SOLAS NUA'S FOUR DAY FESTIVAL SHOWCASING THE BEST OF IRISH FILM IN D.C.
See Photos & Video Content From CIFF 2024 Here.
Read About All CIFF 2024 Program Announcements Here.
The 18th edition of the festival is the largest to date and the lineup includes 17 features; 12 U.S. and Regional premieres; three shorts programs (20 titles); 6 Feature Debuts; Academy Award® winners, LGBTQIA+ artists; 14 women directors and 18 women screenwriters; family programming; in person Q&As with visiting filmmakers, special guests, dignitaries, and more.
CIFF is one of the largest programs of Irish cinema in North America, showcasing the latest Irish dramatic and documentary features, shorts, art films, and animation releases by Irish and Ireland-based filmmakers. The four-day festival provides a US platform that amplifies the work of independent filmmakers working in Ireland and beyond and celebrates the great cinematic culture of Ireland. The program spotlights emerging voices on Irish screen, showcases the exceptional talent and passion in Irish filmmaking, and reflects the robust and vibrant screen industry that has grown in Ireland in recent years.
This year’s festival introduces audiences to new and exciting feature debuts by 6 Irish filmmakers and centers the work of Irish women in film - 10 of the 17 features have been written or directed by women. The lineup also includes Irish language titles, animation, and family programming with a total of 37 film titles screening across the four days.
Music icons and Neo-Irish musicians feature strongly on screen in the documentary selections including, the late Shane Mac Gowan, Bono, Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Run DMC, and rising stars of Irish hip-hop, Oisín Mac, Seán ‘Mory’ Ó Muirgheasa, Limerick rapper Strange Boy, and multi-instrumentalist and producer Fehdah.
Gritty feminism, literature, thrillers, and themes of containment emerge from some of the festival’s stunning features, including opening and closing night films, LIES WE TELL and VERDIGRIS. Films exploring power, misogyny, survival, belonging, and heroism, will shock, thrill, inspire, entertain, and enlighten. Themes of compassion, resilience, and hope - and the indomitable Irish spirit - echo throughout the program.
Capital Irish Film Festival Director Maedhbh Mc Cullagh shares, “this program presents a rich, diverse, and fascinating portrait of the Irish imagination and offers some telling insights into aspects of Irish life today. It highlights the majestic, stunning, and diverse landscapes of Ireland and beyond our island, featuring, framing, and presenting other worlds through Irish eyes. There is an insatiable appetite and fervent passion for storytelling across this lineup and the best way to engage with it is to buy a pass and see all 37 of the films across the weekend.”
FESTIVAL DAY-BY-DAY SCHEDULE
DAY 1 | Thursday, February 29, 2024
Opening Night: LIES WE TELL | 7:00 p.m. | T1 | Guest Q&A/reception
CROCK OF GOLD: A FEW ROUNDS WITH SHANE MACGOWAN | 9:35 p.m. | T1
DAY 2 | Friday, March 1, 2024
CIFF2024 - SHORTS PROGRAM 1 | 11:20 a.m. | T2
TARRAC | 1:15 p.m. | T2
NOTES FROM SHEEPLAND | 3:20 p.m. | T2
MUCH ADO ABOUT DYING | 4:15 p.m. | T3
MY LOST RUSSIAN MOTHER | 5:20 p.m. | T2
THE SILENT PEOPLE (Norman Houston Short Film Award) with LIE OF THE LAND | 7:45 p.m. | T2 | Guest Q&A/reception
DAY 3 | Saturday, March 2, 2024
CIFF2024 - SHORTS PROGRAM 2 | 10:00 a.m. | T2
SUNLIGHT | 12:00 p.m. | T2
STOLEN | 2:00 p.m. | T2 | Guest Q&A
PAUL MULDOON: LAOITHE IS LIRICÍ [A LIFE IN LYRICS] | 4:45 p.m. | T2 | Guest Q&A
ONE NIGHT IN MILLSTREET | 7:00 p.m. | T2 | Guest Q&A
DOUBLE BLIND | 9:20 p.m. | T2 | Two screening dates
DAY 4 | Sunday, March 3, 2024
PUFFIN ROCK AND THE NEW FRIENDS | 10:00 a.m. | T2
Ó BHĖAL | 11:00 a.m. | T3
CIFF2024 - SHORTS PROGRAM 3: SCREEN IRELAND SPOTLIGHT | 12:00 p.m. | T2
THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN | 2:00 p.m. | T2
THE GRACELESS AGE: THE BALLAD OF JOHN MURRY | 4:20 p.m. | T2 | Guest Q&A
Closing Night: VERDIGRIS | 7:00 p.m. | T2 | Guest Q&A/reception
DOUBLE BLIND | 9:35 p.m. | T2 | Second screening
CIFF ALL-ACCESS PASSES
The Capital Irish Film Festival (CIFF) All-Access passes grant one admission to every screening in the 2024 Capital Irish Film Festival, including Opening Night. Passes are no longer for sale, but individual tickets will be available for purchase through the entire festival run.
