News

Comedian and ventriloquist Nina Conti makes her directorial debut with Sunlight, it will premiere in Edinburgh in August.

Nina Conti comes from a showbiz family, her father being noted actor Tom Conti. Nina trained with theatre director Ken Campbell, which is explored in the documentary Her Master’s Voice. Conti is best known for her ventriloquism, performing with a variety of characters, the best known of which is the sardonic Monkey.

Conti has now made her feature directorial debut with Sunlight.

The plot “follows two people on the edge of life who find purpose and romance through an unlikely connection, escaping the darkness in search of some sunlight. Disappearing into a monkey costume and creating a new persona, Jane strives to break free from a toxic relationship when she encounters a suicidal radio show host, Roy, who presents a path to freedom. After hitting the open road in Roy’s Airstream,...

Nina Conti's Sunlight will have its world premiere at Eiff Photo: Courtesy of Eiff At the city's Cameo Cinema the new director of Edinburgh International Film Festival Paul Ridd, and the festival’s producer Emma Boa announced the programme for the event’s 77th edition today, which will run from August 15 to 21.

It sees the, previously announced, inauguration of the Sean Connery Prize for feature filmmaking excellence. Ten films, all world premieres, will compete for a £50,000 prize supported by The Sean Connery Foundation. The winning film will be voted for by audiences. Talking about the award, Connery’s son, actor and director Jason, noted it was “a new era and dad would have loved it”.

Paul Ridd promises 'a spirit of collaboration and renewal' Photo: Amber Wilkinson Irreversible director Gaspar Noe will also be at the festival for an In Person event and will introduce a screening of Daria Argento classic Suspiria.

Daisy-May Hudson’s fiction debut Lollipop, a documentary about a man’s relationship with a life-sized AI-animated doll and Nina Conti’s Cannes Great 8 title Sunlight are among 18 world premieres at the new-look Edinburgh International Film Festival.

A total of 37 feature films form the line-up of Eiff’s 77th edition, which is the first under the leadership of Paul Ridd as festival director and Andrew Macdonald as chair. The line-up includes 10 world premieres in the running for the £50,000 Sean Connery prize for feature filmmaking excellence, plus four retrospective screenings, a Midnight Madness strand and five short film programmes.

Scroll down...

The UK industry gathered at the Cannes UK pavilion yesterday (May 16) to celebrate the work of the eight projects taking part in this year’s Cannes Great 8 showcase.

Christopher Andrews’ Bring Them Down starring Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott, Sean Dunn’s The Fall Of Sir Douglas Weatherford and Marianne Elliott’s The Salt Path were among the eight titles taking part, with filmmakers taking to the stage to discuss their projects.

Scroll down to see the full line-up

The only documentary in this year’s line-up is Witches, from Elizabeth Sankey, in which the filmmaker explores the unexpected connections...

The British Film Institute (BFI) has unveiled the line-up of speakers and events taking place at the Cannes UK Pavilion, including talent talks with Santosh filmmaker Sandhya Suri and Birds and Kinds Of Kindness director of photography Robbie Ryan, as well as panel discussions on the historic UK independent tax credit and a conversation with representatives from UK film funders from across the nations and regions.

Suri will be joined by UK producer Mike Goodridge from Good Chaos and Eva Yates, director of BBC Film, to share the journey behind Suri’s narrative director debut, which plays in Un Certain Regard.

Christopher Andrews’ Bring Them Down starring Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott, Sean Dunn’s The Fall Of Sir Douglas Weatherford and Marianne Elliott’s The Salt Path, featuring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, are among the eight films taking part in the Great 8 showcase, which presents new UK feature films from first-and second-time UK filmmakers to international distributors and festival programmers.

Now in its seventh year, the 2024 Great 8 showcase is funded and produced by the BFI and the British Council, with support from the Great Britain & Northern Ireland campaign, BBC Film and Film4.

In preparation for Cannes, unseen footage from...

Cillian Murphy obtained one of acting’s most coveted achievements when he won an Oscar for his leading role in “Oppenheimer.” But his award season run for the acclaimed Christopher Nolan film didn’t end with his big night at the Dolby Theater. The Irish actor went on to receive his home country’s highest acting honor on Sunday at the Irish Film and TV Academy Awards when he won the Lead Actor — Film category for “Oppenheimer.”

The ceremony honored the best Irish film and television of 2023, with Pat Collins’ “That They May Face the Rising Sun” winning Best Film. Other notable winners included Paul Mescal taking Supporting Actor for “All of Us Strangers” and Alison Oliver winning Supporting Actress for “Saltburn.”

Keep reading for a complete list of winners from the 2024 Irish Film and TV Academy Awards.

Best Film

“Double Blind”

“Flora and Son”

“Lies We Tell”

“Lola”

“That They May Face the Rising Sun...

The 21st Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Awards, which highlight Irish filmmakers, television creators and performers, saw Pat Collins’ That They May Face The Rising Sun win Best Film in an upset. Despite earning a second-best 11 nominations, the top award was its only win.

Lies We Tell all with three wins: for Director Lisa Mulcahy, Lead Actress Agnes O’Casey, and Best Script. It came in with 13nominations.

Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy repeated his Best Actor win at the Academy Awards for Oppenheimer with a win for Lead Actor. In the supporting categories, Paul Mescal won for All of Us Strangers and Alison Oliver topped all for Saltburn.

Oppenheimer was named Best International Film, Emma Stone was Best Actress, and Paul Giamatti won International Actor for The Holdovers.

In the television drama categories, Kin was the winner for series, directing, script, lead actress Clare Dune, and supporting actress Maria Doyle Kennedy.

Filmmaker...

