Imagine Film

Ireland and the Irish have captured the imagination of American filmmakers since the dawn of cinema in the early 20th century. From the creation of early silent archetypes – the kitchen maid, the cop, the drunk – to the exploitation by Hollywood of the struggle for independence and the Troubles, Irish stories have been a constant staple of US cinema.


Non-fiction films produced by Irish and US film-makers also served to maintain a fascination with the old country, often with quite different agendas. While travelogues from the 1920s to the 1970s were designed to entice visitors to a romantic, rural neverland, cinema newsreels and television documentaries attempted to encapsulate and interpret Irish society for American audiences in a more balanced manner.


The film programme explores representations of Ireland on screen, from unseen documentaries to award-winning features and contemporary work by a new wave of Irish film-makers, including several curated retrospectives in association with leading US and Irish film and cultural institutions.



Past Events

The Guard

  • THE GUARD is a comedy about Sergeant Gerry Boyle, a small-town cop with a confrontational personality, a subversive sense of humour, a fondness for prostitutes…

  • Location: UT
  • Dates: January 20 – January 28

Knuckle

  • New Irish documentary KNUCKLE tells the story of an epic 12-year journey into in the world of an Irish traveller community.  The film takes us…

  • Location: UT
  • Dates: January 21 – January 28

Small Change

  • Small Change’ is a short drama about one mother desperate hope for a big win on slot machines that sees her world spiral out of…

  • Location: UT
  • Dates: January 21 – January 29

Cinemagic USA

  • Cinemagic USA is a film festival for young people taking place in New York, Boston, San Francisco, LA, and includes film screenings and film and…

  • Location: NY, MA, CA
  • Dates: February 10 – February 26

Perrier’s Bounty

  • Screening of Mark O’ Rowe’s “Perrier Bounty” starring Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson & Jim Broadbent in conjunction with the Abbey Theater’s presentation of Rowe’s play…

  • Location: MA
  • Dates: February 12 – February 12

A Shine of Rainbows

  • A screening of Vic Sarin’s “A Shine of Rainbow” starring Aidan Quinn, in conjunction with Cinemagic, Irish film festival Boston & Arts Emerson

  • Location: MA
  • Dates: February 13 – February 13

Gene Siskel Film Center European Union Film Festival

  • The European Union Film Festival is the largest showcase in North America for the cinema of the European Union nations. The opening night is presided…

  • Location: IL
  • Dates: March 01 – March 30

“Book Smugglers” at the Chicago Irish Film Festival

  • World Premiere of the documentary feature film “Book Smugglers” (“Smuigléirí Leabhar”), an Irish-Lithuanian-UK co-production, commissioned by BBC Northern Ireland and TG4, and directed by Jeremiah…

  • Location: IL
  • Dates: March 08 – March 08

Alpine Desire Film Series, Austrian Cultural Forum

  • In cooperation with the Austrian Film Museum and in conjunction with the visual exhibition Alpine Desire, which runs until May 8, the Austrian Cultural Forum…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: March 09 – March 10

Hidden Ireland

  • Hidden Ireland is a major programme of documentary film at NYPL, which offers insights into contemporary Irish life and into the past that has shaped…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: March 17 – May 19

Dead Load

  • Dead Load has been selected, from over 1200 short films, to screen in competition at the prestigious Cleveland International Film Festival, an Academy Award affiliated…

  • Location: OH
  • Dates: March 23 – April 23

Irish Film Festival Boston

  • The 12th Annual Irish Film Festival, Boston, will showcase the very best of contemporary Irish feature films, shorts and documentaries to Boston-area audiences. The festival…

  • Location: MA
  • Dates: March 24 – March 27

One Hundred Mornings

  • Set in a world upended by a complete breakdown of society, two couples hide out in a lakeside cabin hoping to survive the crisis. As…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: March 25 – March 31

Fluffy Mc Cloud at New York International Children’s Film Festival

  • Fluffy Mc Cloud is a mix of animation and film making disiplines, including stop-motion animation, hand-drawn and live action as well as computer animation. It…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: March 26 – March 26

Alex Fegan : Man Made Men

  • The US Premiere of Irish sci-fi feature film ‘Man Made Men’ at the Arizona International Film Festival. The film went on to win ‘Best Foreign…

