Landmark 70th Anniversary Festival takes place Thursday 6th to Sunday 16th November.
Highlights include: 75 Irish feature premieres, with high-profile titles, including Blue Moon, the Irish-produced feature from Richard Linklater starring Ethan Hawke and Andrew Scott; Song Sung Blue starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson; and Pillion starring Alexander Skarsgård.
Multiple themed strands, special presentations, features and shorts, with a strong focus on visiting filmmakers and guests as part of the 70th Anniversary edition of Cork International Film Festival
Cork International Film Festival (CIFF) has launched the programme for the milestone 70th anniversary edition of the Festival, which will screen the best in Irish and international films throughout Cork City and county from Thursday 6th to Sunday 16th November. This notable anniversary edition will welcome a host of talented filmmakers and distinguished guests from across the film world who will present their work, discuss their careers, share their ideas, and engage with the audience.
The 70th Anniversary programme marks Director of Programming Aurélie Godet’s second outing and offers audiences the very best of Irish, global and independent cinema. Highlights of this year’s programme include the Irish premieres of multiple high-profile titles, including major studio films such as Blue Moon, the Irish-produced feature from Richard Linklater starring Ethan Hawke and Andrew Scott (Sat 8, Everyman); the Awards Gala screening of Song Sung Blue starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson (Sat 15, Everyman); and Pillion starring Alexander Skarsgård (Thu 13, Everyman with post-film show by Krystal & The Queers).
Oscar®-winning producer, educator and Festival Patron David Puttnam, speaking on the 70th Anniversary, commented: “Festivals like this matter today more than ever: CIFF offers a place for us to come together and experience collective joy – or anguish, or hope, or empathy, or laughter. It gives us a chance to reflect upon ourselves in a truly authentic way. It is a place – like Cork itself – for everyone; where the everyday community can gather and be celebrated in the stories on screen. “
Key guests and special presentations at the 70th edition include Oscar®-winning producer, educator and CIFF Patron, David Puttnam; multi-award winning actor Gabriel Byrne; actress and star of Excalibur, Cherie Lunghi; cinematographer Seamus Deasy; co-CEO of Element Pictures Ed Guiney; legendary costume designer Joan Bergin; photographer Misan Harriman; actress and podcaster Hilary Rose. Along with experts and academics who will participate in post-film panel discussions and industry events, CIFF will welcome filmmakers from Ireland and across the world, including Lisa Barros D’Sa; Glenn Leyburn; Brendan Canty; Ruán Magan; Alison Millar; Andy Mundy-Castle; and Jacqueline Jansen to name but a few.
Proudly supported by the Irish Examiner, the Best New Irish Feature Award showcases acclaimed Irish films and filmmaking talent, profiling fiction and documentary features either fully Irish in story and production or in collaboration with talent from across the world. In addition to Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon, features included this year are: Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn’s Saipan (Opening Gala, Thu 6, Everyman & second screening with Closed Captions on Fri 7, Arc); Dennis Harvey and Lars Lovén’s Celtic Utopia (Sat 8, Everyman, followed by a post-screening gig – DOSE x Útóipe Cheilteach – at The Kino, Washington St., Cork); Brendan Canty’s documentary Gealtra (Fri 7, Everyman); and Akinola Davies Jr’s My Father’s Shadow (Sun 9, Arc). All will be presented with their filmmakers in attendance.
Family films and activities for children, schools and young people are a key focus for the Festival with a hand-picked collection of magical stories designed to spark curiosity and delight in younger audiences. Headlining this strand will be a dog-friendly Family Gala, the beloved Lady and the Tramp (also marking its 70th anniversary this year). Screening at the Everyman on Sun 9 Nov, this canine-friendly event will be an unforgettable cinematic experience for the whole family, including your pooch! Across the rest of the Family strand, from adventures in Japan to tender tales of growing up, plus live narration for younger film fans, the curated selection of films will open doors to new worlds for audiences of all ages.
