Best New Irish Feature Competition
Ancestors
David Turpin | Ireland | 2026 | 105 mins | Fiction
1980s London. Beau (Éanna Hardwicke) returns to his London bedsit at dawn to find that his flatmate and surrogate little brother Tiny (Jack Wolfe), has vanished. His search for him, through dream and reality, memory and history, will bring him face-to-face with truths beyond life and death.
Set in the dark days of the AIDS crisis, David Turpin’s debut feature Ancestors is a haunting, elegiac ghost story that explores love and loss through the fractured memories of a generation of young men. Rupert Everett completes a trio of lead performances that take us by the hand for an emotionally intense tribute to the queer elders and “lost boys” whose lives and relationships were shaped by the epidemic.
Screenings:
Friday, 20 November | 20:45 | The Everyman
This screening will include the presentation of the Honorary Puttnam Award to Éanna Hardwicke.
POST-SCREENING Q&A:
With David Turpin, Éanna Harwicke and Rupert Everett.
JULIÁN (ANIMATION GALA)
Louise Bagnall | Ireland, Canada, Luxembourg, Denmark | 2025 | 90 mins | Fiction
Wide-eyed Julián is about to spend the summer with a grandmother he barely knows.
He is amazed to discover her treasure-trove apartment, his own Caribbean heritage and the lively Brooklyn community he is surrounded by.
But most surprising of all, Julián discovers that he is, in fact, a mermaid!
From the Academy Award® nominated director Louise Bagnall comes a joyful story of discovery and celebration, inspired by children’s book Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love.
Screenings:
Sunday, 22 November | 14:00 | MTU Cork School of Music | With Q&A
POST-SCREENING FUN!
Come dressed in your most colourful clothes and stay with us after the film for more fun in the company of Julián’s director Louise Bagnall.
THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO UTOPIAS
Sophie Fiennes | Ireland, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Slovenia | 2026 | 133 mins | Documentary
Sophie Fiennes returns with a fantastic new iteration of her mind-expanding, intellectually stimulating Pervert’s Guide series. Guided by Slavoj Žižek’s unconventional psychoanalytic lens, she takes us on a delirious journey through cinema, ideology and our fantasies of a better world. Films from Apocalypse Now to Blade Runner 2049 provide the clues.
Screenings:
Saturday, 21 November | 16:45 | Arc Cinema | With Q&A
POST-SCREENING Q&A:
Filmmaker Sophie Fiennes will be in attendance and participate in a Q&A.
SKINTOWN
Kieron J. Walsh | Ireland | 2026 | 100 mins | Fiction
It is the summer of 1994 and, as Northern Ireland takes its first steps towards peace, best friends Vinny (Jack Rowan) and Jonty (Chris Walley) are desperate to escape their small-town life in conflict-torn Enniskillen (Skintown). To do so, they embark on the most reckless trip of their lives. An energetic dark comedy blending youthful hedonism, rave music, and memorable one-liners.
Screenings:
Thursday, 19 November| 20:45 | The Everyman | With Q&A
POST-SCREENING Q&A:
Director Kieron J. Walsh and actors Jack Rowan and Chris Walley will be in attendance and participate in a Q&A.
TIN CASTLE
Alexander Murphy | Ireland | 2026 | 105 mins | Documentary
The O’Reilly family lives in a rundown trailer along a country road.
Pa’, Lisa, and their ten children weather the seasons in their tin castle, heirs to a way of life. Under threat of eviction, their tenuous balance falters, yet they resist.
The children laugh, the dogs bark, the trailer holds on – but for how long?
Tin Castle received a Special Mention from the jury of L’Œil d’or (best documentary film) at the Cannes Film Festival.
Screenings:
Saturday, 14 November | 17:15 | Triskel | With Q&A
Wednesday, 18 November | 20:15 | Triskel
POST-SCREENING Q&A:
With filmmaker Alexander Murphy on Saturday 14 November.
WHIDDY
Adrian McCarthy | Ireland, France | 2026 | 103 mins | Subtitled | Documentary
In the late 1960s, geopolitical tensions lead American company Gulf Oil to open a massive new oil terminal in Bantry Bay. Coming with the promise of prosperity, they are welcomed with open arms, only for it to lead to tragedy. Through intimate testimony and extraordinary local archive, Whiddy explores money, power, responsibility and the enduring human cost of progress.