  • Location: AZ
  • Dates: April 02 – April 23

From Shore to Shore: Irish Traditional Music in New York City

  • From Shore To Shore examines both the continuity and the changes that affected Irish traditional music in the twentieth century. Using New York City as…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: April 09 – April 09

Tribeca Film Festival

  • Five Irish films are being screened at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival: THE GUARD directed by John Michael McDonagh, LOTUS EATERS directed by Alexandra Guinness,…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: April 20 – May 01

Lotus Eaters and The Good Doctor

  • Tribeca Film Festival is one of the world’s leading film festival attracting the leading producers, distributors, and sales agents to New York for one of…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: April 21 – April 30

Switch

  • World premiere of Galway Film Centre / RTE funded short film “Switch”.  Directed by Thomas Hefferon, the film receives multiple screenings during this year’s Tribeca…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: April 22 – May 01

Noreen

  • Two policemen get more than they bargained for on a house call. Frank is young and heartbroken. Con is middle-aged and weary. When they find…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: April 23 – May 01

Pentecost

  • Pentecost has been officially selected to screen at the Tribeca Film Festival 2011 in New York. Tribeca Film Festival is well known for being a…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: April 24 – May 01

“Seamus Heaney: Out of the Marvelous”  at 7th Annual World Voices Festival of Literature

  • Commissioned to mark the poet’s 70th birthday in 2009, Seamus Heaney Out of the Marvelous is a vivid portrait of one of the most important…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: April 28 – April 28

Blinder Films

  • Blinder Films second feature ‘Sensation’, travels to the Newport Beach Film Festival to partake in a special Irish festival this year. Written and directed by…

  • Location: CA
  • Dates: May 01 – May 01

Revisiting The Quiet Man: Ireland on Film

  • This film programme, curated by Gabriel Byrne and presented by The Musuem of Modern Art and the Irish Film Institute takes The Quiet Man, John…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: May 20 – May 30

2 Tonne Hands

  • Liam Clarke’s internationally award winning film, ‘2 Tonne Hands’ - ‘Bronze Palm’ at The Mexico International Film Festival and a ‘Silver Medal’ at Park City…

  • Location: RI
  • Dates: August 13 – August 13

Alessandro Negrini

  • Directed by Alessandro Negrini
    Produced by Margo Harkin, Besom Productions


    The multi-award winning documentary “Paradiso” will have a special screening event at…

  • Location: WI
  • Dates: August 19 – August 21

Irish Film Institute & National Gallery of Art Washington

  • The Film Programme, develops themes explored in the recent programmes at Museum of Modern Art (curated by Gabriel Byrne) and the Hidden Ireland Programme at…

  • Location: DC
  • Dates: August 27 – September 25

Screen Directors Guild of Ireland and Directors Guild of America

  • The Directors Finders Series Award presents an Irish director with an opportunity to screen their film in the state-of-the-art Directors Guild of America Theatre to…

  • Location: CA
  • Dates: September 09 – September 09

Cinemagic

  • Cinemagic will be delivering an exciting programme of Irish film screenings, studio tours, industry workshops and Q&A’s for young people in Boston and New York…

  • Location: NY, MA
  • Dates: September 22 – September 28

The San Francisco Irish Film Festival

  • The festival presents the very best in contemporary Irish cinema, celebrating everything from features to documentaries to Irish language films (with English subtitles for those…

  • Location: CA
  • Dates: September 23 – September 26

Irish Film New York

  • Irish Film NY (IFNY) is a new showcase of contemporary Irish cinema to screen at NYU’s Cantor Film Center in October. The series will be…

  • Location: NY,
  • Dates: September 30 – October 03

Kevin Glynn at the NYC Filmmaker’s Festival

  • Darren Lavene with leading industry players including Frank Zagottis, award winning writer, and Marc Baron of the NY SAG Board, established the NYC Filmmaker’s Festival.…

  • Location: NY
  • Dates: October 08 – October 09

Capital Irish Film Festival

  • The Capital Irish Film Festival (CIFF) is produced by Solas Nua. Its mission is to celebrate on an annual basis the best of new…

  • Location: DC
  • Dates: December 01 – December 10

Guests of the Nation

  • This project presents the international premiere of film composer Niall Byrne’s new orchestral score for Denis Johnston’s Guests of the Nation (1935). The film, based…

  • Location: NY.
  • Dates: September 22 – September 22