2026 FESTIVAL FULL PROGRAM LINEUP ANNOUNCED
****CIFF2026 All-Access Passes have SOLD OUT****
Lineup includes 7 North American and 7 East Coast premieres in a list of 18 features; 4 shorts programs (24 titles including a family-focused shorts program); the Norman Houston Award; 12 directorial and feature debuts; award-winning filmmakers; 15 women directors and 17 women writers; in-person conversations, gala screenings, panels, a Pop-Up Gaeltacht, Q&As with visiting filmmakers, special events, and more!
Scroll down for program details and click on each title for further information. All-access passes are sold out. Individual tickets to all screenings are on sale now.
FESTIVAL DAY-BY-DAY SCHEDULE
DAY 1 | Thursday, February 26, 2026
Opening Night: SAIPAN | 7:00 p.m. | T1 | Special Guest Q&A | Reception
BP FALLON ROCK’N’ROLL WIZARD VOL. 1 | 9:30 p.m. | T1
DAY 2 | Friday, February 27, 2026
CIFF2026 SHORTS PROGRAM 1 | 10:00 a.m. | T2
TRAVELLING BACK (AG TAISTEAL SIAR) | 10:30 a.m. | T3
A QUIET LOVE | 12:10 p.m. | T2
A WANT IN HER | 2:15 p.m. | T2
TESTIMONY | 4:10 p.m. | T2
THREE KEENINGS (Norman Houston Award Winner) + NO ORDINARY HEIST | 6:30 p.m. | T1 | Award Ceremony | Double Bill | Special Guest Q&A | Reception
GIRLS & BOYS | 9:25 p.m. | T1
DAY 3 | Saturday, February 28, 2026
CIFF2026 - SHORTS PROGRAM 2 | 10:00 a.m. | T1
CIFF2026 - FAMILY FRIENDLY SHORTS PROGRAM | 11:00 a.m. | T3
IN TIME: DÓNAL LUNNY | 12:05 p.m. | T1 | Special Guest Q&A
GERRY ADAMS: A BALLYMURPHY MAN | 2:30 p.m. | T1
BÁITE | 5:00 p.m. | T1 | Special Guests Q&A
HORSESHOE | 7:30 p.m. | T1
CELTIC UTOPIA (UTÓIPE CHEILTEACH) | 9:30 p.m. | T1 | Special Guest Q&A
DAY 4 | Sunday, March 1, 2026
CIFF2026 SHORTS PROGRAM 3 | 10:00 a.m. | T2
LISTEN TO THE LAND SPEAK | 11:50 a.m. | T2 | Special Guest Intro
DANIEL O'CONNELL: THE EMPANCIPATOR | 1:45 p.m. | T2 | Special Guests Panel Q&A
SANATORIUM | 3:40 p.m. | T2 | Special Guest Q&A
AONTAS | 6:00 p.m. | T1
Closing Night: CHRISTY | 8:00 p.m. | T1 | Reception
“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 CIFF
Solas Nua is proud to present the annual Capital Irish Film Festival, in partnership with the American Film Institute, at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center. Now in its 20th year, CIFF is one of the largest programs of Irish cinema in North America. The four-day festival brings the best of contemporary Irish cinema by filmmakers from the island of Ireland to audiences in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. For two decades CIFF has celebrated the rich contemporary culture, identities, and heritage from across the island of Ireland on screen. The four-day festival provides a US platform for emerging voices in Irish cinema, showcases the exceptional home-grown creative talent both on screen and behind the camera, and reflects the rapid expansion and success of the Irish screen industry internationally. As well as providing audiences with the opportunity to see a selection of the latest Irish films never before screened in the Washington metropolitan area, CIFF also gives attendees the chance to meet and greet the many visiting filmmakers and artists from Ireland after the screenings. This year’s program includes North American and East Coast premieres, debut features, VIP guests and dignitaries, Q&As, talkbacks and gala events, as well as special talent appearances.
Read About Previous CIFF Program Announcements:
See Photos & Video Content From Previous Festivals:
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 26 - March 1
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
8633 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