Screenings:
Friday, 20 November | 17:30 | The Everyman | With Q&A
THE BIGGER PICTURE:
When Global Oil Ruled a Corner of Ireland: Join filmmaker Adrian McCarthy and the Whiddy crew to discuss a West Cork story with international significance, a cautionary tale about when big business takes over and progress is prioritised over everything else.
IRISH VOICES
THE BODY IS WATER
Vicky Wight | Ireland | 2026 | 116 mins | Fiction
A grieving American man (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), yearning to disappear, travels to a small village in Ireland’s West Cork, where he discovers a close-knit community, an eccentric young woman, and her curious dog refuse to let him fade away.
Screenings:
Saturday, 21 November | 14:30 | The Everyman | With Q&A
POST-SCREENING Q&A:
With director Vicky Wight and accompanied by cast members, including Saoirse Monica Jackson, Allen Leech, Fionnula Flanagan, and Aidan Quinn.
CHRIS KENT GOES OFFLINE
David Murphy | Ireland | 2026 | 65 mins | Documentary
Chris Kent Goes Offline follows Cork comedian Chris Kent as he gives up his smartphone and the internet entirely while preparing for his latest stand-up tour. This entertaining and insightful feature documentary offers a behind-the-scenes companion to his hugely popular stand-up show Offline, exploring our increasingly complicated relationship with technology through Chris’s trademark humour and honesty.
Screenings:
Wednesday, 18 November | 20:45 | The Everyman
Fellow comedian Cornelius O’Sullivan will join Chris Kent on stage after the screening.
AN MIONCHABHLACH (THE FLOTILLA)
Jamie Goldrick | Ireland | 2026 | 75 mins | Documentary
An exclusive preview of the upcoming TG4 documentary about the 2026 Flotilla mission as it attempts to bring humanitarian aid to the shores of Gaza.
An réamhthaispeántais speisialta ar clár faisnéise TG4 faoin misean mionchabhlaigh 2026 agus é ag iarraidh cabhair dhaonnúil a thabhairt go Gaza.
Screenings:
Thursday, 19 November | 21:00 | Triskel | With Q&A
POST-SCREENING Q&A:
With director Jamie Goldrick.
JIMMY
Aaron Burns | Ireland, United States | 2026 | 120 mins | Fiction
Before he became the beloved face of Hollywood, James Stewart was a rising star whose life changed dramatically when he enlisted to serve in World War II. Jimmy follows the actor through combat, its aftermath and the transformative return home that would lead him to his most iconic role.
Screenings:
Saturday, 21 November | 20:15 | MTU Cork School of Music | With Q&A
POST-SCREENING Q&A:
With director Aaron Burns
JOE BONAMASSA: THE SPIRIT OF RORY
Paul Van Kan | United States, Ireland | 2026 | 60 mins | Documentary
This world premiere documentary captures Blues Rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa’s personal journey honoring Irish blues legend Rory Gallagher in his hometown. Filmed during three sold-out Cork performances, Gallagher’s influence is explored through electrifying performances, rare footage, and conversations with Brian May, Slash, and more while featuring Gallagher’s stories from those closest to his legacy, bringing his incredible story to life.
Screenings:
Wednesday, 18 November | 18:00 | The Everyman
POST-SCREENING Q&A:
With Dónal Gallagher and special guest.
DORD A FILM ABOUT PEADAR Ó RIADA – SCANNÁN FAOI PHEADAR Ó RIADA
Feilimí O’Connor | Ireland | 2026 | 66 mins | Subtitled | Documentary
An intimate portrait of Peadar Ó Riada, one of Ireland’s foremost composers, broadcasters and cultural figures. Featuring Martin Hayes, Cór Chúil Aodha and the late Glen Hansard.
Portráid phearsanta de Pheadar Ó Riada, duine de na cumadóirí, craoltóirí agus pearsana cultúir is mó le rá in Éirinn atá fréamhaithe i nGaeltacht Mhúscraí i gCúil Aodha. Tá Martin Hayes, Cór Chúil Aodha agus Glen Hansard nach maireann páirteach sa scannán freisin.
Screenings:
Friday, 20 November | 18:15 | Triskel
Followed by a musical performance.
