Naked Lights, One more Round, Mero, Cat and Mouse, Ogham, Tadhana, Peat, I Can't Go On, Turnaround, Retirement Plan

Please note, a number of films in this line-up are only suitable for a mature audience.

Conor Walsh wrote his heart in minimalist piano compositions. Described in the press as ‘meticulously crafted’ and ‘genuinely spellbinding’, his work came from a practice of non-directedness, guiding us only to transcendence from our quotidian existence. It pulses with the influences that went into its creation – the windings of the river Moy, the human traffic of a small Mayo town, the migratory movements of swallows, a creaking 200-year-old hotel, and the maternal melodies of his childhood.

In this musical reverie, director Keith Walsh (When All is Ruin Once Again), celebrates the work Conor left behind when he died tragically of a heart attack in 2016, aged 36, just when his music was beginning to flow out into the world.

Post show discussion will follow

When All Is Ruin Once Again was the Winner of the Best Cinematography Award at the Galway Film Fleadh.

Language(s): English

Director(s): Keith Walsh
Producer(s): Jill Beardsworth

In this solo animated feature by Denver Jackson, Natomi is living a fearful life in a post-apocalyptic world consumed by war, when her father, Terric, transports her to a magical world called Esluna. There, Natomi encounters the queen, Idena, who fears Natomi will take her place as ruler. Guided by her childhood companion, a stuffed bear named Miito and a mysterious old warrior, Bataar, Natomi must face Idena and find the god of this world, her father.

Language(s): English

Director(s): Denver Jackson
Writer(s): Denver Jackson
Producer(s): Nicole Sorochan
Cast: Daniel Acosta, Swann Grey, Chelsea Krause, Lauren Kong, Breanna Pearl, Max Lindsey

Museums and institutions in Ireland and abroad are actively decolonizing their collections and practices – partly because of Rhodes Must Fall and Black Lives Matter campaigns, and partly because of the emergence of a more progressive approach to dealing with problematic histories. Iarsmaí (Remnants) looks at Ireland's role as a colony, and as a colonising influence in turn, through the issue of stolen skulls in TCD, and the presence of looted indigenous material from Australia in the Ulster Museum in Belfast, and from Benin City in the National Museum in Dublin. The film features the return of 13 stolen skulls from TCD to the island of Inishbofin, off the Galway coast.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English, Irish

Director(s): Damian McCann
Writer(s): Damian McCann, Sarah Gordon
Producer(s): Deaglán Ó Mocháin
Cast: Ciarán Walsh, Eithne Verling, Ola Majekodunmi

Mickey Richards, a delusional, aging rocker who never realised his dreams, lives a care-free, ‘rock and roll’ life. Spending his nights in bars bragging about his glory days to a group of youths. And then there’s Gina Fox, the young bartender…

Mickey’s life has only amounted to a failed marriage and a neglected relationship with his musically talented son, Alan. Mickey decides it’s time he shows Alan what he’s been missing. When Alan is introduced to Gina through a decorating job at her house, it means competition for Gina’s heart. This, and Mickey’s attempts to impress Alan, only creates an even bigger wedge between the two of them.

It’s time for Mickey to wake up, and stop living in that Dreamtown.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Steven McKenna
Writer(s): Steven McKenna
Producer(s): Steven McKenna
Cast: Anthony Murphy, Cian Hyland, Michelle Lucy

Damian, tormented by grief, journeys from Mexico City seeking solace. Across Mexico's landscapes, he confronts his past and grapples with guilt over Dalia, his late girlfriend. Observing how others cope with mortality, he seeks acceptance. Immersed in diverse traditions and cultural rituals, Damian finds a guiding compass to navigate his mourning process. Engaging in conversations amidst Mexico's ever-shifting landscapes, he yearns for solace. This inward journey amid vivid hues ultimately reveals the profound compassion and wisdom of Mexico's people. An accomplished feature debut from Andres Arochi.

Language(s): English, Spanish

Director(s): Andres Arochi
Writer(s): Andres Arochi
Producer(s): Carla Mooney, Santiago Tron, Delwyn Mooney
Cast: Dolores Heredia, Claudette Maillé, Daniella Valdez, Rodrigo Azuela

A filmmaker turns his attention to the remote valley in which he was raised. The result is a love letter to a people and a place. Using both digital and Super 8 footage, the film acts as a time capsule to a changing valley and country. Over the course of a single year, we examine love, loss, sheep racing and beekeeping.

A meditation on the impermanence and beauty of life, Gleann is a portrait of a way of being.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Jesse Gilbert
Producer(s): Jesse Gilbert

Christchurch, New Zealand 1979. Angus, alone for a fortnight with his world-weary father, is drawn into the underground post-punk music scene. Desperate to fit in with this magnetic but fickle subculture, Angus distances himself from his true friends and fabricates his musical abilities. Caught out by his own deceit, he must become the musician he pretended to be. With the support of his friends, especially the talented Kirsten, Angus navigates self-doubt, derision, harmful behaviour and a family tragedy to take the stage for the first time.

Head South was the opening night film at IFFR.

Language(s): English

Director(s): Jonathan Ogilvie
Writer(s): Jonathan Ogilvie
Producer(s): Jonathan Ogilvie, Antje Kulpe
Cast: Stella Bennett, Marton Csokas, Ed Oxenbould

Director(s): Aoife Kelleher

Producer(s): Cormac Hargaden, Trisha Canning

Cast: Mary Robinson

Mrs Robinson tells Mary’s story, in her own words, for the very first time – illuminating battles for justice and equality over half a century, on the streets, in the courts, at the ballot box, and in backroom corridors of power.

A reforming constitutional lawyer and senator in her early career, Mary Robinson detonated an electoral earthquake by winning the Irish Presidential vote in 1990. Later, as a crusading UN High Commissioner, she built a lasting legacy, fearlessly challenging perpetrators of human rights abuses all over the world. To this day, she exerts power and leadership as the Chair of The Elders: the independent group of global leaders (founded by Nelson Mandela) who work for peace, justice and human rights. As an influential global voice, Mary Robinson is also spearheading Project Dandelion: a women-led climate justice campaign.

Post show discussion will follow

Supported by University of Galway

Language(s): English

Director(s): Maisam Ali

Writer(s): Maisam Ali

Producer(s): Saroj Kherotia, Thanikachalam SA

Cast: Harish Khanna

Somewhere between the end of autumn and the start of winter, the absent one returns home to a small town in the mountains. Now in his 50s, always away and late, having missed his brother’s funeral, he lingers at the threshold of the old home - what else can he attain other than delaying one more night of his arrival.

Language(s): Ladakhi, Hindi

Director(s): Désirée Nosbusch

Writer(s): Lot Vekemans

Producer(s): Alexandra Hoesdorff, Désirée Nosbusch, Petra Goedings, Maaike Benschop, Vivien Müller-Rommel

Cast: Tim Roth, Trine Dyrholm

In her debut film, Désirée Nosbusch teams up with award winning Tim Roth and Trine Dyrholm, as Lucas and Edith, who have been previously married, but then estranged for ten years - since Lucas left. Prompted by a mysterious summons from Edith, they reunite at a significant location—the graveyard where their only child is buried. As they endure an extended wait, their conversation evolves, revisiting their shared past and prompting new perspectives on their futures. This love story brings secrets out in the open and will stay with you long after you have left the cinema.

