Irish Shorts 1: In Competition
A programme of Irish and world premiere shorts encompassing documentary and fiction. Featuring some formidable familiar talents and exciting new voices. An exploration of places and people, blending the serious and the comic.
TIN CITY - Feargal Ward [RU] [D]
We see clips of what looks like fragments of found footage from a dystopian, imagined town. Disembodied mannequin heads turn menacingly on a system of turntables. A bar, a bank, a shop – each location reveals another iteration of the same macabre set-up. Against this backdrop, a German television news program investigates. The secret nature of the site, located in a remote forest in northwest Germany, is revealed: it is an urban combat facility called “Tin City,” created by the British army to train its soldiers for foreign wars. The murder of the German wife of a British soldier sparks more media interest in this facility. An interview between a journalist and a spokesperson for the Irish underground terror organisation – the IRA – informs us about why the Northern Ireland “Troubles” have come to mainland Europe.
MARY IS MISSING - Aisling Byrne
When care worker Mary vanishes without a trace, Detective Foley arrives at the Yellow Tree Day Service, and investigations begin. As reports from the eyewitnesses become more and more confounding, we are asked to explore the reliability of truth, the strangeness of fiction, and the people we choose to believe.
MARGUERITE - Paul Webster
Marguerite, a woman isolated because of her political views, is confronted by her estranged daughter.
NO MEAN CITY - Ross McClean [D]
Two workmen and an apprentice drive through the city at night, replacing old sodium street lights with LED. Beneath their glow, the city grapples with change, as progress marches on
DAWN OF THE ICK - Nell Mercier
A town is plagued by a syndrome causing women to abandon their husbands. Sibéal thinks she’s immune, until her fiancé moves in. Is her love strong enough to see past the ick? Or is she just a fickle little bitch?
Films in competition are eligible for the Grand Prix Prix Documentary Short Award [D], Redbreast UNHIDDEN Short Award [RU] and Pure Cork Award [C] where stated. All films 2025, except where indicated.
Awards presentation supported by Murphy’s.
Cork International Film Festival is delighted to return to its Principal Venue, The Arc Cinema on North Main St, Cork, for its 70th Festival edition, Thursday 6th to Sunday 16th November 2025.
The Arc Cinema Cork is home to The GATE Screen — a space dedicated to preserving and celebrating the legacy of the beloved former Gate Cinema — and an ideal spot for meeting fellow festival goers in between screenings. The GATE Screen features luxurious double sofa seats and tables, creating an intimate and sophisticated viewing experience. It is dedicated to showcasing arthouse films, including independent and local productions, foreign and Irish language titles throughout the year.
