As Ireland’s largest film festival and this country’s official representative at the European Film Academy Short Film Award, Cork International Film Festival takes great pride in showcasing the best and latest films from Europe. As part of our bite-sized CIFF European Film Weekend running at the Gate Cinema 24th – 26th March, we are delighted to partner with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland to present FREE films shortlisted for the LUX Audience Award 2023. The LUX Audience Award aims to strengthen ties between politics and the people by inviting European audiences to become active protagonists and rate their favourite films.
LUX – The European Audience Film Award was introduced in 2020 and is presented every year by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy, in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas. The long list of films in contention is drawn from all the Fiction and Documentary nominations put forward to the EFA Awards. Five of those films were selected at the EFA Awards on 10th December 2022 in Reykjavík, Iceland, and are shortlisted for the LUX Audience Award 2023. For more information on the LUX Audience Award visit here.
View the entire LUX Audience Award Programme.
An integral part of these screenings is voting for your favourite film. We invite you to rate the LUX Audience Award films you have watched: five stars ‘excellent’ to one star ‘poor’. Rating is open until 12th June 2023.
LUX Audience Award Programme at Cork International Film Festival, 24th – 26th March 2023
Friday, 24th March
Close – BOOKED OUT!
Directed by Lukas Dhont (Belgium, France, Netherlands | 104 min | 2022 | 15A)
The intense friendship between two thirteen-year-old boys Leo and Remi suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened; Leo approaches Sophie, Remi’s mother. Close is a film about friendship and responsibility.
6.15pm in The Gate Cinema Cork
Saturday, 25th March
Triangle of Sadness – BOOKED OUT!
Directed by Ruben Östlund (Sweden, Germany, France, United Kingdom | 142 min | 2022 | 15A)
An uninhibited satire where roles and class are inverted and the tawdry economic value of beauty is unveiled. Models Carl and Yaya are navigating the world of fashion while exploring the boundaries of their relationship. The couple are invited for a luxury cruise with a rogues’ gallery of super-rich passengers, a Russian oligarch, British arms dealers and an idiosyncratic, alcoholic, Marx-quoting captain. At first, all appears Instagrammable. But a storm is brewing, and heavy seasickness hits the passengers during the seven-course captain’s dinner. The cruise ends catastrophically. Carl and Yaya find themselves marooned on a desert island with a group of billionaires and one of the ship’s cleaners. Hierarchy is suddenly flipped upside down, as the housekeeper is the only one who knows how to fish.
2pm in The Gate Cinema Cork
RATE ‘TRIANGLE OF SADNESS‘ here
Burning Days
Directed by Emin Alper (Turkey, France, Germany, Netherlands, Greece, Croatia | 130 min | 2022 | 16+)
Emre is a prosecutor, young, ambitious and dedicated. He is appointed to a position in a small, remote town, drastically hit by a water crisis and rife with political scandal. After an initially steady start and seemingly accepted into the community, Emre becomes inadvertently embroiled in an incident which could devastate his career. In this superbly crafted Turkish thriller, director Emin Alper expertly lets the tension bubble under the surface whilst gradually turning the thumbscrews and keeping the viewer guessing until the intense climax.
(Screened at the 67th Cork International Film Festival, November 2022)
5.15pm in The Gate Cinema Cork
Sunday, 26th March
Alcarràs
Directed by Carla Simón (Spain, Italy | 120 min | 2022 | 15A)
This Spanish drama follows the Solé family, who have been tending the peach orchard in the little traditional Catalan village of Alcarràs for generations. This large happy family is making a living from picking peaches every summer, however, the new owner decides to replace the trees with solar panels. This moving, intimate and authentic personal portrait of a tight-knit family facing an uncertain future won director Carla Simón The Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2022.
(Screened at the 67th Cork International Film Festival, November 2022)
2pm in The Gate Cinema Cork
Will-o’-the-Wisp
Directed by João Pedro Rodrigues (Portugal, France | 67 min | 2022 | 18+)
On his deathbed, his royal highness Alfredo, king without a crown, is taken back to distant youth memories and the time he dreamt of becoming a fireman. The encounter with instructor Afonso from the fire brigade, opens a new chapter in the life of the two young men immersed in love and desire, and the will to change the status quo.
4.30pm in The Gate Cinema Cork
Proudly presented by Cork International Film Festival in partnership with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland.
Exclusive Coffee Deal with Priory Coffee Co.
We are delighted to offer CIFF audiences a special 15% discount on every coffee in Priory Coffee Co. on North Main Street, next to The Gate Cinema. Simply present your LUX Audience Award or EFA Shorts ticket at the counter to apply the discount and enjoy 15% off any delicious cup of coffee throughout the CIFF European Film Weekend (24th – 26th March). Book your tickets now to avail of this deal.