Language(s): English

Director(s): Selman Nacar

Writer(s): Selman Nacar

Producer(s): Selman Nacar, Selman Nacar

Cast: Tülin Özen, Oğulcan Arman Uslu, Gülçin Kültür Şahin, Vedat Erincin, Erdem Şenocak

In this tense courtroom drama from director Selman Nascar, criminal lawyer Canan divides her time in the courthouse in the mornings and at her mother's hospital bed at night. On the day of the sentencing hearing for a murder suspect whom Canan is defending, she must make a moral choice that will affect the lives of her mother, the judge, and the defendant.

Language(s): Turkish

Director(s): Eva Birthistle

Writer(s): Eva Birthistle

Producer(s): Claire McCaughley

Cast: Hazel Doupe, Clare Dunne, Peter Coonan, Aaron Monaghan, Liadán Dunlea, James McGowan

Kathleen is 18 and fresh out of foster care. Her departure coincides with the death of her biological mother and she returns to her hometown to take ownership of her mother’s house. Across the road lives Dee, with her husband, Rory, and young son, Conor. Kathleen ingratiates herself to Dee through a seemingly selfless act and Dee feels indebted to her. Just as Kathleen’s world is starting to come together, tendencies from her past start to seep out through the cracks in her façade. Intent on playing happy families, Kathleen becomes dangerously obsessed with Dee. She implicates Rory in an extramarital affair to further her goal of having Dee all to herself – a goal that ultimately leads to her own destruction.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): India Donaldson

Writer(s): India Donaldson

Producer(s): Wilson Cameron, Diana Irvine, Graham Mason

Cast: Lily Collias, James Le Gros, Danny McCarthy

India Donaldson’s debut feature, which was selected at Sundance and Cannes, is a dark and subtle coming-of-age story where, on a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills, 17-year-old Sam contends with the competing egos of her father and his oldest friend.

Language(s): English

Director(s): Penny Panayotopoulou

Writer(s): Penny Panayotopoulou, Kallia Papadaki

Producer(s): Birgit Kemner, Martin Hampel, Thanassis Karathanos, Penny Panayotopoulou, Penny Panayotopoulou, Stelios Kammitsis

Cast: Alexandra Sakellaropoulou, Elena Mavridou, Nikolas Papagiannis, Giannis Karampampas, Konstantinos Avarikiotis, Garoufalina Kontozou, Myrto Alikak`i, Eleni Katsandri

Costas has been working for a few months as a security guard in a public hospital. The money isn't great and he’s still living in his mother's house, with his adolescent posters on the wall. He’s young, and thinks he’s invincible until his older brother dies. His sister-in-law, Chryssa, has been battling depression for years and is estranged from them, so now he has Niki, his six-year-old niece to care for, who, no matter how much she tries to wipe the mud off the bright white sneakers that her father bought for her, can't make them look brand new again. Vulnerable as he is, and forced by necessity, he gets caught up in a juicy scheme: making up medical malpractice cases out of nothing.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): Greek

Director(s): Andrew McCarthy

Producer(s): Adrian Buitenhuis, Derik Murray

Cast: Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Lea Thompson, Timothy Hutton, Jon Cryer

Recently premiered at Tribeca, Brats looks at the iconic films of the 1980s that shaped a generation and the narrative that took hold when their young stars were branded the “Brat Pack.” Director Andrew McCarthy reunites with his fellow Brat Packers – friends, colleagues and former foes, including Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Jon Cryer, Lea Thompson, and Timothy Hutton, many of whom he had not seen for over 30 years – to answer the question: What did it mean to be part of the Brat Pack?

Post show discussion will follow

Director(s): Sam O'Mahony

Writer(s): Sam O'Mahony

Producer(s): Leon Coole

Cast: Senan Jennings, Darrell D’Silva, Lisa Dwyer Hogg, Paul Mallon, Joanne Crawford

When his parents separate, Francis’ 11-year-old world implodes. Desperate to escape his reality, Francis spends his nights secretly immersed in his dad’s collection of violent gangster movies. When it is revealed that a strange man living in the nearby woods is in fact an exiled mobster on the run from his own family, Francis determines to seek his guidance. Beneath the eternal trees, a strange friendship develops as the two bond over their past traumas, a shared love of nature and a passion for the F-word. But, with this bright new confidence comes a dark shadow that quickly consumes the once kind-natured boy. As Francis’ parents’ lives finally begin to move forward, he finds himself torn between his saviour and his reality.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Bohdan Sláma

Writer(s): Bohdan Sláma

Producer(s): Pavel Strnad, Pavel Strnad, Petr Oukropec

Cast: Dorota Šlajerová, Tomas Sean Pšenička, Magdaléna Borová, Martin Pechlát, Marek Daniel

Two neighbouring clans and two different approaches to life in a contemporary Czech village. Three generations intersect, the oldest representing recklessness, the youngest giving hope in managing interpersonal relationships outside and within families, but also in connecting with the landscape in which we live. The sudden illness of a mother, bearing all burdens, may lead to reconciliation, in community and nature.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): Czech, English, German

Director(s): Oksana Karpovych

Writer(s): Oksana Karpovych

Producer(s): Pauline Tran Van Lieu, Giacomo Nudi, Darya Bassel, Olha Beskhmelnytsina, Rocío B. Fuentes, Lucie Rego

Ukrainian intelligence services have intercepted thousands of phone calls Russian soldiers made from the battlefield in Ukraine to their families and friends in Russia, painting a stark picture of the cruelty of war in a dizzying emotional tension. Juxtaposed with images of the destruction caused by the invasion, and the day-to-day life of the Ukrainian people who resist and rebuild, the voices of the Russian soldiers – ranging from being filled with heroic illusions to complete disappointment and loss of reason, from looting to committing more horrible war crimes, from propaganda to doubt and disillusionment – expose the whole scope of the dehumanising power of war and imperialist nature of the Russian aggression. An extraordinary debut feature from Oksana Karpovych which premiered at Berlinale.

Trigger Warning: Mature content and themes of war.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): Russian, Ukrainian

Director(s): Rich Peppiatt

Writer(s): Rich Peppiatt

Producer(s): Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling, Patrick O’Neill

Cast: Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, JJ Ó Dochartaigh, Michael Fassbender, Simone Kirby, Jessica Reynolds, Fionnuala Flaherty

When fate brings Belfast teacher JJ into the orbit of self-confessed 'low life scum' Naoise & Liam Óg, the needle drops on a hip-hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish, KNEECAP fast become the unlikely figureheads of a civil rights movement to save their mother tongue. But the trio must first overcome police, paramilitaries, and politicians trying to silence their defiant sound – whilst their anarchic approach to life often makes them their own worst enemies.

In this fiercely original sex, drugs, and hip-hop biopic, KNEECAP play themselves, with Academy-Award-nominee® Michael Fassbender in tow, laying down a global rallying cry for the defence of native cultures.

Language(s): Irish, English

This exciting selection of Irish short documentaries covers a wide range of topics focusing on the struggles that the people of Ireland face today. We aim to shine a light on historical and contemporary issues faced across the island of Ireland.

