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Movies & TV

24th Jan 2018

Here are our 18 must-see movies at the 2018 Dublin Film Festival

Rory Cashin

Film fans, this kicks off next month!

Running from Wednesday 21 February to Sunday March, this year’s Audi Dublin International Film Festival will see over 100 feature films and dozens of celebrities and film-makers arriving in the capital to celebrate the arrival of their new movies.

With the full programme now available to check out on the festival’s official website, we’ve combed through all of the screenings and come up with our 18 for ’18.

Kicking off with…

BLACK 47

Wednesday 21 February – 21.00 – Cineworld

An Irish action-drama set during the Great Famine, starring Hugo Weaving, Barry Keoghan, Moe Dunford, Stephen Rea and Jim Broadbent, many of whom will be in attendance for this Gala Screening.

FIRST REFORMED

Thursday 22 February – 18.00 – Cineworld

World reknowned Paul Schrader (writer of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, director of American Gigolo and Affliction) will be presenting his new movie in person, telling the story of a guilt-wracked priest (Ethan Hawke) and the wife of a suicidal husband (Amanda Seyfried) who find themselves in each other’s lives due to unexpected circumstances.

THE BREADWINNER

Thursday 22 February – 20.00 – Cineworld

The Oscar-nominated Irish animation from Cartoon Saloon tells the story of an Afghanistan girl pretending to be a boy in order to provide for her family. Executive produced by Angelina Jolie, it has been the talk of the festival circuit for the last few months.

IN THE FADE

Friday 23 February – 20.45 – Lighthouse

Winner of the Best Foreign Language award at this year’s Golden Globes, it features Diane Kruger (Troy) seeking revenge for the death of her husband and young son following a bomb attack.

THE BALLAD OF LEFTY BROWN

Saturday 24 February – 20.00 – Cineworld

The legendary Bill Pullman (Independence Day, While You Were Sleeping) will be attending this screening of his new action-packed Western, in which he co-stars with another living legend, Peter Fonda.

THE CURED

Sunday 25 February – 20.15 – Lighthouse

An Ireland-set zombie movie starring Ellen Page, Sam Keeley and Tom Vaughn-Lawlor, putting a whole new spin on the sub-genre. Irish writer/director David Freyne will be in attendance.

TOWER. A BRIGHT DAY.

Monday 26 February – 20.30 – Lighthouse

A psychological thriller involving missing sisters, deep seated hatred and fear, and the downside of families just wanting to shove all of their troubles under the rug instead of dealing with them in as healthy a way as possible.

YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE

Monday 26 February – 20.30 – Lighthouse

Joaquin Phoenix and writer/director Lynne Ramsey (We Need To Talk About Kevin) team up for this short, sharp shock of violence which sees Phoenix play a very rough and always ready hit-man. Ramsey will be in attendance at the screening.

THE SUMMIT

Tuesday 27 February – 18.10 – Lighthouse

Nominated for about a bajillion awards at the Argentian equivalent of the Oscars, this thriller involves the President of Argentina having to sort out a very personal matter while at a highly-charged political meeting.

ISLE OF DOGS

Wednesday 28 February – 18.30 – Cineworld

A twisted animated comedy from the director of The Grand Budapest Hotel, with an insanely impressive voice-cast: Frances McDormand, Scarlett Johannson, Greta Gerwig, Bryan Cranston, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum and loads more besides.

RED SPARROW

Wednesday 28 February – 20.30 – Cineworld

Jennifer Lawrence re-teams with her Hunger Games director for this dark and atmospheric spy thriller in which she plays a Russian sleeper agent who may (or may not?) be about to defect to the American side.

THE IMAGE YOU MISSED

Thursday 1 March – 18.15 – Lighthouse

Director Donal Foreman made some waves back in 2013 for his debut feature Out Of Here, but here he turns the camera on himself, becoming part of the subject of a documentary in which a film-maker discovers more about his own father, a famous documentarian in his own right during the time of the Troubles.

WONDERSTRUCK

Thursday 1 March – 18.10 – Cineworld

Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore star in Todd Haynes’ (Carol, Far From Heaven) new movie about a young boy and the story that connects two women from over 50 years in the past. Three-time Oscar-winning Costume Designer Sandy Powell will be in attendance.

DAMO & IVOR: THE MOVIE

Friday 2 March – 18.15 – Cineworld

The film version of the hit characters will be getting the world premiere, with the dual role player Andy Quirke in attendance for the movie. Which character he’ll arrive as is still TBC.

JOURNEYMAN

Saturday 3 March – 18.30 – Lighthouse

Everybody loves Paddy Considine (Dead Man’s Shoes, Hot Fuzz), and he’ll be in Dublin to present his new directorial outing, in which he also stars as an aging boxer who suffers a serious head injury, and how that impacts on his friends and family.

THE DELIQUENT SEASON

Saturday 3 March – 20.30 – Lighthouse

Andrew Scott, Cillian Murphy, Eva Birthistle and Catherine Walker play two happily married couples who simultaneously notice the cracks in their relationships. The directorial debut from the writer of Intermission and Broken, while Murphy and Birthistle will be in attendance at the screening.

SURPRISE MOVIE

Sunday 4 March – 17.00 – Odeon Point

We’ve no idea what is. Nobody does. That is the point.

C’EST LA VIE

Sunday 4 March – 20.00 – Cineworld

Unfortunately not a movie about the life and times of the girls of B*Witched, the closing film is a feel good comedy from the folk behind magnificent comedy The Intouchables, and is the perfect way to send off this year’s festival.

LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge