BIRDSONG preceded by CUMHA
Saturday, March 1 • 12:10 PM • T2
BIRDSONG
Q&A with director Kathleen Harris moderated by Dr. Peter P. Marra, Dean of The Earth Commons, Georgetown's Institute for Environment & Sustainability; Laudato Si’ Professor of, Biology and the Environment; Professor, McCourt School of Public Policy; Emeritus Senior Scientist, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center; will follow the screening.
Documentary Feature | North American Premiere | Woman Director | Debut Feature
Screening generously sponsored by Pat Reilly
Ornithologist Seán Ronayne from Cobh, County Cork, is on a mission to record the sound of every bird species in Ireland — nearly 200 birds. Often joined by his partner, Alba, he travels to some of the country’s most beautiful and remote locations to capture its most elusive species and soundscapes: the busy seabird colony of Skellig Michael; a native woodland free from road noise in the Burren; the corncrake stronghold of Tory Island; a solitary nest in the Donegal uplands. Along the way, the film also turns its focus to Seán, whose hypersensitivity to sound has proven both a struggle and a strength. At once inspiring and cautionary, Seán’s journey illustrates the beauty and importance of sound and what listening can tell us about the state of our natural world.
BIRDSONG received Honorable Mention at the prestigious Jackson Wild Awards which celebrate "excellence in storytelling that illuminates our connection to the natural world and collective responsibility to the wild."
DIR Kathleen Harris; PROD Ross Whitaker, Aideen O’Sullivan; DOP Ross Bartley; SCORE Paul Finan Ireland, 2024, color, 52 min. NOT RATED
Funded by RTÉ and Coimisiún na Meán with the Television Licence Fee.
🎟 For further information regarding bookings:
Please call 301-495-6720 between M-F, 9 AM - 5:30 PM or email silverinfo@AFI.com
Preceded by:
CUMHA
A personal exploration of the purpose of language and the loss that occurs when we no longer speak our native tongue. Through visits to places tied to her childhood and family, filmmaker Elena explores the connections between land, identity, and language, reflecting on the question: Without knowing my people, my land, or myself through my own language, am I missing a part of myself?
DIR/SCR/PROD Elena Horgan; SCR Siobhán Ní Dhomhnaill; PROD Ned Horgan. Ireland, 2023, color, 6 min. In English and Irish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
Funded by the Cork County Filmmaker in Residency scheme.
Kathleen Harris (BIRDSONG director) is an award-winning video journalist and documentary filmmaker based in Ireland. Until 2022, she worked at The Irish Times newspaper, where she directed, shot, and edited hundreds of videos and short documentaries on a wide range of topics, including grassroots environmental activism, reproductive rights, and migration crises in Europe and Asia. In 2021, she was named Irish Video Journalist of the Year for her coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in a Dublin hospital. In 2022, she left the Irish Times to pursue long form filmmaking and BIRDSONG is her first film.
Elena Horgan (CUMHA director) is a youth and community worker, as well as filmmaker from Cork, currently living in Dublin City Centre. With an interest in personal filmmaking, she believes that the arts are an amazing tool for self actualisation, understanding and reflection.
DINNER AND A MOVIE DEAL
Our festival partner, McGinty's Public House, has generously offered an ongoing discount from February 27 through March 2 for all CIFF ticket holders! When you dine at the restaurant, show your CIFF ticket or pass for a 10% off discount on your bill. Located just around the corner from AFI Silver Theatre, McGinty's (911 Ellsworth Dr, Silver Spring, MD 20910) is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat between screenings.
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.