Film Titles: I Am The Immaculate Conception; We Beg To Differ; After The Bomb; The First Drop that Saw the Sky; Hold On; The Building and Burning of a Refugee Camp

*Please note, this programme touches on adult topics and is not suitable for younger audiences.

This short and sweet programme carries a selection of animated short films suitable for the whole family, and just perfect for young kids!

Film Titles: Three Trees; The Anchor and the Kite; Rocky Roads; Lizzie and the Sea; The Mayfly; Bird Drone; Dance, you are alive (Celebrating world peace)

Director(s): MJ Whelan

Producer(s): Siobhan Fanning, Gary Lennon

Cast: Linda Lyne, Steve Lynott, Amie Fox, Aprile Blake, Aoibheann Lambe, Patsy Lynch, Zhasmin Satari, Deirdre Wadding

A journey to a remote corner of Ireland, where an invisible border delineates a reserve that is both a refuge for life, and a beacon of environmental responsibility. A place where pagan beliefs share the magical landscape with traditional Catholic ceremonies. Where Ireland’s rare indigenous lizards walk across ancient fossils made by the first ever life to walk out of the sea. But, mostly, this is a place of refuge: from the first peoples that landed on its shore’s millennia ago, to the Ukrainian refugees escaping the war. Whether physically through experiences of blindness, or metaphysically through our relationships to death. This is a film about exploring what’s on the edge of our perception – what lies in the darkness.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English, Irish, Ukrainian, Russian

Elements of a Journey: Antoni Tàpies is an experimental documentary focusing on the legacy of Antoni Tàpies, the 20th-century Catalan painter and sculptor. The film, which began principal photography in 1974 and was put on hold due to lack of funding, follows the artist’s early life during the Franco dictatorship. It is strongly relevant to the divisive politics of today, engaging viewers through both Tàpies’ story and his art. It explores how artists navigate complex journeys; spiritual, political, and the everyday. Tàpies stood out in his lifetime, not only as a major painter, but also as a voice of freedom and hope for a generation during a dark and painful era in Spain.

Language(s): English, French

Director(s): James Scott
Writer(s): James Scott
Producer(s): James Scott
Cast: Sasha Marie Speer, Blanca Cruz, Noah Moros, Ruhan Solanski, Pam Lange, Liam Chirkova

This selection of short films pays tribute to animators, the creative core of Irish cinema. We showcase the newest creations from seasoned directors in addition to the freshest Irish animation from the nation's recent grads.

Film Titles: Dembaya; Unread; Milo's Meltdown; Irish Goodbye; Seven of Nine; Wait; Heading Home; Jasmine; Eldritch Karaoke; Dwelling; To Break A Circle; WIND AND THE SHADOW; Póg mo Pigeon; The Last White Rhino; Moncha; Introducing Bovina Creamcracker Buttermilk F

*Please note, this program is not suitable for younger audiences.

The Home Game is a feel-good underdog story about an Icelander’s clumsy attempt to complete his father’s failed mission: to finally get their beloved fishing village a home game on the unused football pitch he built 25 years prior.

Kari Vidarsson embraces his father’s old coaching philosophy and enlists anyone keen to play, including a fisherman and his son, a pessimistic church warden, and a mother of three. In order to get the long-awaited home game, he impulsively registers his team of endearing underdogs in the prestigious FA Cup with only a 50/50 chance of getting to play at their lava field home.

Language(s): Icelandic, English

Director(s): Smari Gunn, Logi Sigursveinsson
Producer(s): Freyja Kristinsdottir, Elfar Adalsteins, Heather Millard, Stephanie Thorpe

After the death of his Father, Dublin taxi driver Frankie Burke (Peter Coonan) is confronted by the ghosts of his past in the form of an unexpected visitor who he has not seen in 10 years. The arrival sends Frankie back in time to the worst day of his life – to the Celtic Tiger 5-star hotel where it all went wrong. There, he is forced to deal with a past which exposed his failings, resulting in a tragedy from which he has worked so hard to recover.

Language(s): English

Director(s): Dermot Malone
Writer(s): Dermot Malone
Producer(s): Matt D'Arcy
Cast: Peter Coonan, Olivia Caffrey, Rejjie Snow

Director(s): Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi

Producer(s): Daphne Matziaraki, Toni Kamau

For centuries, Kenya's Laikipia region has been a grazing route for indigenous pastoralist communities. It is also home to white ranchers and conservationists who settled there during the British colonial era and stayed after Kenya's independence in 1963.

Laikipia has been feeling the ravaging effects of climate change for decades; the pastoralists, the ranchers and conservancies rely on Laikipia’s grasslands to sustain their cattle and the wildlife. When drought and elections collide, conflict erupts.

Exploring identity, the complicated legacy of British colonialism, and the intersection with climate change, all while happening during the most fragile moment of our planet.

Language(s): Samburu, English, Swahili

Director(s): Bassam Jarbawi

Writer(s): Bassam Jarbawi

Producer(s): Shrihari Sathe, Yasmine Qaddumi, Bassam Jarbawi

Cast: Jameel Khoury, Yasmine Qaddumi, Ziad Bakri, Amir Khoury, Areen Omari, Mariam Basha

After 15 years of imprisonment, Ziad struggles to adjust to modern Palestinian life as the hero everyone hails him to be. Unable to distinguish reality from hallucination, he unravels and drives himself back to where it all began.

Language(s): Arabic, Hebrew

Director(s): Anthony Chen

Writer(s): Anthony Chen

Producer(s): Peter Spears, Emilie Georges, Naima Abed, Anthony Chen, Cynthia Erivo, Solome Williams

Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Alia Shawkat, Ibrahima Ba, Honor Swinton Byrne, Zainab Jah, Suzy Bemba, Vincent Vermignon

With memories still fresh from a war that forced her to leave Liberia, Jacqueline (portrayed by the Oscar-nominated Cynthia Erivo) finds refuge alone and penniless on a Greek island, where she tries first to survive and then to cope with her past. The need for quick money drives her to offer massage services to wealthy tourists. However, her encounter with Callie (Alia Shawkat), a rootless American tour-guide, will awaken their shared desire for resilience and meaningful human connection.

In his English-language debut, Cannes Golden Camera winner Anthony Chen (Ilo Ilo) intricately melds two foundational thematic elements from his filmography – the concepts of identity and companionship.

Presented in collaboration with the East Asia Film Festival Ireland (EAFFI)

Language(s): English, Greek

Director(s): Sara Sulej

Producer(s): Sławomir Sulej, Sara Sulej, Dominic Quinn

Cast: Laura Corcoran, Spud Kennedy, Dimitri Nesterov, Paul “Pauly” McDonagh, Connel “Johny” Irvine, James Dillion, Merle Schümann, Paul “Paulter Walter” Kimball, Nahuel Rafaele, Shane Scally, Finn O’Callaghan

Patchwork Family is a documentary showcasing a passion for life, music, and creation. The band consists of 12 musicians. The film delves into the lives of each band member, exploring their history, and gradually assembles the individual pieces of the patchwork family that form the Galway Street Club band. Like a blanket, their music envelops listeners in a blend of melodies. Thanks to great and simple passion, the desire to create something unique breaks down all barriers. The band has unintentionally formed an unusually colourful family, but we must remember that, as in every family, conflicts arise. Throughout the film, we witness the challenges faced by street musicians, becoming immersed in their world.

