May at the IFI

Welcome to the IFI’s action-packed May programme which includes a special focus on German film.

Paul Verhoeven's Robocop (May 27th, 16.30)

It gives me great pleasure to write my first welcome note as the new Director of the IFI. I’m delighted to be taking on this new role and to be given the opportunity to lead the organisation into its next exciting phase. Having worked here for the past four years in a different capacity, I am in the privileged position of already knowing the many strengths of the organisation, in particular the fantastic and dedicated team that I get to work alongside, and our loyal and dedicated audiences. Our departing Director Sarah Glennie has passed me the baton in immaculate condition, and I’m now looking forward to building on all the recent successes and continuing to ensure that the IFI remains as one of Ireland’s most dynamic and relevant cultural institutions.

Terry McMahon's Charlie Casanova

Talking of recent successes, we recently launched plans for a new IFI Irish Film Archive Preservation & Research Centre at NUI Maynooth. Last November, the IFI officially launched the IFI Irish Film Archive Preservation Fund to expand access to, and preservation of, our national film archive collection. The Irish Film Institute, together with NUI Maynooth and key funding partners the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, have now announced plans for the development of this new Preservation and Research Centre at NUI Maynooth. We would like to thank each and every one of you who supported this fundraising campaign. From donations large and small to people purchasing items at the IFI Film Shop whose proceeds directly went into the Fund, the shortfall in funding would not have been met without your support, so thank you! The Centre will allow the IFI to ensure that future generations can continue to learn from, and enjoy, Ireland’s moving image heritage.

Back at the IFI in Temple Bar, we have plenty to keep you on the edge of your seat in May. To coincide with the release of The Raid, we’ve put together a season of seminal action classics for you to enjoy. So if you’re dying to see JohnMcClane, Rambo or Neo back on the big screen, or want to reacquaint yourself with some classic ‘hunger games’ in Battle Royale, then look no further!

German Film Week: Cracks In The Shell (May 11th, 18.50)

Also this month, in partnership with the Goethe-Institut Irland, we’re pleased to present a season of new German films, which includes new works by two of contemporary cinema’s finest directors, Volker Schlöndorff (Calm at Sea) and Andreas Dresen (Stopped on Track). The season also highlights work by some emerging new talents in German cinema.

And don’t forget to try out our new lunch and evening menus at the IFI Café Bar!

Ross Keane

Director

A month of action classics back on the big screen:  Bang for your Buck: Action Movies 101 season continues throughout May at the IFI.

German Film Week continues at the IFI from May 10th - 16th.