CIFF2025: Announcing Solas Nua's 19th Capital Irish Film Festival Audience Awards
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Solas Nua announces the 2025 Capital Irish Film Festival Audience Awards - Favorite Irish Feature and Favorite Irish Short - based on filmgoers’ votes and reviews from the screenings at the 19th edition of the festival presented in partnership with the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, MD.
Best Irish Feature: BIRDSONG
Best Irish Short: THE MEMORIES OF OTHERS
BIRDSONG
The 2025 Audience Award for Favorite Irish Feature goes to BIRDSONG, Irish Director Kathleen Harris’ debut feature which received its North American Premiere at the Capital Irish Film Festival. The acclaimed film documents Cork Ornithologist Seán Ronayne’s mission to record the sound of every bird species in Ireland — nearly 200 birds - and follows him as he travels to some of the country’s most beautiful and remote locations including the busy seabird colony of Skellig Michael; a remote native woodland in the Burren; the corncrake stronghold of Tory Island; and a solitary nest in the Donegal uplands. The film also illustrates the beauty and importance of sound and what listening can tell us about the state of our natural world. With Birdwatch Ireland reporting that 63% of the country's bird population is now believed to be in danger of extinction, this is an important film with a vital message for our times.
The CIFF2025 festival audience was enthusiastic in their support for the film: “My favorite feature film;” “Birdsong was absolutely brilliant in the topic, to filming and editing. It provided a narrative to the critical issues we face with climate change, which is what we need to get more people engaged with this issue;" "My all time favorite, in terms of taking a hold of me in a way that I hadn't experienced in a film, it was Birdsong.”
Director Kathleen Harris 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.
On hearing the news, director Kathleen Harris shared, “The entire BIRDSONG team are delighted and honoured to receive the 2025 Capital Irish Film Festival's audience award! It was a pleasure to screen the film for the DC audience, who were so engaged, enthusiastic and welcoming. We're thrilled you were moved by Seán's story and his love for the natural world. Thank you for supporting our film and Irish film. Go raibh maith agat."
Thanks to support from Culture Ireland, Director Kathleen Harris travelled to Washington, DC to attend the screening and afterwards she took part in an engaging and informative Q&A with 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.
BIRDSONG was funded by RTÉ and Coimisiún na Meán and 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." The CIFF2025 screening was sponsored by Pat Reilly, former Director of the Capital Irish Film Festival.
THE MEMORIES OF OTHERS
The 2025 Audience Award for Favorite Irish Short goes to Pauline Vermare and Marc Lesser's THE MEMORIES OF OTHERS. This short documentary film uncovers Japanese photographer Akihiko Okamura's extraordinary work in Ireland during the "Troubles," and traces the artistic and emotional impact of its recent rediscovery. After a first trip in 1968 in JFK’s footsteps, Okamura moved to Ireland in 1969 with his family, spending the next 15 years of his life photographing the north and south of the island. Exploring his unique perspective as both an insider and an outsider, the film offers a nuanced portrayal of the complexities and contradictions of human nature. Through interviews, archival footage, and Okamura’s own evocative photographs, the filmmakers invite audiences to contemplate the universal themes of resilience, empathy, and the enduring quest for peace in the face of adversity. The Memories of Others is a testament to the power of visual storytelling in capturing the essence of human experiences amidst conflict.
The festival audience loved the film: “The Memories of Others tells an incredible story, beautifully and artfully;” “The Memories of Others was my favorite of the short films;” "We were so lucky to hear the daughter of Akihiko Okamura and the filmmakers of the documentary speak at the conclusion of the program.”
Director Pauline Vermare is a French-American photography historian, curator, and writer based in Brooklyn. She is presently the photography curator of the Brooklyn Museum, and previously held positions at Magnum Photos, ICP and MoMA. Her doctoral dissertation, which focused on the visual representation of Northern Ireland (1969-2022), included a chapter on Okamura's Irish work. This research led her to co-curate the exhibition The Memories of Others at Photo Museum Ireland, Dublin (April - July 2024); to publish the eponymous book with Atelier EXB and Prestel; and to co-direct this documentary with Marc Lesser. Vermare sits on the boards of the Saul Leiter Foundation and the Catherine Leroy Fund. She was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in Paris by French Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak in 2022.