Galway Street Club will perform at the Roisin Dubh on Saturday July 13th at 8pm

Language(s): English

Director(s): Zihan Geng

Writer(s): Zihan Geng, Yining Liu

Producer(s): LIANG Jing , Justine O., Jane ZHENG

Cast: Long Liang, Meijun Zhou , Jing Liang, Ziqi Huang

Xian will always remember the loneliest and bluest of summers when she was 15. After her mother has to go abroad for work, Xian is thrown into the care of her father, a free-spirited photographer, who she has barely seen since her parents' divorce. He’s struggling financially and is fooling around with his assistant, who has an 18-year-old daughter, Mingmei. Soon, Mingmei appears like a ray of shining light to Xian. During this restless summer, the conflict between the innocence and the impulses of youth will leave an indelible mark on Liu.

Language(s): Mandarin Chinese, Korean

Director(s): Éanna Mac Cana

Writer(s): Éanna Mac Cana

Producer(s): Chris Kelly

A creative documentary film about the life of Irish surgeon Denis Burkitt who discovered Burkitt’s lymphoma – as told by first time filmmaker Éanna Mac Cana – a survivor of this cancer. Weaving the patterns and parallels between lives, Mac Cana, creates a unique experience utilising his own recordings as an in-patient, as well as Burkitt’s own extensive archive of photographs and films. This remarkable film examines the non-linear impact of trauma, colonialism and the ethics of medical work.

Language(s): English, Irish

Feature Film Awards

Best Irish Film with Danú Media
Best Cinematography in an Irish Film with Teach Solais
Best Marketplace Project Awardwith Bankside Films
Audience Award
Best International Film
Best Irish First Feature with Element Pictures
The Pitching Award with Wild Atlantic Pictures
Bingham Ray New Talent Award with Magnolia Pictures
Generation Jury Award
Best International Documentary
Best Irish Feature Documentary
Peripheral Visions Award with Galway Cultural Company
World Cinema Competition
Best Irish Language Film
Best Independent Film
Galway Hooker Award
Oscar-Qualifying Short Film Awards

Since 2011, the Fleadh has been recognised as a qualifying festival for the Academy Awards Short Film Category. Recipients of the James Horgan Award for Best Animation, The Best Short Documentary Award and the Tiernan McBride Award for Best Short Drama will qualify for consideration.

James Horgan Award for Best Animation with Animation Ireland
Best Short Documentary Award with TG4
Tiernan McBride Award for Best Short Drama
Short Film Awards
James Flynn Award for Best First Short Drama
Best First Short Animation Award with Brown Bag Films
Best International Short Animation
Best International Short Documentary
Best International Short Fiction
Donal Gilligan Award for Best Cinematography in a Short Film with the Irish Society Cinematographers (ISC)

Director(s): Mahdi Fleifel

Writer(s): Fyzal Boulifa, Mahdi Fleifel, Jason McColgan

Producer(s): Geoff Arbourne

Cast: Angeliki Papoulia, Mahmood Bakri, Mohammad Ghassan

Cannes Directors’ Fortnight film, To a Land Unknown follows Chatila and Reda who are saving to pay for fake passports to get out of Athens. When Reda loses their hard-earned cash to his dangerous drug addiction, Chatila hatches an extreme plan, which involves them posing as smugglers and taking hostages in an effort to get him and his best friend out of their hopeless environment before it is too late.

Language(s): Arabic, Greek, English

When fate brings Belfast teacher JJ into the orbit of self-confessed 'low life scum' Naoise & Liam Óg, the needle drops on a hip-hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish, KNEECAP fast become the unlikely figureheads of a civil rights movement to save their mother tongue. But the trio must first overcome police, paramilitaries, and politicians trying to silence their defiant sound – whilst their anarchic approach to life often makes them their own worst enemies.

In this fiercely original sex, drugs, and hip-hop biopic, KNEECAP play themselves, with Academy-Award-nominee® Michael Fassbender in tow, laying down a global rallying cry for the defence of native cultures.

Irish Premiere Post show discussion will follow

Director(s): Rich Peppiatt
Writer(s): Rich Peppiatt
Producer(s): Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling, Patrick O’Neill
Cast: Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, JJ Ó Dochartaigh, Michael Fassbender, Simone Kirby, Jessica Reynolds, Fionnuala Flaherty

Nina grapples with her son Lars' school accident, torn between her orchestral rehearsals and his critical need. Opting for compromise, she embarks on a five-day getaway from Munich to their summer island retreat off the coast of France. However, the picturesque summer locale now presents a wintry, desolate challenge. 

In their beachside abode, mother and son confront each other amid Nina's haunting musical aspirations and mainland concerns. As Lars retreats, tensions escalate, fuelled by suspicions of a school incident's involvement. Cut off by a storm, they face a perilous confrontation, testing bonds and unearthing unsettling truths in the cold Atlantic tempest.

Language(s): German

Director(s): Hanna Slak
Writer(s): Hanna Slak
Producer(s): Michel Balagué
Cast: Maren Eggert, Jona Levin Nicolai

Underdog Finnish light artist Kari Kola attempts the impossible: building the world's largest light installation on an Irish mountain. Commissioned by the city of Galway for the European Capital of Culture 2020 programme, Kari pushes the boundaries of the possible, aiming for something truly "big”. Inspired by Oscar Wilde's description of the region, he sets out to illuminate the entire mountain.

Kari's journey is not just about the art; it's a testament to overcoming personal challenges. Throughout his life, his hyperactive nature and mathematical brilliance often led to misunderstandings. This documentary delves into the heart of this underdog artist, showcasing his unwavering belief that even the most ambitious dreams can shine bright.

International Premiere Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): Finnish, English

Director(s): Janne Tanskanen
Writer(s): Janne Tanskanen
Producer(s): Janne Tanskanen
Cast: Martin Kerrigan, Joe Joyce, Onni Tahvanainen, Kari Kola, Antti Kulmala, Hannes Järvenpää, Pearse Doherty, Minna Valonen

After the Soviet invasion of Prague, a young female photographer strives to break away from the constraints of Czechoslovak normalisation, and embarks on a wild journey towards freedom, capturing her experiences in thousands of subjective photographs.

The story of Libuše begins in normalisation-era Prague when she sets off with her camera on her neck, on a journey around islands of “freedom”.

Director Klára Tasovská’s first solo documentary feature premiered in the Berlinale Panorama.

Language(s): Czech

Director(s): Klára Tasovská
Producer(s): Lukáš Kokeš, Klára Tasovská

We celebrate the 2024 short film programmes by kicking off with this exciting showcase of work from creatives inthe West of Ireland. These six narrative and documentary Irish-language films all celebrate the wealth of shorts being produced as Gaeilge in the last 12 months.

Film Titles: Written in the Stars; "Normal"; Life; What's On Your Mind?; The Island; West of the Horizon

*Please note, this programme touches lightly on adult topics and is not recommended for very young audiences.

