Cork International Film Festival (CIFF) is delighted to announce a brand-new season of curated films, ‘CIFF Selects Cine Club @ GATE Screen’ at The Arc Cinema Cork.
Cork International Film Festival is delighted to present a brand-new season of curated film previews and hosted discussions, presented in GATE Screen at The Arc Cinema, Cork’s dedicated space for indie productions and international films.
This specially curated CIFF Selects Cine Club will showcase five films handpicked by CIFF, including highlights from the 70th Festival in November 2025, which will be screened in preview each month, from February to June, ahead of their cinema release at The Arc Cinema. Starting at 6pm on the last Wednesday of each month, audiences will be invited to immerse themselves in unique and diverse stories, and visually stunning cinema from around the world.
All films will be introduced by CIFF Programmers, offering background and context on each feature (just like during the Festival), and there will be an opportunity for the audience to stay after the credits roll for a hosted Cine Club discussion.
GATE Screen – located in Screen 6 at our Principal Venue Partner, The Arc Cinema Cork – showcases curated indie and international films all year round, including its ‘Stories Without Borders’ strand. Championing independent filmmakers and supporting local talent, GATE Screen offers a truly boutique arthouse cinema experience, with beautifully coloured soft velvet seating, intimate décor, double sofa seats and in-screen tables, creating the perfect setting for this carefully chosen series.
CIFF Selects Cine Club @ GATE Screen Schedule:
- Wed 25 Feb, 6pm – Sirāt
- Wed 25 Mar, 6pm – DJ Ahmet
- Wed 29 April, 6pm – Romería
- Wed 27 May, 6pm – Mr, Nobody Against Putin
- Wed 24 June, 6pm – We Believe You
Tickets:
- Individual films: €12.50 (€11 concessions)
- Under 25/Student: €7
- 3 Film Pass: €30
- 2 Film Pass: €20
- Festival Friends: 10% discount (automatically applied at checkout)
Booking
All CIFF Selects screenings take place at 6pm on the last Wednesday of each month. Tickets must be booked via corkfilmfest.org or the myCIFF app. Advance booking is recommended due to limited seating.
CIFF SELECTS CINE CLUB @ GATE SCREEN – FORTHCOMING SCREENINGS:
6pm, Wednesday 29 April: Romería
Carla Simón | Spain | 2025 | 115 mins | Subtitled
Marina, 18, orphaned at a young age, must travel to Spain’s Atlantic coast to obtain a signature for a scholarship application from the paternal grandparents she has never met. Guided by her mother’s diary, which she has always kept with her, she navigates a sea of new aunts, uncles, and cousins, uncertain whether she will be embraced or met with resistance.
Stirring long-buried emotions, reviving tenderness, and uncovering unspoken wounds tied to the past, Marina pieces together the fragmented and often contradictory memories of the parents she barely remembers.
Cinema Release date: Friday 8 May
6pm, Wednesday 27 May: Mr. Nobody Against Putin
David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin | Denmark, Czech Republic, Germany | 2025 | 90 mins | Subtitled
Be among the first to see this BAFTA-winning, Oscar-nominated documentary, part of CIFF Selects’ award-winning lineup. As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war. Facing the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, a brave teacher goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school.
6pm, Wednesday 24 June: We Believe You
Arnaud Dufeys, Charlotte Devillers | Belgium | 2025 | 78 mins | Subtitled
Winner of the Spiorad Na Féile/Spirit of the Festival Award for Best Film and Lookout Award at the 70th Cork International Film Festival, ‘We Believe You’ closes out the CIFF Selects season. Today, Alice stands before a judge, knowing there’s no room for error. She must speak up for her children and confront their father, as custody is being called into question. Can she make their voices heard and protect them before it’s too late?
“We believe you” are the words that Alice and her children are dying to hear, in the soulless courtroom that feels far, too far away from the reality of what their life is.
PREVIOUS SCREENINGS:
6pm, Wednesday 25 March: DJ Ahmet
Georgi M. Unkovski | North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia | 2025 | 99 mins | Subtitled
DJ Ahmet has won several major awards at the Sundance festival where it premiered: the Audience award, the World Cinema Dramatic competition and Special Jury Award for Creative Vision. Ahmet, a 15-year-old boy from a remote Yuruk village in North Macedonia, finds refuge in music while navigating his father’s expectations, a conservative community, and his first experience with love — a girl already promised to someone else.
A charming and optimistic fable, DJ Ahmet somehow promotes Western social media as a powerful weapon for the emancipation of young people from the patriarchal customs that govern rural and religious communities. Writer-director Georgi M. Unkovski chooses the tone of comedy and his optimism is irresistible.
Cinema Release date: Friday 27 March
6pm, Wednesday 25 February: Sirāt
Oliver Laxe | Spain | 2025 | 115 mins | Subtitled
The thundering bass of an illegal rave in the Moroccan desert. A father, with his son, searches among the gyrating dancers for his missing daughter. A group of seasoned ravers reveal to them that a final event will be taking place in another desert location, and they follow the revellers across the barren wastes towards this last party, only to be confronted by their own existential limits.
A deserving winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Sirāt demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible.
Cinema Release date: Friday 27 February
About GATE Screen @ The Arc Cinema:
The Arc Cinema is committed to honouring the legacy and preserving the spirit of cultural discovery and artistic exploration that defined Gate Cinema. For keen cinephiles and Cork International Film Festival audiences, GATE Screen also presents its ‘Stories Without Borders’ series, a specialised, curated film strand focused on bringing diverse, acclaimed international cinema, independent dramas, and documentaries to local audiences, all year round. Stories Without Borders films can be booked here.
