Dublin Film Festival is in full swing and there are plenty of excellent films being screened around the city that you won’t want to miss. From documentaries to comedies and classics, we’ve got you covered if you’re looking for the perfect thing to watch this weekend. Here’s our pick of some of the best on offer…
The Kid
The great Charlie Chaplin was already an established star when he decided to make his first full-length feature. The result is a beloved and treasured classic of silent cinema which returns to the big screen in for one magical screening.
Light House Cinema, February 23
Bending Glass
This film directed by Suzie Keegan explores the life’s work of Glass Bender Paddy Dignam. We meet the man who used the streets as his gallery, illuminating Ireland with one iconic piece of work at a time.
Since the beginning of the neon industry in Ireland in the 1930s, the community has been incredibly closed and tight knit. There is no formal training, with only five glass benders in the country today. Eighty-year-old Paddy is the oldest and most experienced of the alumni, having started his career in the glassblowing industry at the age of 16.
Light House Cinema, February 23
Vasectomy Doctor
Dr. Andrew Rynne was the first doctor to perform a vasectomy in Ireland. Rynne
would continue to challenge the laws governing sexuality, laws imposed by Church
and State. In 1990, Rynne was about to perform a vasectomy on a patient, when a gunman came in and shot him. After surviving this attempt on his life, Rynne would later meet with his assailant and forgive him.
Light House Cinema, February 23
The Wedding Guest
This propulsive, globetrotting thriller from acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom is a breathless tour through the shadowy underworlds and hidden realms of Pakistan and India. Jay (Slumdog Millionaire’s Dev Patel) is a man with a secret who travels from Britain to Pakistan to attend a wedding—armed with duct tape, a shotgun, and a plan to kidnap the bride-to-be (Radhika Apte).
Odeon Point Village, February 24
Surprise Film 2019
“No one, not even the projectionist knows what the film is until the very last minute”, says Festival Director Gráinne Humphreys. Previous years have seen the likes of Get Out and Muppets Most Wanted so you’re guaranteed to be in for a treat.
Odeon Point Village, February 24
Happy As Lazzaro
Two very different men form a connection in Alice Rohrwacher’s charming comedy/drama set in Italy. The winner of best screenplay at Cannes, the film blends social drama and time travel in this movie set in the past and present. It centres on the title character, a young and optimistic farmer, who builds an unlikely bond with a rebellious aristocrat. It grows into a modern, dreamlike fable about the power of friendship and empathy.
Light House Cinema, February 24
The Hummingbird Project
New York cousins Vincent (Jesse Eisenberg) and Anton (Alexander Skarsgård) are involved in the high-stakes, risky and super-speedy business of High Frequency Trading. But their ambitions don’t stop there – the two also have a plan to build a fibre-optic cable in a straight line between New Jersey and Kansas. It’s the kind of scheme which could net them millions – but others would delight in their failure in writer/director Kim Nguyen’s biting comedy drama.
Cineworld, February 24
Visit the Dublin Film Festival website for more information about times and tickets.