Over the course of its existence, the Olympics has become more and more evident, not only through the development of sport, but also through Olympic-specific urbanism and architecture, leaving its lasting mark on the faces of cities and landscapes. Olympic monumentalism has a practical dimension, and builds itself into a multi-layered timeless symbol at the same time.

Language(s): Chinese, Japanese, French, English, Greek, Czech

Director(s): Haruna Honcoop
Writer(s): Haruna Honcoop
Producer(s): Vít Janeček

Pati’s world turns upside down when her stolen computer becomes the target of a blackmail threat. A cat-and-mouse hunt begins with an invisible hacker, pushing Pati to the limit as she seeks help from legal authorities, only to realise she is the only one who can find the way out. Through her search, Pati discovers that her story is just one of countless cases, uncovering the vulnerability we all face in protecting our privacy in an online world. World Premiere at SXSW.

Language(s): Spanish

Director(s): Patricia Franquesa
Producer(s): Patricia Franquesa, Mireia Graell Vivancos

Our first World Shorts selection is an in-competition showcase of work from a variety of nations and cultural backgrounds – a mix of drama, documentary and animation.

Film Titles: Fratelli Carbonai; Dawn Every Day; Marion; Nun or Never!; A Body Called Life; The Cost of Hugging; Family Portrait of the Black Earth

Join us for this ever-popular dive into the vaults of the IFI Irish Film Archive to find new-old films about Galway and its environs.

The programme includes images of Galway dating from the 1920s to the 1970s. A Glimpse Into the Heart of Erin takes us to Inis Mór in the '20s; The Story of Michael Flagherty (1940) dramatizes the life of a poor farmer; a young curate arrives on the island in Radharc's Inisheer (1971); while John Huston extolls the virtues of Galway in Return to the Island (1965). Jim Mulkerns explores the modernisation of Connemara in Gile na Gaeltachta (1974) and cinema news-reels show a Galway Bay Airliner Rescue (1949); the evacuation of Inishark (1960) and a fleadh ceoil in Tuam (1963).

Language(s): English, Irish

In this arresting feature debut from director Anu Valia, which premiered at SXSW, we follow Rayelle Martin, who works as a commercial cleaner in Gary, Indiana. She is mischievous, playful, and skilled at adapting to her surroundings. One day, Rayelle stumbles into a new job cleaning the homes of several rich, suburban families. While working, she tells one small lie that spins out of control.

Language(s): English

Director(s): Anu Valia
Writer(s): Anu Valia
Producer(s): Zachary Spicer, Miranda Kahn, Alex Bach, Joy Jorgensen, Olivia Wingate
Cast: Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Tina Lifford, Maria Dizzia, Mischa Reddy, Sarah Goldberg, Kara Young, Paul Adelstein, Hari Dillon.

Hailing from Drogheda, Ireland’s only powerlifter with dwarfism proves that strength comes in many forms. Laoch: Defy the Odds delves into the extraordinary life of Thomas “Tommy” McCague. Dwarfism is a rare condition and Laoch offers a look into the daily life of a little person (LP). Tommy's journey began as a quest for transformation as he battled depression and obesity. Powerlifting saved his life. The film follows Tommy to Limerick and Manchester, where he competes against average-statured lifters. In Germany, he competes in the 2023 World Dwarf Games with other LP athletes. Tommy battles health challenges, shatters societal expectations, and breaks world records. The film is about courage, perseverance, and living your best life.

World Premiere Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Stephan Mazurek
Writer(s): Liz Sung, Stephan Mazurek
Producer(s): Liz Sung, Stephan Mazurek
Cast: Thomas McCague

Set in Los Angeles in the early 2000s, Smoking Tigers is a portrait of a lonely Korean-American teen, Hayoung, who is taken under the wings of three wealthy students she meets at an elite academic bootcamp. As she falls deeper into their world, Hayoung works hard to hide her insecurities about her problematic family and lower-income background, only to discover the bittersweet pains of adulthood that will forever shape her life.

Language(s): English, Korean

Director(s): So Young Shelly Yo
Writer(s): So Young Shelly Yo Producer(s): Guo Guo
Cast: Phinehas Yoon, Abin Andrews, Erin Choi, Joon Ho Jung, Erin Yoo, Ji-young Yoo

We No Longer Prefer Mountains explores the particular political and social condition of the Druze minority in northern Palestine. Through open, one-to-one exchanges, often spoken directly to the camera, the protagonists of the film share their lived experience of the policies that were implemented to divide them from the larger indigenous community.

Beginning with an ascent of Mount Carmel, upon which the Druze towns of Dalyet el Carmel and Isfiya are located, drawing the viewer into a world of geographic isolation and a locale shaped by coercion and control, the film explores how the inner politics of the Druze have been reconfigured and reshaped since 1948.

Language(s): Arabic

Director(s): Inas Halabi
Producer(s): Inas Halabi

What if you started to act without a social filter? André and Vera are a young entrepreneurial couple who get the opportunity to pitch their female health app at a prestigious competition. Before going there, Vera tries hypnotherapy to quit smoking. From this point on, her attitude changes, and André too starts to behave unexpectedly.

A clever dark comedy from first-time director Ernst De Geer.

Language(s): Swedish, Norwegian, English

Director(s): Ernst De Geer
Writer(s): Ernst De Geer, Mads Stegger
Producer(s): Mimmi Spång
Cast: Herbert Nordrum, Asta Kamma August

Jess and her husband, desperate for a fresh start, jump at the chance to buy a charming old house in the idyllic Suffolk countryside. But, the warm welcome they expect never comes. The tight-lipped locals harbour a dark secret about Maple House, and Jess soon realises their dream home might be a grave mistake. Whispers of a chilling past and unsettling events begin to unravel, revealing a haunting truth about the house's history. As the menacing shadows of Maple House close in, Jess must confront the sinister situation before it's too late. Will the family survive the nightmare they've unknowingly moved in to?

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Steve Reeves
Writer(s): Charlotte Northedge, Mike Oughton
Producer(s): Anne Heath, Sally Wood
Cast: Imelda May, Liz White, Ray Fearon, John Thomson, Frances Barber, Jake Siame, Craig Russell, Mika Simmons, Mark Stobbart, Richard Durden

This documentary traces the transmission of Zen meditation through the life’s work of 90-year-old Irish-American Jesuit Zen Master Robert Kennedy – and his successors – in a contemporary exploration of interfaith dialogue.

Kennedy was the first American Catholic priest to be installed as a Zen teacher, which caused outrage in the U.S. Zen community. Faced with this fierce opposition, his teacher, Bernie Glassman, famously refuted the objections by asking his students “Are we one, or are we not?”.

Robert Kennedy’s work in Zen has brought him into dialogue with some of the most iconic figures of 20th-century Japanese and American Zen; the course of his life’s journey intersecting with key historical moments in the coming of Zen to the West.

World Premiere Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Dónal Ó Céilleachair
Producer(s): Miriam Healy, Turlough O’Donnell, Noel Brennan, Dr Cuca Montecel, Amy Yee, John Ankele
Cast: Robert Kennedy SJ, Amy Yee, Krishna Das, Miriam Healy, Ken Byalin, Ellen Birx, Joan Halifax, Charles Birx, Noel Brennan, Dr Cuca Montecel, Inge Von Woebeser-Hopfner, Dr Mónica Maher, Mary Laheen

A cable car connects a village in the mountains with a small town in the valley. Iva starts working at the cable car as an attendant. The cable car has two gondolas. When one gondola goes up, the other goes down. The gondolas meet each other half way. The attendant of the other gondola is Nino. Iva and Nino meet each other as they drive past every half hour. And one evening, they meet after hours.

