Festival 2026 Schools Programme

Cork International Film Festival is delighted to announce the return of our Schools Programme, which will take place Monday 16th- Friday 20th of November 2026.

Cinespark, our film and education day, is designed to inspire, inform and spark creativity, with a fantastic line-up of guests joining us. We’re also excited to bring Aeráid, a youth film and climate action event exploring Climate Action & Sustainable Development, alongside a wide selection of Modern Foreign Language films for both Junior and Senior Cycle students.

Presented in partnership with IFI Education, this programme supports the teaching of film languages in the school curriculum, with specially selected feature films to support French, Spanish and German. Additionally, we’ve included a title for Junior Cycle History, ‘The Lost Children of Tuam’, which director Frank Berry will introduce.

Our Modern Foreign Language titles are available at:

• The Reel Picture Ballincollig
• Arc Cinema Cork City
• Arc Cinema Midleton
• Arc Cinema Mallow

Each student ticket is €7.50 (€7 DEIS school discount), accompanying teachers & SNA’s are free of charge.

The Cinespark & Aeráid events are FREE to all students and teachers.

For enquiries and bookings, please contact schools@corkfilmfest.org or call 021 427 1711

Note: Study Guides, in association with French cultural institute and Goethe institut Ireland, are available from at ifi.ie/studyguides

Senior French: (Santiago: The Camino Therapy/Compostelle)

Santiago: The Camino Therapy / Compostelle | 15A

A rebellious teenager avoiding prison and a woman struggling to come to terms with her past agree to undertake the Camino de Santiago together. As they walk, their unlikely friendship is tested, and the pilgrimage becomes a space for both confrontation and healing. Funny, heart warming and redemptive, this year’s Senior French choice is sure to please.

France • 2025 • 114 mins • Drama, subtitled • Director: Yang Samuell

 VIEW STUDY GUIDE

Junior French: Just an Illusion (Juste une illusion)

Just an Illusion /Juste une illusion | 12A

Terrific coming-of-age story from the makers of Intouchables. In Paris, 1985, Vincent is on the brink of adolescence. As his Bar Mitzvah approaches, he navigates quarreling parents, an older brother and first love, while discovering that adulthood is not always as certain as it seems. A retro French comedy filled with humour, 1980’s music and nostalgia.

France • 2026 • 119 mins • Comedy/ Drama, Subtitled • Directors: Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano.

VIEW STUDY GUIDE

Senior German: Berlin Hero (Der Held vom Bahnhof Friedrichstraße)

Berlin Hero /Dr Held com Bahnhof Friedrichstraße | 12A

Wolfgang Becker’s Good Bye, Lenin! celebrated the fall of the Berlin Wall through humour, satire and Ostalgie. In this, his final film, he looks humorously at the 30 years hence. Struggling video store owner Micha is falsely credited by a journalist with masterminding the biggest GDR escape. As Micha’s unexpected fame grows, he must navigate the consequences of a lie that changes his life.

Germany • 2025 • 113 mins • Drama, Subtitled • Directors: Wolfgang Becker, Achim von Borries.

Junior German: Circusboy (Zirkuskind)

Circusboy /Zirkuskind | G

Beautiful, award-winning film about the lives of modern circus nomads. 11-year-old Santiago grows up among performers, animals and his 80-year-old great-grandfather, one of Europe’s last big circus directors. Together, they share stories of friendship, tradition, and life on the road in this documentary road movie with animated sequences, which speaks to the power of community and belonging

Germany • 2026 • 86 mins • Documentary, Subtitled • Directors: Anna Koch, Julia Lemke.

Senior Spanish : The Dinner (La cena)

The Dinner/ La cena | 15A

This year’s Senior Spanish film choice is set in 1939, weeks after the end of the Spanish Civil war, when defeated Republican prisoner-cooks are forced to prepare a victory banquet for Franco and his generals, while they plot their final chance to escape. A tragicomedy of humour, suspense and defiance under dictatorship.

Spain • 2025 • 106 mins • Drama, Subtitled • Director: Manuel Gómez Perira.

VIEW STUDY GUIDE

Junior Spanish: Another League ( Pioneras: solo querían jugar)

Another League / Pioneras: solo querían jugar | 12A

Spain might be top of the football world, but the historic struggle for young female players is evident in this 1970’s set drama. 16 year-old Nati secretly pursues her passion for football while coach Javier Poga brings together the country’s first women’s team. Despite social and political opposition in Franco’s Spain, and plenty of everyday sexism, the players set out to win the right to play.

Spain • 2026 • 106 mins • Historical/Drama, Subtitled • Director: Mart Díaz de Lope Díaz.

VIEW STUDY GUIDE

Junior History: The Lost Children of Tuam

The Lost Children of Tuam | 12A

Director Frank Berry’s dramatisation of the painstaking investigations of Catherine Corless, the amateur historian whose research into the history of St. Mary’s Mother and Baby Home in Tuam helped uncover its horrific past and prompted her continued search for truth and justice for the deceased.

Ireland • 2026 • 78 mins • Drama • Director: Frank Berry

Only screening at The Reel Picture, Ballincollig 

Director Frank Berry will introdcue this film

SCHOOLS PROGRAMME SCHEDULE

ARC CINEMA CORK CITY

ARC CINEMA MIDLETON

ARC CINEMA MALLOW

THE REEL PICTURE BALLINCOLLIG

CINESPARK : FILM & EDUCATION DAY 

Thursday 19th, 10:00- 15:00 | MTU Curtis Auditorium – FREE – BOOKING ESSENTIAL

Join us for a day designed to inspire, inform and spark creativity. Aimed at Transition Year and Senior Cycle students. CINESPARK combines films created by young people with insights from professionals across the film and animation industry, featuring director Brendan Canty, producer Emily Power, animator Patrick O’ Mahony, Atticus Education, West Cork Film Studios, Fresh International Film Festival, First Cut! and many more 

Across illustrative talks, screenings and panels, students will:

• Watch brilliant award-winning short films from Cork and beyond.
• Meet professional filmmakers and pick up real tips on breaking into the industry.
• Discover the many different pathways into a career in film.

This free, one-day programme takes students out of the classroom and into a lively, creative space where film and education meet

Presented in collaboration with IFI Next Generation (15-19), who will moderate the day, this is an exciting opportunity to hear directly from industry professionals, explore career possibilities and be inspired to create.

For more information about IFI Next Generation (15–19), visit ifi.ie/education.

Ideal for class groups and individuals (15-19 years).

For bookings and enquiries, please contact schools@corkfilmfest.org.

AERÁID: YOUTH FILM & CLIMATE ACTION 

Wednesday 18th, 10:00- TBC | MTU Curtis Auditorium – FREE – BOOKING ESSENTIAL

Derek vs Derek 

James Dawson | 88 mins| Documentary | Age rec 15+

Aeráid is CIFF’s unique youth film and climate action programme, designed to inspire young people about the positive changes they can make to protect our future. Join us for a special screening of Derek vs Derek, following two Devon farmers with very different visions for the future of the land. From intensive  dairy farming to rewilding, their story explores food, farming, nature, biodiversity and the changing countryside.

The screening will be followed by a discussion exploring the film’s themes, led by Michelle McKeown, Senior Lecturer of the Human Environment, UCC, and Donal Chambers, Coordinator of Sustainable Horticulture and Programme  Director of Regenerate. Students will explore ideas for positive action in their communities, with a CIFF follow-up event in Spring 2027 to share their ideas, progress and experiences.

IDEAL FOR TY, CASD & AG SCIENCE STUDENT