As part of the Festival’s expanded activities for young people, and in addition to a curated programme of films offered to Cork City and County’s secondary schools, will be CineSpark: Film & Education Day (Thu 13, MTU Curtis Auditorium). Supported by Coimisiún na Meán, this free day-long series of interactive sessions is designed to inspire, inform and spark creativity among Transition Year and Senior Cycle students. It will include screenings of short films made by young people in partnership with First Cut! Youth Film Festival and Fresh FIlm Festival; and the Next Generation Programme, where they can learn how to take first steps towards a future in the animation industry (including Will Sliney, Marvel Comics & RTÉ). Rounding off the day will be CIFF’s Aeráid Youth Film & Climate Action event, designed to inspire young people about the positive changes and impacts they can make to protect our future. It will include a special screening of Our Blue World: A Water Odyssey by Ruán Magan and narrated by Liam Neeson. Presented in partnership with BlueTech Research®.
A carefully crafted combination of nourishment for mind and body features in this year’s Culinary Strand. Supported by chef, writer and CIFF Culinary Ambassador Rachel Allen, this year’s Culinary Cinema strand journeys from Franco’s Spain to New York’s Vietnamese kitchens, Rioja’s storied vineyards to Californian rooftop farms. Discover immersive dining events and discussions that draw on Cork’s celebrated culinary culture to bring these cross-cultural stories to life.
The Short Film strand at CIFF has for decades been regarded as the central showcase for short filmmakers in Ireland. Competitive and non-competitive programmes present the best of Irish and international short film. Stranded shorts include Family, Experimental, Cork, Irish & international programmes. This year, the Festival announced a multi-year whiskey partnership with Redbreast Single Pot Still Whiskey to champion new filmmaking talent, and together they will present the new Redbreast UNHIDDEN Short Film Award as part of the 2025 Short Awards announcement in the Triskel on Thu 13 Nov.
Spotlights in 2025 are Special Presentations which include Honorary Award (David Puttnam and John Boorman), cine-concerts, artist film exhibitions, restored classics and ‘in conversations’. A special presentation and ‘In Conversation’ event takes place on Fri 7 Nov with a screening of Defence of the Realm, followed by a discussion between Academy Award®-winning film producer and educator, David Puttnam, and multi-award-winning actor Gabriel Byrne, who will share stories, insights, and behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Defence of the Realm and beyond – an extraordinary opportunity to experience film history brought to life. The Festival will also welcome legendary costume designer Joan Bergin and co-CEO of Element Pictures Ed Guiney who will each participate in ‘In Conversations’, discussing their careers, influences and story-telling strategies.
In Music for Domes (Mon 10 and Tue 11, St. Peter’s Cork), the award-winning Irish artist Róis will join forces with the visionary Hosta Projects for a journey unlike any other – an immersive documentary experience that combines archival footage, sonic folklore and celestial cartography, presented in a pop-up Planetarium dome! The film draws parallels between two ancient cultures – Ireland and Cambodia – how both map memory, myth and survival across the stars.
Offering county- and nationwide access to the 70th Festival, the Online Programme will present a snapshot selection of six features from across the programme, available 15-23 Nov. Super Cine Saturday returns with a special selection of Festival highlights – IFI Cork on Camera and Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winning It Was Just an Accident playing at Cinemax Bantry, Regal Cinema Youghal, and Briery Gap Macroom on Sat 16 Nov. Cinemax Bantry will also present two further features on Tue 11: Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague and Oliver Laxe’s Sirat.
CIFF Director & CEO Fiona Clark spoke about this year’s Festival: “Seventy years on, we share the Festival founders’ vision of delivering an extraordinary experience for our audiences, that celebrates the exceptional creativity of stories on screen, upholding the promise of our name: firmly rooted in Cork, but open and welcoming to the world, celebrating film in all its kaleidoscopic forms, and bringing people together in a shared Festival experience. We’re delighted to continue our commitment to recognising extraordinary film talent through presentation of awards in multiple categories, shorts and features, including films in competition for the Best New Documentary, Youth Jury Lookout Award, and Audience Award, which are transversal, and this year, the prestigious Eurimages Audentia Award, profiling the work and achievements of female directors.”
CIFF Programmer Aurélie Godet said, “The films on offer this year are wildly varied but share qualities that are the ones we look out for when composing the programme: sincerity, curiosity, ambition, storytelling power. Together, they remind us of all that we have in common with people across the world, and that beauty can stem from anything and anywhere – an Irish tune sung a cappella to, or a water lily pond in Japan, and mad love stories imagined by cool Canadians… demonstrating that it is still possible to invent new narratives.”