Gondola is a poetic love story about two cable car attendants in a remote village in the Georgian mountains. The film is told without dialogue.

Language(s): No Dialogue

Director(s): Veit Helmer
Writer(s): Veit Helmer
Producer(s): Veit Helmer
Cast: Nino Soselia, Mathilde Irrmann

Fidil Ghorm tells the story of 10-year-old Molly, who believes that if she learns to play the fiddle like her dad, she can wake him up from a coma. When he is moved to a rehab centre, she overhears her mother say that it would probably take a miracle to wake him. Molly becomes curious and asks, ‘What is a miracle?’. Her mother says, 'It’s a kind of magic', and Molly’s world of imagination goes into overdrive.

In the rehab home Molly meets Malachy, a grumpy man, who plays the fiddle beautifully and is told that he has ‘magic in his hands’. They eventually make a connection, and her journey to find the magic in the music that she believes may heal her dad begins.

Language(s): Irish Language

Director(s): Anne McCabe
Writer(s): Patricia Forde
Producer(s): Bríd Seoighe, Pierce Boyce
Cast: Edith Lawlor, Barry McGovern, Siobhan O’Kelly, Ruadhán Flatharta, Sarah Jane Scott, Marcus Lamb

In Iran, weighed down by a struggling economy, two middle-aged brothers live with their bullying father. A man prone to rages and driven by chauvinism, the father’s abusiveness made his second wife leave him. Now, he picks on his eldest son, while the younger sibling fantasises about ways to kill his father. When the man rents out the flat above to a young woman, with intentions of marrying her, the woman’s attraction to the older son slowly pushes this profoundly damaged family to breaking point. 

Winner of the IFFR, VPRO Big Screen Award, this is a gripping drama from director Oktay Baraheni.

Language(s): Persian

Director(s): Oktay Baraheni
Writer(s): Oktay Baraheni
Producer(s): Hanif Soroori, Babak Hamidian
Cast: Leyla Hatami, Hasan Pourshirazi, Mohammad Valizadegan, Hamed Behdad

Ryan is an Irish actor trying to fulfil his dream, climbing the ranks of the film industry in Bangkok, Thailand with his acting classmate Jan, a love interest, and friend Jay. Ryan learns his father is ill and sees a window of opportunity start to close on his goals. So, when he’s contacted by big Hollywood producers, he gets one last chance to succeed on a shoot in Jakarta, Indonesia. But when he arrives there, things get strange. The crew is delayed and he has to front costs for permits. He’s sexually harassed by the female producer, and lies to Jan about it. Eventually, he discovers that he’s caught in the trap of the “Hollywood Con Queen,” one of the most creative and prolific scammers the world has ever known. Based on a true story.

European Premiere Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Tom Waller
Writer(s): Eoin O'Brien
Producer(s): Tom Waller, Takahiro Yamashita, Michael Pritchett
Cast: Eoin O’Brien, Ravi Patel, Patrick Bergin, Francis Magee, Lynette Emond

Selected at Sundance and SXSW, and described by Variety as a film that, “celebrates the power of theatre to move audiences and actors alike”, Ghostlight tells the moving story of a grieving construction worker who joins a local theatre production of Romeo and Juliet.

Dan Mueller is struggling to cope with the suicide of his son a year earlier. When Dan joins the local community theatre production, he finds a place to move through his grief with his newfound friends. Keeping the role a secret from his wife and daughter causes complications, and soon the on-stage drama starts to mirror his own life.

With superb performances from Keith Kupferer and Dolly De Leon.

Language(s): English

Director(s): Alex Thompson, Kelly O’Sullivan
Writer(s): Kelly O’Sullivan
Producer(s): Ian Keiser, Eddie Linker, Pierce Cravens, Alex Thompson, Chelsea Krant, Alex Wilson
Cast: Keith Kupferer, Tara Mullen, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Dolly De Leon

Brothers Fiachra and Tadgh peaked at the age of seven when they appeared on national TV, singing with their homemade puppet, Froggie. 25 years later, they are still singing the same ol’ song when their show gets cancelled.

The world is pulling the brothers apart. Fiachra's biggest fear - that his brother will abandon him, and he will have to take a dreaded “9-5” – is closing in. To make matters worse, Froggie is stolen. A ransom video appears online. The thief will release Froggie when the puppet achieves 1 million followers. Fiachra and Tadgh must team up to rescue their childhood puppet by helping Froggie to become famous once again.

Froggie is an independent bilingual comedy about brotherly love and the struggles of the artistic journey.

World Premiere Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): Irish, English

Director(s): Luke Morgan
Writer(s): Jake Morgan, Luke Morgan
Producer(s): Jamie Hooper, Conor Hooper, Jake Morgan
Cast: Seán T O Meallaigh, Carrie Crowley, Gearoid Kavanagh, Lucia Evans, Paul Oakley Stovall, Michael O’Mara, Max O’Mara

Things get a little suspenseful and spooky in World Short Two as we celebrate a dark undertone of these sinister shorts.

Film Titles: The Door; Yellowmeads; Nobody There But Me; The Sin-Eater; The Lure; Lullaby; Little Other; SHÉ (SNAKE)

The future Seoul, a city with the worst environmental pollution and the highest living prices. Shin-dong is helplessly living a repetitive and monotonous life, and is forced to find a new place to rent immediately by his landlord's unilateral notice. Unable to afford to move, his friend tells him that renting out a part of the house will complicate his rights and make it impossible for the landlord to evict him. Encouraged by his friend's advice, Shin-dong puts up an ad for rent. And when a strange newlywed couple shows up who want to live in the bathroom, Shin-dong impulsively invites them in, and they begin a strange and uncomfortable cohabitation

Language(s): Korean

Director(s): Eunkyoung Yoon
Writer(s): Eunkyoung Yoon
Producer(s): Mongsik Ahn
Cast: Kim Dea-geon, Heo Dong-won, Park So-hyun

Regardless of culture, background, or age, the live-action shorts in our second programme tackle universal themes we all encounter in our relationships and family dynamics.

Film Titles: Big City; Swedish Death; Ballast; Sicar; NIGHT GLANCES; YARA; The Boat

*Please note, this programme touches on adult topics and is not suitable for younger audiences.

Twin Fences begins as an investigation into the Soviet architect, Boris Lakhman, who created an iconic concrete fence that covers 40% of Eurasia. This design can be seen from Russia to Ukraine, and touches Afghanistan, Belarus, Armenia and more. Filmmaker Yana Osman embarks on this journey, confronting her own cultural complexities as the daughter of Ukrainian and Afghani parents.

“This is my journey from material fences to metaphorical fences through my three homelands – Afghanistan, Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to answer the question: "Who creates fences?""

