Due to the 2020 COVID-19 emergency, this event was sadly cancelled.
IFL is the official film partner of the Mayor of London’s St Patrick’s Day Festival
Now in its tenth year, IFL returns to the Regent Street Cinema in central London with an exciting programme of features, exclusive Q&As, children and family events and a selection of original short Irish films.
For individual event information, click on each event on our programme page. Otherwise, read on for a festival overview.
Barry Keoghan in Calm With Horses, screening at Irish Film London’s St. Patrick’s Film Festival 2020
The film festival opens Friday 13th March with Calm with Horses, the acclaimed screen debut of director Nick Rowland, produced by Michael Fassbender. It stars Cosmo Jarvis (Peaky Blinders, Lady Macbeth), Barry Keoghan (The Eternals, Dunkirk) and Niamh Algar (The Virtues, Pure).
This gripping thriller is set in rural Ireland where former boxer ‘Arm’ (Jarvis) becomes the feared enforcer of the drug dealing Devers family, which trying to be a good father to his autistic son, Jack. The screening is followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.
Lenny Abrahamson returns to London for Irish Film London’s St. Patrick’s Film Festival 2020
On Sunday 15th March, Oscar nominated director and IFL Patron Lenny Abrahamson will hold a Q&A session, discussing his recent work, including a sneak preview of scenes from his much-anticipated TV series Normal People.
Lenny directs the BBC and Hulu series, adapted from Sally Rooney’s acclaimed novel.
Set in modern Dublin, Normal People is a romantic love story about two teenagers who try to work through an awkward, tangled set of circumstances. It stars Daisy Edgar-Jones (Cold Feet) and newcomer Paul Mescal.
Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal star in Normal People on BBC3 and Hulu
The line-up also includes two programmes of original Irish short films (Friday 13th & Sunday 15th March).
Among the highlights is The Blocks, an animated film exploring the effect of addiction on family life and made by artist Gareth Gowran working with women from the Rialto Community Drug Team family support group, Step by Step.
Day in The Sun is a moving tale of friendship, GAA sports and dementia and won the Audience Award for Best Short at the Clones Film Festival.
Twin at the Irish Film London’s St. Patrick’s Film Festival 2020
In Twin, Ava spends her 21st birthday exploring the grief felt by the death of her twin sister and her attempts to overcome it.
The festival also includes a Saturday afternoon family film, The Runway, that will delight audiences, young and old, followed by a craft-based intergenerational workshop, which will be bring to life the characters from the film.
The main celebration of the St. Patrick’s Festival and Parade takes place on Sunday 15th March at Trafalgar Square, with other satellite events taking place across the city, including the Camden Music Trail and Irish Music on the Underground.
IFL will be there in Trafalgar Square with their regular stall to chat about Irish Film and their exciting 10th anniversary plans and will be screening some short films up on the big outdoor screen.
The St Patrick’s Day Festival is run in collaboration with the Greater London Authority.
Mayor Sadiq Khan leads the London St. Patrick’s Parade & Festival each year.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I’m proud that every year our celebrations for St Patrick’s Day get better and better, and that 2020 will be our biggest yet.
“I’m particularly pleased that this year the theme will be women in sport, as we celebrate the great impact sport has on our communities and look to inspire the next generation of talent.
“The weekend really is a great way for Londoners and visitors to our capital to join together and celebrate the way London’s Irish community have helped to shape life in our city. It shows again how London is open to all.”
Irish Film London is supported, in part, by the Emigrant Support Programme under the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland, Culture Ireland, The Ireland Funds of Great Britain and the Irish Youth Foundation.
