Solas Nua presents the 15th Annual Capital Irish Film Festival
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AFI SILVER THEATRE – ONLINE AND NATIONWIDE
MARCH 4—14, 2021
11 days, 14 features, two shorts programs and two music events, plus conversations with some of Ireland’s best filmmakers
Feb. 9, 2021 Washington D.C. -- The wait is over. Solas Nua today released the full lineup of terrific films for its 15th Annual Capital Irish Film Festival, which will be co-presented online with AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center.
Tickets and Full Access Passes are on sale now.
Nearly all films are available for viewing throughout the United States.
Opening the Festival on March 4 will be the award-winning Irish-language thriller Arracht (Monster), screening with English subtitles, a heartrending story of individual survival in Ireland’s 19th Century famine years. It is Ireland’s selection for the 2021 Academy Award. Director and screenwriter Tom Sullivan and lead actor Dónall Ó Héalai will join Solas Nua Board Co-Chair Paddy Meskell for a post-film conversation about bringing the island’s greatest catastrophe to the screen in the Irish language.
The internationally acclaimed animators of Cartoon Saloon bring mid-17th Century Ireland vividly to life in Wolfwalkers, a Golden Globe nominee for Best Motion Picture—Animated. In a hand-drawn imagination of Cromwell-era Kilkenny, Wolfwalkers is the capstone of a fantasy trilogy rooted in Irish folklore. Included in many Best of 2020 lists, Wolfwalkers, with its female heroines and environmental grace notes, is a visual feast for the 21st Century. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart. In celebration, the Festival will also show the other films in the trilogy Song of the Sea and The Secret of Kells.
Additional highlights:
Phil Lynott: Songs for While I Am Away, a beautifully realized music documentary about the Dublin-raised Black lead singer of ‘70s band Thin Lizzy, is followed by a conversation between Irish Times Arts contributor Tony Clayton-Lea and Director Emer Reynolds.
True North: The First Generation, a loving look at citizens of Northern Ireland who were born in 1921, with the nation, will be followed by a discussion with BBC Northern Ireland reporter Stephen Walker, writer-presenter of the film, and Director Jonathan Golden.
The 8TH, a documentary that traces the campaign to overturn the 8th Amendment — a constitutional ban on abortion — led by veteran campaigner Ailbhe Smyth and “glitter activist” Andrea Horan as they chart a bold strategy of grassroots organizing and engineer the impossible. The activists and one of the directors, Maeve O’Boyle, will discuss their work with Irish Times Washington Correspondent Suzanne Lynch.
The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine, a documentary narrated by Liam Neeson, which features contemporary news illustrations with analysis by leading historians, is a 360-degree view of the tragedy. Director Ruán Magan and art historian and author Dr. Emily Mark-Fitzgerald will join Dr. Cóilín Parsons, director of the Global Irish Studies Initiative at Georgetown University, for a post-film discussion.
Two Miles of Earth for a Marking Stone, a free concert by the exquisite female a cappella group “Landless,” co-presented by the Embassy of Ireland and Solas Nua.
Playback: A Selection of Irish-Made Music Videos from the Dublin International Film Festival is a compilation of recent Irish music videos representing some of the most dynamic emerging film and music artists working in Ireland today.
Also playing:
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Here Are the Young Men (Closing Selection)
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Two selections of short films from emerging Irish film directors
A complete slate and schedule for all Festival selections is available at AFI.com/Silver.
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