Language(s): Russian, Ukrainian

Director(s): Yana Osman
Writer(s): Yana Osman
Producer(s): Yana Osman

Basel Adra, a young Palestinian activist from Masafer Yatta, has been fighting his community's mass expulsion by the Israeli occupation since childhood. Basel documents the gradual erasure of Masafer Yatta, as soldiers destroy the homes of families – the largest single act of forced transfer ever carried out in the occupied West Bank. He crosses paths with Yuval, an Israeli journalist, who joins his struggle, and for over half a decade they fight against the expulsion while growing closer.

Winner of the Documentary Award and the Panorama Audience Award at Berlinale.

Language(s): Arabic, Hebrew, English

Director(s): Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra
Producer(s): Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning

Sundance Award-winning film, Girls Will Be Girls follows Mira, the first female head prefect to be appointed at her boarding school in North India, a responsibility she does not take lightly as she is tasked with keeping classmates and friends in check. But the arrival of new student, Sri, quickly threatens the star student’s social and academic standing.

Language(s): English, Hindi

Director(s): Shuchi Talati
Writer(s): Shuchi Talati
Producer(s): Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne, Shuchi Talati
Cast: Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti, Kesav Binoy Kiron

The programme explores past and present narratives, highlighting the timeless need for connection and community. It features work debut and established directors.

Film Titles: Where It All Began; Letter; Young People of Ireland; Below the Window; Fadó, Fadó; The Wilde Sisters; The Iron Man; Remote Strutting

Director(s): Ross Killeen

Writer(s):

Producer(s): Louise Byrne

Cast: Asbestos

There is an inherent understanding of the grieving process when a family loses a loved one, but what if that person isn’t gone? Don’t Forget to Remember is an artist’s exploration of the fragility of memory, and the lived experience of his mother’s advancing Alzheimer’s; yet it also celebrates a family’s life lived together.

In collaboration with the artist Asbestos, the film opens an honest conversation about the delicate nature of memory. Through the artist’s process, we establish that even though Alzheimer’s brings elements of disintegration and destruction, we can never truly lose a loved one if we hold on to our collective memories.

Post show discussion will follow

Strand: Irish Cinema

Language(s): English

Director(s): Eeva Mägi

Writer(s): Eeva Mägi

Producer(s): Sten-Johan Lill, Marju Lepp, Eeva Mägi, Manfred Vainokivi

Cast: Eva Koldits, Helena Lotman

Karin and Mari are facing the demise of Mamma, Karin’s mother and Mari’s grandmother. They both release their pain on each other, but in unconditional love, everything is allowed. At Mamma’s home, Karin and Mari are preparing for her departure. One by one they go through unresolved traumas from the past and whirl in an endless vortex of emotions, only to forgive each other again and seek closeness. On the backdrop of mother and daughter seeking closeness and mutual understanding, there is archive footage of Mamma, showing her peaceful healthy everyday life.

Mo Mamma, winner of the Special Jury Prize at PÖFF, is a bittersweet homage to Mamma, full of feminine absurd.

Strand: New Dimensions

Language(s): Estonian

Travel the world with us in programme three, as we learn more about the lives of this international group of personable protagonists.

This programme is an exciting mix of drama, documentary and animation.

Film Titles: 250km; FRATER; Hello Stranger; The purple season; Follow the Dogs; Dead Cat

Director(s): Victor Kossakovsky

Writer(s): Victor Kossakovsky

Producer(s): Charlotte Hailstone, Heino Deckert

Victor Kossakovsky presents an epic, intimate, and poetic meditation on architecture and how the design and construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal our destruction – and offer hope for survival and a way forward.

Kossakovsky reflects on the rise and fall of civilisations while focusing on a landscape project by the Italian architect Michele De Lucchi, using imagery from the temple ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon, dating back to AD 60, to the recent destruction of cities in Turkey following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in early 2023. The grandeur and folly of humanity and its precarious relationship with nature posits the urgent question: how do we build, and how can we build better, before it’s too late?

Architecton has its World Premiere at Berlinale 24.

Strand: Architecture on Film

Language(s): Italian, English

Director(s): Jawad Rhalib

Writer(s): Chloé Leonil, Jawad Rhalib, David Lambert

Producer(s): Ellen de Waele, Geneviève Lemal

Cast: Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salée, Lubna Azabal

Amal, a French teacher in a Brussels high school, encourages her students to cultivate a passion for reading, defend freedom of expression, and promote acceptance of others. But her outspokenness upsets some students and colleagues tied to Islamic extremism, which vehemently opposes her teaching methods. Yet Amal stands her ground, especially when she has to help one of her students, the discreet Monia, who, suspected of being homosexual, has been attacked, harassed and threatened.

Language(s): French

Director(s): Manijeh Hekmat

Writer(s): Manijeh Hekmat, Mehrave Ferdosi

Producer(s): Manijeh Hekmat, Mahshid Ahangarani Farahani

Cast: Behdokht Valian, Mohammad Valizadegan, Reza Koolagahni, Raja Jafari

A couple is destined to build their life in the heart of a waste depot in the heart of Iranian north forests. Hired to guard the site, they begin making different things with the junk they find, and making friends with the other people. They look like Adam and Eve, expelled from the garden. When they manage to build a small heaven for themselves, they are thrown out of their home. Indeed, what remains of the people who are determined to fight their nature?

Language(s): Persian

Director/Producer: Robert Manson

A meditative journey into the past, traversing various European countries. An homage to unknown and long-forgotten amateur filmmakers. Three decades of rediscovered footage, rescued from oblivion, carefully restored to cinematic quality and matched with a new bespoke soundscape.

Post-show discussion will follow

Language(s): No Dialogue

Director(s): Neasa Ní Chianáin

Producer(s): David Rane

The Alexander Complex unravels a bizarre tale of intrigue, politics and money as an international group of "gentlemanly explorers", all with pseudonyms to protect their identities, come together in a quest to solve the mystery of the missing tomb of Alexander the Great. A man, code-named The Inventor, claims to have found Alexander’s tomb in Jordan, and claims it is filled with gold and precious jewels. Sitting with the find of the millennium, the man sets in motion a project that has the elements of a movie thriller, and a desert quest. Will the group discover the resting place of history’s greatest military commander? The intrigue lies not just in what is in the tomb, but in the team itself: all men and women of Alexandrian qualities.

Language(s): English, French, Italian, No Dialogue

Director(s): Apolena Rychlíková

Producer(s): Tereza Horská, Filip Remunda, Anna Mach Rumanová, Peter Kerekes, Olga Prud‘homme Farges, Vít Klusák, Joël Farges

Cast: Saša Uhlová

A prominent Czech journalist leaves her family and joins “cheap labour force” in Western Europe. Undercover, she works at an asparagus farm in Germany, tries her hand as a maid at a hotel in Ireland, and takes care of the elderly in France. She experiences first-hand the struggles of Eastern European low-wage workers, whose sacrifice and hard work allows Western society’s comfort. What is the real price that Europe pays for exploiting its own citizens? What do the lives of economic migrants, who have been forced to leave their children and elderly parents, look like? And why are privileged Europeans looking the other way?

Language(s): Czech, English, French, Polish

Director(s): Jamillah van der Hulst, Dina Amin

Producer(s): Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Conrad Alleblas

I Am Somebody is the inspiring story about six street-connected children who are chosen to represent their country at the Street Child World Cup in Qatar. Some of them are from the streets of Brazil and Bangladesh, some come from poor families in Pakistan, and another is from a refugee camp in Palestine. But there is one thing that all these children have in common: their lives will change forever when they participate in the Street Child World Cup.