The Awards Gala at the Festival this year is the hotly anticipated Song Sung Blue (Sat 15, Everyman). Based on a true story, two down-on-their-luck musicians (Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson) form a joyous Neil Diamond tribute band, proving it’s never too late to find love and follow your dreams.
The Disruptors strand embraces maverick filmmakers of cinema’s past and present, and CIFF’s Honorary Disruptor Award 2025 will be awarded this year to the renowned filmmaker, John Boorman. The ceremony will precede the screening of his visionary 1974 sci-fi, Zardoz. Cherie Lunghi, star of Excalibur (Sun 16, Everyman), will present the award. The ceremony will also include video messages from Callum Turner, Jamie Lee Curtis, Liam Neeson, Juliette Binoche , Seamus Deasy and other major artists who have worked with John Boorman. A new documentary, Boorman and the Devil (Tue 11, Triskel) and a programme of two of his shorts – Two Nudes Bathing and I Dreamt I Woke Up (Sat 15, Triskel) will also screen as part of the Disruptors strand.
The 70th CIFF will present returning strands: World Tour showcases international must-sees with universal appeal; Momentum features wide-ranging cinematic odysseys for curious-minded spectators and Irish Voices celebrates Ireland’s broad creative diversity. The Spirit of the Festival competition brings to you the best of new European cinema. These filmmakers wowed us with their first or second feature film and will compete for the Spiorad na Féile (Spirit of the Festival) Best Film and Best Screenplay awards. Retrospective: Do The Right Thing offers eight classic films exploring the sense of what’s right with acts of moral strength, great or small.
In Screen Green, discover more about the particular relationship between humans and their living environment. Blame (Mon 10, Triskel) focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic, when three scientists – who long-predicted its arrival – must battle not only the virus but also a wave of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and political blame. This will be followed by a panel discussion. Climate in Therapy (Sat 8 and Wed 12, and also online nationwide) is a humorous, inventive and serious experiment in which seven climate scientists meet to engage in circle therapy about their shared climate anxiety. The Saturday screening will be followed by a discussion with University College Cork Prof Hannah Daly (renewable energy) and Dr Rosemary Keane (clinical psychologist), and an activity organised by the filmmakers will follow both screenings. In partnership with University College Cork. Peak Everything (Amour Apocalypse) follows Adam, a kind-hearted kennel-owner who, to help combat his climate anxiety, orders a therapeutic solar lamp. He then meets Tina, a radiant woman with a voice that soothes all of his worries. The filmmaker, Anne Émond, will be in attendance.
The Festival’s Parallax strand highlights filmmakers who play with the very nature of the art form; Cork Lens, spotlights the creative diversity of our local community, past and present, through film, conversation, and the panoramic screen of the city itself. The Illuminate strand casts a light on a subject that matters: mental health, and invites professionals, service users and filmmakers to respond, and engage in dialogue inspired by the films.
As the Festival celebrates its 70th edition in 2025, this year’s Cork Film Trail invites guests to discover the story of Cork’s cinematic heritage between Festival screenings through a series of vibrant, interactive installations across Cork city centre. From the very first Festival in 1956, through seven decades of evolving projector technology, to the famous filmmakers and industry icons who have visited Cork. The Trail brings the city’s film history to life in a fun and immersive way. Follow the Trail through iconic locations such as Cork City Hall, ARC Cinema, To Have & To Hold at The Metropole Hotel, The Irish Examiner, and Cork Kent Train Station, among others. Supported by Cork City Council, the Trail is presented by CIFF in partnership with Babelfís and sponsored by Murphy’s.
The ARC Cinema has returned as a Principal Venue Partner, including a newly refurbished boutique-style auditorium called The GATE Screen and CIFF will bring focus to this newest destination arthouse cinema.
All tickets are on sale now at corkfilmfest.org and the MyCIFF app.
The 70th Cork International Film Festival will run from Thursday 6th to Sunday 16th of November, 2025. For more information and to view the full programme, and to stay up to date with the latest news and programme announcements, visit corkfilmfest.org.
