Countdown to CIFF2020!

‘House of Cardin‘

This entertaining documentary focuses on the life and work of the great Italian-born French designer Pierre Cardin. Cardin, now 98, is famous for his avant-garde, space-age geometrical shapes and motifs, and as a maverick who never endorsed the conventional ideal of the female body and who promoted diversity and inclusiveness. This authorised film features Cardin himself, together with exclusive archive footage and interviews with co-workers and muses, including Naomi Campbell and Sharon Stone.

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‘Maddy the Model‘

‘Maddy the Model‘ is an intimate and caring portrait of Madeline Stuart, the world’s first professional supermodel with Down’s syndrome. An endlessly cheerful protagonist, Maddy’s unbridled joy is matched only by her mother’s enthusiastic support in her battle for inclusion and a place in the fashion industry. Their experiences were documented by director Jane Magnusson for four years, resulting in this extraordinary film, which is a testament to the power and critical value of diverse storytelling on screen.

CIFF’s ‘Illuminate’ film and mental health strand is an online film and public discussion event which explores different aspects of mental health and wellbeing. This year’s ‘Illuminate’ title ‘Into Dad’s Woods‘  directed by Vero Cratzborn, is a touching family drama that asks important questions about the impact of parents’ mental health issues on their children. There will be a post-screening panel discussion about the effects of mental health challenges within families.Other films at Cork International Film Festival exploring mental health issues include ‘The Bright Side’, ‘Wildfire’ and ‘La Fortaleza’.

Presented in association with the French Embassy in Ireland.

Cork International Film Festival‘s Illuminate film and mental health programme is proudly supported by ESB Energy for Generations Fund and the HSE.

Online: Mon 9 – Sun 15 November

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‘I Am Samuel‘

‘I Am Samuel’, a feature documentary created by Peter Murimi and presented in association with the French Embassy in Ireland in resonance with the upcoming ‘Africa 2020’ season in France, follows the experiences of Samuel, and his relationship with his traditional parents and his partner Alex. This documentary confronts the harsh realities of social discrimination and criminalisation of homosexuality, in this honest and compassionate depiction of LGBTQ+ people in Kenya.

The film will be shown accompanied by ‘I Still Breathe’, a documentary short which speaks about the impact of George Floyd’s killing.

‘Falling‘

‘Falling’, a wonderful directorial debut from the talented Viggo Mortensen, tells the story of Willis, whose advanced dementia has forced him – a conservative, homophobic, solitary man – to leave his rural farm and move to Los Angeles to live with his son, John. John, who has overcome the trauma of his childhood with his domineering, unloving father, lives a happy, openly gay life with his family, but now finds himself obliged to take care of his ageing father in this heartfelt family drama.

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‘Paris is Burning‘

The influence of ‘Paris is Burning’ is vast. A portrait of Harlem NYC’s 80s drag-ball scene, where its young African American and Latinx participants would compete fiercely, parading the ballroom floors like catwalk models, ‘voguing’, and flamboyantly celebrating an LGBTQ+ culture that at the time was never visible in the media. Jennie Livingston’s documentary is just as important now as it was when it won at Sundance in 1991, the same year that it played Cork, and it is still a joy to behold.

‘Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane Mac Gowan‘

Shane MacGowan and The Pogues reinvigorated Irish folk music with a shot from the punk-rock pineal gland, whilst MacGowans’ lyrics detailed the experiences of Irish people adrift in London with a beauty and poeticism that belied his own chaotic drink-and-drugs-fuelled lifestyle. Filmmaker Julien Temple (The Filth and the Fury, Oil City Confidential) gifts us with a documentary that celebrates Shane’s life and work with a ferocious energy that would be instantly familiar to anyone who ever witnessed The Pogues live.

‘Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story‘

In 1986 Beverly Glenn-Copeland self-released a cassette of seven songs recorded at home using a Yamaha keyboard, a Roland drum machine and an Atari computer. Decades later, now living as Glenn Copeland, he was astonished to discover that this release, Keyboard Fantasies, was being hailed as an influential precursor to modern electronic music. Documenting Glenn’s life and return to performing, director Posy Dixon has created a film that is every bit as soothing as the music it sets out to celebrate.

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‘The Castle‘

Monika, a thirteen-year-old Lithuanian girl and aspiring pianist, lives with her mother and grandmother in Dublin. While Monika dreams of performing in the mysterious  ‘Castle’, her hard-pressed mother sells the family keyboard, forcing Monika to take extreme measures to get it back. Beautifully shot by cinematographer Michael Lavelle, this assured psychological coming-of-age story by writer/director Lužytė offers rare insights into the lives of economic migrants in Ireland.