The United Nations estimates that there are over 100 million street-connected children worldwide who depend on the streets for their survival. The Street Child World Cup uses the power of football for change.

Language(s): English, Farsi, Arabic, Portuguese

Director(s): Marc Marriott

Writer(s): Dave Boyle, Ayako Fujitani

Producer(s): Brigham Taylor

Cast: Arata Iura, Ayako Fujitani, Goya Robles, Robin Weigert, Jun Kunimura

This charming dramedy centers on a Japanese corporate turnaround artist, Hideki. Confident that he has the secret sauce to recharge any stagnant brand, he’s got a slick pitch deck, and he’s engaged to the corporate vice-president he reports to. His company is about to liquidate a money-hemorrhaging cattle ranch in Montana, when he parachutes in for a quick fix. His Japanese beef consultant goes hilariously native, and Hideki immediately sees that his idea for a quick fix was mistaken. Now unsettled and off the grid in an alien culture, Hideki recalibrates his values and his life goals. Director Marc Marriott and cinematographer Oscar Ignacio Jiménez create a Big Sky setting that could reset any of us in need of self-discovery.

Language(s): English, Japanese, Spanish

Director(s): Farah Nabulsi

Writer(s): Farah Nabulsi

Producer(s): Sawsan Asfari Himani

Cast: Saleh Bakri, Imogen Poots, Muhammad Abed El Rahman, Stanley Townsend, Andrea Irvine

In this gripping feature debut from Oscar-nominated director Farah Nabulsi, a Palestinian school teacher played by award winning actor Saleh Bakri, struggles to reconcile his life-threatening commitment to political resistance with his emotional support for one of his students, and the chance of a new romantic relationship with a volunteer worker, played by Imogen Poots. Simultaneously, an American couple, played by Stanley Townsend and Andrea Irvine, seek the return of their son who has been held hostage for three years. An exceptional film from a BAFTA-winning director that tells these stories with compassion and consideration, with an extraordinary performance from Saleh Bakri.

Language(s): Arabic

Director(s): Antonella Sudassassi Furniss

Writer(s): Antonella Sudassassi Furniss

Producer(s): Estephania Bonnett, Manrique Cortés Castro, Antonella Sudassassi Furniss

Cast: Paulina Bernini, Juliana Filloy, Sol Carballo

Winner of the 2024 Berlinale Panorama Audience Award, Memories of a Burning Body follows three women, raised in a repressive era where sexuality was taboo. Ana, Patricia, and Mayela found their understanding of womanhood based on unspoken rules and implicit impositions. Now, their fearless voices incarnate in a single 65-year-old woman, who revisits a kaleidoscopic life of intertwined memories, secrets, and hidden desires.

Language(s): Spanish

Director(s): Jeremy Larter

Writer(s): Jeremy Larter

Producer(s): Jason Arsenault, Jenna MacMillan, Jeremy Larter

Cast: Susan Kent, Chris Locke, Jess Salgueiro, Kaniehtiio Horn

Who's Yer Father? is a crime caper about bumbling private investigator Larry Constable. In his mid-40s, divorced, and living out of his office, Larry is hired by seafood tycoon Luke Thorne to investigate black-market lobster sales by a Sandbar Cove fisherman named Glenn Misener. Thorne promises Larry a bonus if he can provide evidence of Glenn’s illegal sales. Working the case, Larry instantly falls in love with Rhonda Perry, a chatty convenience store owner who shares her dream of “manifesting” a top-of-the-line soft-serve ice cream machine. With Rhonda leading the way, Larry dives head first into the greasy underbelly of Prince Edward Island – and in the process he becomes a fish-out-of-water in his own picturesque backyard.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Fernanda Valadez, Astrid Rondero

Writer(s): Fernanda Valadez, Astrid Rondero

Producer(s): Diana Arcega, Jewerl Ross, Jean-Baptiste Bailly-Maitre

Cast: Juan Jesús Varela

Sujo is a powerful and moving film from Mexican filmmakers Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero. When a cartel gunman is killed, he leaves behind Sujo, his beloved four-year-old son. The shadow of violence surrounds Sujo during each stage of his life in the isolated Mexican countryside. As he grows into a man, Sujo finds that fulfilling his father’s destiny may be inescapable.

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic.

Language(s): Spanish

Director(s): Nicolas Jack Davies

Producer(s): Alice Rhodes, Johann Scheerer, Sam Bridger

Get an all-access pass into the masterminds behind Grammy Award-winning band the Mars Volta: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala. Whittled down from hundreds of hours of footage shot by Omar throughout their lives, the film shows the iconic duo’s journey from the hardcore scene in El Paso, Texas, to rock and roll acclaim; from growing up as minorities to their rise to success; from struggles with loss, addiction, and scientology to their blazing come-back. A uniquely personal chronicle of the life-long friendship between two era-defining artists. The film is a depiction of love, death, and inspiration – with a soundtrack that has defined a generation.

Language(s): English

Director(s): John Farrelly

Writer(s): John Farrelly

Producer(s): John Farrelly, Tom Kerrisk, Jim Sheridan

Cast: Tom Stafford, Livvy Hill, Anthony Murphy, Tom Kerrisk

An Taibhse unfolds in the bleak landscape of post-famine Ireland. The narrative centres around Éamon and his daughter, Máire, who undertake the care of a remote Georgian Mansion through the harsh winter. Their task, initially serene, veers into terror as they encounter inexplicable phenomena. The film explores the depths of human resilience in the face of unspeakable horror, presenting a nuanced portrayal of survival and the complex ways the mind adapts to protect itself.

Language(s): Irish

Director(s): Mark O'Connor

Writer(s): Luke McQuillan, Mark O'Connor

Producer(s): Jeff O'Toole

Cast: Luke McQuillan, Daniel Fee, Aidan Gillen, Jade Jordan, Helen Behan, Louise Bourke, Sello, Dana Whyte O’Hara, Casey Walsh, Paul Ritchie.

On the streets of Dublin, Danny, a homeless man grappling with the ghosts of his past, finds himself caught in a cycle of despair and survival. Haunted by memories of his time serving in the Royal Irish Army, Danny's life takes a turn when he encounters Will, a young teenager on the run from a dangerous drug gang.

Despite his own inner turmoil, Danny takes Will under his wing, forming a fragile yet profound bond with him. With Power and his ruthless gang closing in, Danny must confront his own inner demons and battle the demons of the past in order to protect Will.

Post show discussion will follow

Language(s): English

Director(s): Michèle Jacob

Writer(s): Michèle Jacob

Producer(s): Sebastian Schelenz Schelenz

Cast: Iris Mirzabekiantz, Liocha Mirzabekiantz, Louis Magis, Lohen van Houtte

In this chilling, fiction feature debut from Michèle Jacob, young Audrey and her three siblings wake up in an isolated old house in the forest, and realise that their father is gone. They try to return home, but it appears that the forest is an endless loop. Trapped in the house, Audrey must fight the beast that haunts her and save her siblings from going mad.

Language(s): French