This year, passholders can access all of the screenings and special events during the festival. You do not need to select or reserve tickets in advance, your pass is your ticket for all screenings. However, you must check-in at least 15 minutes prior to screening time in order to secure your seat.
Please note that if you do not arrive at least 15 minutes prior to screening, we cannot guarantee your seat. For all sold-out screenings, any unclaimed passholder seats will be released at the box office prior to screening.
ABOUT CAPITAL IRISH FILM FESTIVAL
CIFF is one of the largest programs of Irish cinema in North America, showcasing the latest Irish dramatic and documentary features, shorts, art films, and animation releases by Irish and Ireland-based filmmakers. The four-day festival provides a platform that not only highlights the rich cinematic culture in Ireland, but also amplifies the work of independent filmmakers working in Ireland and beyond. The program spotlights emerging voices on Irish screen, celebrates the exceptional talent and passion of contemporary Irish filmmakers, and is a reflection of the robust and vibrant screen industry that has grown in Ireland in recent years.
“The festival films showcase the full humanity of the Irish people. They are tough without being mean, forgiving without being saccharine. Quiet, deadpan humor is never far from their lips. These films are almost all a welcome reprieve from the D.C. grind.” — Washington City Paper
For further inquiries please contact: capitalirishfilmfestival@solasnua.org.
The Capital Irish Film Festival is supported by the Government of Ireland Emigrant Support Programme, Culture Ireland, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, Embassy of Ireland, Northern Ireland Bureau, Northern Ireland Screen, and the Irish Film Institute’s IFI International Programme supported by Culture Ireland. Solas Nua is supported by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities.
ABOUT SOLAS NUA
Solas Nua - ‘new light’ in Irish, is a leading multi-disciplinary arts organization that is dedicated exclusively to bringing contemporary Irish arts to Washington, D.C. Solas Nua acts as an ambassador and advocate for Irish arts in the U.S., promoting multi-disciplinary Irish arts and culture. Solas Nua presents, produces, and commissions thought-provoking and ground-breaking work across the arts, and is recognized for making a substantive, unique contribution to the artistic and cultural richness of the city of Washington, DC and beyond. Support and follow Solas Nua via their newsletters, on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Solas Nua’s Capital Irish Film Festival has been showing Irish films, films by Ireland-based filmmakers and the best of Irish cinematic talent, annually for 17 years. The four-day festival is presented in partnership with AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center at their historic art-deco theater in Silver Spring, MD.
ABOUT AFI SILVER THEATRE AND CULTURAL CENTER
A program of the American Film Institute (AFI), AFI Silver and Cultural Center offers a year-round program of the best in American and international cinema, featuring a dynamic mix of retrospectives, special events, tributes, on-stage guest appearances, specialty first-run movies,festivals, premieres and education and community-based programs in a theatrical setting of the highest standards. Anchored by the stunningly restored 1938 Silver Theatre, the three-screen AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center is a state-of-the-art film and digital media exhibition venue that serves as a national model for preserving and honoring our shared film and film-going heritage. Read about all of these programs and more at AFI.com/Silver, and follow AFI Silver on social media at Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.
Capital Irish Film Festival
February 29 - March 3
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
8633 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
