February at the IFI

Welcome to the IFI’s February programme and a busy month of great new releases and old favourites.  

Two great directors, Polanski and Cronenberg, prove they are still at the top of their game with the release of Carnage and A Dangerous Method respectively. Good news for Michael Fassbender’s ever increasing fan base as February means another chance to see him on screen as he delivers yet another stunning performance as Carl Jung in Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method.

Roman Polanski's Carnage

The IFI regularly brings you the opportunity to experience cinema classics on the big screen and there is a bumper crop in February. As a timely follow-on to our celebration of the Prix Jean Vigo as part of the 2011 IFI French Film Festival we are delighted to be showing a newly restored L’Atalante – the masterwork of Vigo’s short but very influential career. Some of you may have been lucky enough to attend the screening in November which was introduced by Jean Vigo’s daughter Luce; it is an extraordinary film not to be missed. February also sees the re-release in digital cinema format of Casablanca and what better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than by revisiting this ultimate classic in all its cinematic glory.

Casablanca - 70th Anniversary Trailer 

February is the month of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival which takes place citywide from the 16th to 26th with a packed programme of screenings and special events connecting films from all over the world. We are delighted to be collaborating with JDIFF again with two very special programmes. Andrew Kötting is one of the U.K.’s most distinctive and inspiring experimental film makers. His work as an artist is not defined by any discipline and encompasses sound art, installation pieces, avant-garde theatre, short films, artists' books and full-length features. The very individual nature of his film work has led him to be described as the heir to English dissidents such as Derek Jarman and Peter Greenaway, and his claim that films “should show signs of the berserk or slightly psychotic, an attempt to reflect the human condition” may give you a flavour of what to expect. Kötting will be joining us for a discussion with GradCAM fellow Martin McCabe following screenings of his new film This Our Still Life and his critically-acclaimed debut feature Gallivant.

Andrew Kötting in This Is Our Still Life

We are also delighted to be screening films by the prolific amateur Derry filmmaker Terence McDonald for the first time, as part of the JDIFF Out of the Past programme, which brings treasures from international film archives to Dublin. The Terence McDonald film collection, part of the IFI Irish Film Archive, is an extraordinary body of work that defies any previously held perceptions of amateur filmmakers. Critically acclaimed at the time, it has rarely been seen in public since, despite the influence McDonald’s work has had on subsequent Northern Irish directors such as John T. Davis.

From Casablanca to rare Archive films – it is a diverse and very busy month at the IFI and we hope you enjoy it!

Sarah Glennie

Director