Marc Lesser (PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, CINEMATOGRAPHER, EDITOR) is an Emmy nominated director and founder of Lucky Tiger Productions, a boutique production company in New York City. He was a producer and the cinematographer for the award-winning feature length documentary “Greenlit,” which premiered at SXSW in 2010 and “The Pathological Optimist,” which was released theatrically in 2017. Recent projects include directing four episodes of WeSpeak, a narrative television series that educates immigrants about their rights, that earned him several Emmy Awards nominations, including Best Director. He produced, shot and edited interviews with Michelle Obama and Alicia Keys, as well as the VR piece “The Immersive Saul Leiter Studio Experience,” which premiered at the Bunkamura Museum in Tokyo in July 2023.
Both directors and Ahikiko Okamura’s daughter, Kusi Okamura, travelled to Washington, DC to attend the screening and to engage in an onstage Q&A with Festival Director, Maedhbh Mc Cullagh, afterwards. On hearing the news of the award, they shared: “We are honored to receive the award and gratefully accept it as a tribute to Okamura’s enduring hope for peace. Thank you to the Solas Nua Capital Irish Film Festival and to all those who came out to see the film. This is deeply meaningful recognition for us and for 'The Memories of Others.'"
The film was made in collaboration with Photo Museum Ireland, Dublin, and the Akihiko Okamura Archive, Tokyo. The film was presented as part of the CIFF2025 SHORTS 3 program, sponsored by Cóilín Parsons & Ryan Dolan.
ABOUT CIFF2025
The 19th edition of the Solas Nua Capital Irish Film Festival, presented in partnership with American Film Institute's AFI Silver, took place February 27 - March 2. The four day festival was the most ambitious and successful festival to date – with 37 titles including 16 feature films (1 U.S., 2 North American, and 10 Regional Premieres); three shorts programs (23 short films across all programming); the Norman Houston Short Film Award presentation; three gala screening events with dignitaries; and 10 in-person post-screening conversations on stage including 8 moderated Q&As with artists, writers, professors and arts leaders from the DC cultural sector.
Special guests included dignitaries, guests of honor, writers, directors, and actors from stage and screen, including the Ambassador, Geraldine Byrne Nason and Deputy Ambassador, Fionnuala Quinlan from the Embassy of Ireland; Richard Cushnie, Director, Northern Ireland Bureau, North America; Mrs. Mary Robinson, first woman President of Ireland, a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the former Chair of The Elders; writers and directors Tess Annan, Eva Birthistle, Heather Brumley, Aislinn Clarke, Kalia Firester, Elena Horgan, Paul Kennedy, Joe P. Madden and Ste Murray; directors Tanya Doyle, Alan Gilsenan, Kathleen Harris, Paddy Hayes, Ross Killeen, Pauline Vermare and Terence White; director and producer Marc Lesser; writers Denise Deegan and John Walsh; actors Grace Callan, Hazel Doupe, and Ciaran McMenamin; musicians David Keenan and Edith Lawlor; writer and actor, Declan Curran, and producer Claire McCaughley.
Program highlights included animation and Irish language titles, with almost one-third of this year’s features containing Irish language dialogue, aligning with the festival’s mission to present more Irish language films. The program also strongly featured the work of Irish women directors and writers as part of the festival’s ongoing commitment to the representation of Irish women's stories on screen, including 17 titles directed by women, and 12 written or co-written by women. DC audiences were presented with an opportunity to watch some of the most eagerly awaited Irish films of the year, and explore new works that would not typically be screened in the U.S., by some of the most notable emerging voices in Irish cinema, with 8 directorial and feature debuts, including 5 by women.
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.
ABOUT AFI SILVER THEATRE AND CULTURAL CENTER
A program of the American Film Institute (AFI), AFI Silver Theatre 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 AFI.com/Silver, and follow AFI Silver on social media at Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.
