We are heading towards the second weekend of our extended 68th edition of the Festival. Stay tuned because there is lots more to come, including Cork actor Hilary Rose of The Young Offenders who will narrate the Family Gala presentation of Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds, live at The Everyman; the launch of Directors’ Fortnight; the fourth Best New Irish Feature Award nominee Prospect House (starring Barry Ward); and a weekend of experimental film with aemi.
Please note Almayer’s Folly (La folie Almayer) has been rescheduled from 2pm Wednesday 15th Nov at The Everyman to 10am Thursday 23rd Nov at the Triskel.
All Festival tickets and passes (including our 5 and 10 Film Cinema Passes) are on sale now at corkfilmfest.org and via the myCIFF app.
FAMILY GALA WITH LIVE NARRATION BY CORK ACTOR HILARY ROSE
We are thrilled to announce that Cork actor Hilary Rose (The Young Offenders, ‘Live Wild’ podcast) will perform a live narration of our Family Gala presentation Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds. (3pm, Sat 18th Nov, The Everyman)
Juliette and Carmen love a series of fantasy books written by family friend Agnes. What an exciting and unexpected surprise when they find a secret passage from her house into the world of the books! A beautiful take on ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by French director Benoit Chieux.
This animated adventure for all ages opened the famous Annecy International Animation Film Festival earlier this year where it won the Audience Award.
“I’ve been an admirer of Cork International Film Festival for such a long time, and being a native of Cork I’ve always tried to support it as much as possible. This year, I’m thrilled to have been asked to perform a live narration of Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds,” Hilary said to the Irish Independent.
Supported by the Embassy of France in Ireland
DIRECTOR’S FORTNIGHT: THE GOLDMAN CASE
The Goldman Case (Le Procés Goldman) (12-5pm, Thu 16th Nov, Triskel)
We launch our exclusive Directors’ Fortnight programme – a selection of Cannes Film Festival’s parallel section – with the courtroom drama The Goldman Case.
Based on a real case from the 1970s, the film chronicles the second trial of radical left-wing militant Pierre Goldman who proclaims himself innocent of two murders he supposedly committed during a bank robbery. Goldman becomes an icon of the French intellectual left, showing how divided was France in 1976, and Cedric Kahn’s drama is electrifying thanks to the extraordinary performance of Arieh Worthalter.
This Irish premiere will be introduced by Directors’ Fortnight Artistic Director Julien Rejl and Josselin LE GALL, Hon. Consul of France in Cork.
In partnership with the French Embassy in Ireland and Alliance Française de Cork.
BEST NEW IRISH FEATURE AWARD: PROSPECT HOUSE + Q&A 
Prospect House (8.30pm, Fri 17th Nov, The Everyman)
A group of protesters film a period re-enactment in a dilapidated 18th century house in a last ditch effort to save it from demolition. Through this film-within-a-film device, Paul Mercier’s satirical script gleefully blurs the lines between “real life” and dramatised events, while touching on a dizzying range of themes such as art, historical truth and conservation.
The film is fuelled by an anarchic energy and propelled by Mel Mercier’s driving score.
This screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the film’s director, Paul Mercier, and the producers.
In competition for the inaugural CIFF Best New Irish Feature Award, proudly supported by the Irish Examiner. The winner will be announced on Sunday 19th Nov.
AEMI EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS 1 + MASTERCLASS WITH KEVIN JEROME EVERSON
aemi Experimental Shorts: A Moment Between (1pm, Sat 18th Nov, Sirius Arts Centre)
Three experimental works curated by aemi for CIFF2023, including the world premiere of Lisa Freeman’s Approx 1 Second of a Sweet Kiss produced as part of the aemi & SIRIUS Commission 2023. Alongside that are the grabbed, interstitial moments that make up Laida Lertxundi and Ren Ebel’s In a Nearby Field, and a singalong psychedelic interpersonal journey by way of Jodie Mack’s epic Dusty Stacks of Mom. Total running time: 70 mins.
APPROX 1 SECOND OF A SWEET KISS
Lisa Freeman | 2023 | 13 mins | Ireland | Digital
IN A NEARBY FIELD
Laida Lertxundi, Ren Ebel | 2023 | 16 mins | Spain | 16mm/Digital
DUSTY STACKS OF MOM
Jodie Mack | 2013 | 41 mins | USA |16mm/Digital
This screening will be followed by a Q&A session.
aemi Artist in Focus: Kevin Jerome Everson (Masterclass) (3pm, Sat 18th Nov, Sirius Arts Centre)
aemi’s international Artist in Focus at CIFF is the acclaimed and prolific filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson. This masterclass offers audiences an in-depth introduction to the artist’s influences and methodology.
After training in photography, Everson’s practice developed to include printmaking and sculpture before turning to the medium of analogue film in the late 1990s. Since then he has created an extraordinary body of moving image work often shaped around formal devices that emerge from the subjects and themes that recur across his work. Here he will discuss the processes, procedures and materials used in his world-renowned moving image practice over the past two decades.
Please email info@aemi.ie in advance to secure a place on this Masterclass.
DISCOVERY CHOICE: LITTLE GIRL BLUE
Little Girl Blue (12pm, Fri 17th, Triskel)
An unconventional non-fiction expression of the life of French actress, photographer and poet Carole Achache, embodied through a committed performance by Marion Cotillard (La Vie en rose, Inception).
Directed by her daughter Mona Achache, the filmmaker masterfully interprets her mother’s fascinating life and lineage through letters and archival recordings, channelled through Cotillard’s mesmerising interpretation of the woman. A loving testament to her mothers legacy, unafraid to examine their mutual traumas, the film pushes the boundaries of the documentary hybrid form, and is a profound meditation on grief.
DISOVERY CHOICE: SHE IS CONANN
She is Conann (8.30pm, Fri 17th Nov, Triskel)
The story of the legendary fantasy character is flipped on its head in Bertrand Mandico’s blood-soaked and glitter-littered spectacle.
Hellhound Rainer (an unrecognisable Elina Löwensohn) narrates the tale of Conann, a young girl destined, with Rainer’s guidance, to become a cruel and barbaric force to be feared. Leaping through her six lives and forever destined to be killed by her future selves, the tale of Conann is a time- and body-shifting tour de force, a love letter to the macabre and the gruesome.
Screening as part of Directors’ Fortnight.
In competition for the CIFF Youth Jury Award. The winner will be announced on Sun 26th Nov.
CORK FILM TRAIL
Embark on a cinematic journey through the heart of Cork City with the 2023 Cork Film Trail. Celebrate our 68 years of the Festival through captivating visuals from the CIFF Digital Archive at five iconic locations:
- St. Peter’s Cork, CIFF Festival Hub, North Main Street
- The Savoy, St. Patrick’s Street
- The Metropole Hotel (To Have & To Hold), MacCurtain Street
- The Irish Examiner, Oliver Plunkett Street
- City Hall Atrium, Anglesea Street
Navigate the city with our online Trail map and bite-sized podcasts, and discover Cork’s renowned charm and hospitality at nearby pubs. Plus, stay tuned to our socials for the return of our popular free Trail pub quiz during the Festival.
The Cork Film Trail is presented in collaboration with our Creative Partner Babelfís and UCC, and sponsored by Murphy’s.