Cillian Murphy, Kin season two and Paul Mescal were among the winners of the Irish Film & Television Awards 2024, which were handed out during a ceremony in Dublin on Saturday.

Lies We Tell, about an orphaned teenage heiress in 19th-century Ireland who is forced to embrace the dark legacy of her family, led the nominations for the movie portion of the awards with 13 and went home with three. It was followed by That They May Face the Rising Sun, which took home the best film prize, and Double Blind, with 11 each. Rising Sun is an adaptation of John McGahern’s novel about passion, war and migration, while Double Blind is a horror film about an experimental drug trial that goes wrong.

Among the lead acting nominees were such big names as Murphy, Barry Keoghan, Andrew Scott, Pierce Brosnan, Saoirse Ronan, Eve Hewson and Jessie Buckley. Murphy took home the best actor...

Fresh from his Academy Award win for best actor, “Oppenheimer” star Cillian Murphy now has a chance to claim the same honor at his local awards.

The Irish Film and TV Academy (IFTA) has unveiled the nominees for its 2024 awards, with Murphy going up against “Saltburn’s'” Barry Keoghan and “All of Us Strangers” star Andrew Scott in the best actor category. Elsewhere, Jessie Buckley (“Fingernails”) and Saoirse Ronan (“Foe”) are among those nominated for best actress, while Paul Mescal (“All of Us Strangers”) and Kenneth Branagh (“Oppenheimer”) are in the running for best supporting actor.

But it was actually Irish features leading the pack of nominees, with Lisa Mulcahy’s “Lies We Tell” landing 13, followed by “That They May Face the Rising Sun” and “Double Blind.”

The IFTAs ceremony will be take place on April 20 at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre with Irish TV personality Baz Ashmawy on hosting duties.

Nominations are out for the 21st Irish Film & Television Awards with Lisa Mulcahy’s thriller Lies We Tell leading the pack on the feature side at 13, and crime drama Kin heading up the TV fields with 11 (scroll down for the ful list of nominees). The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) will hand out its prizes on April 20 in Dublin.

Alongside Lies We Tell in the Best Film category are Double Blind, Flora and Son, Lola, That They May Face the Rising Sun and Verdigris. Each of those films also scored a mention for their directors.

In what was a banner year for Irish talent, there are several awards season notables vying for Best Actor as well, including Oppenheimer Oscar winner Cillian Murphy, Saltburn’s Barry Keoghan and All of Us Strangers’ Andrew Scott.

The Best International Film race includes All of Us Strangers, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, Saltburn and The Holdovers.

Lies We Tell, with 13, That They May Face the Rising Sun and Double Blind, with 11 each, are leading the nominations for the movie portion of the Irish Film & Television Awards 2024.

Lies We Tell is about an orphaned teenage heiress in 19th-century Ireland who is forced to embrace the dark legacy of her family when she becomes the ward of an uncle determined to marry her off. Rising Sun is an adaptation of John McGahern’s novel of passion, war, and migration. Double Blind is a horror film about an experimental drug trial that goes horribly wrong. Andrew Legge’s Lola, a science fiction drama set in 1940, received seven noms on Thursday.

Among the lead acting nominees are such big names as Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan, Andrew Scott, Pierce Brosnan, Saoirse Ronan, Eve Hewson, and Jessie Buckley. The best supporting film actor category, meanwhile, includes Kenneth Branagh and Paul Mescal.

And...

Hozier is marking the fifth anniversary of his sophomore album, Wasteland, Baby!, with a special vinyl reissue.

Available in sea blue and light blue color variants, the 2xLP set will be released in the US on April 19th exclusively through Amazon. Pre-orders are now ongoing.

The expanded tracklist includes five non-album tracks: “Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue)” and “Nfwmb,” which was first released on the Nina Cried Power EP in 2018; a live-in-studio rendition of “Shrike”; and acoustic versions of “Be” and “Why Would You Be Loved,” which are being shared for the first time. Below, you can stream “Be (Acoustic).”

Starting next month, Hozier will embark on an extensive tour in support of his latest album, Unreal Unearth. Tickets are available for purchase here.

Get Hozier Tickets Here

Wasteland, Baby! 5th Anniversary Vinyl Tracklist:

Side A

Nina Cried Power

Almost (Sweet Music)

Movement

No Plan

Nobody

Side B

To Noise...

Tonya Mantooth, CEO and artistic director of the San Diego International Film Festival, is keenly aware that film is a uniquely immersive medium with the power to connect people — even strangers. And that power will be evident at Sdiff’s 22nd edition, which will run in person Oct.18-22, with screenings at various venues in the San Diego area. The event will also feature panels, Q and A’s, filmmaker happy hours and more special programming.

The fest will open with Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” (pictured above), a comedy-drama starring Paul Giamatti, Domonic Sessa and Da’Vine Joy Randolph as an unlikely trio bonding at a New England prep school over winter break.

“Alexander Payne really peels back the layers of the characters,” Mantooth says. “As each one unfolds, he does it in such a way that you laugh – it touches your heart, it makes you cry. But what...

Will Butler is teaming up with his backing band Sister Squares for a new album, naturally titled Will Butler + Sister Squares. The LP arrives September 22nd via Merge, and as a preview, the artists have shared the lead single “Long Grass.” The band have also mapped out North American and European tour dates for later this year.

Butler began working with Sister Squares — Miles Francis, Julie Shore, Jenny Shore, and Sara Dobbs — several years ago, when he first began putting out solo music. “I met Jenny — my wife! — in college, the year before I joined Arcade Fire,” he explained in a statement. “When I needed a band to tour Policy, I asked [Jenny’s sister] Julie to join because I trusted her musically. And I asked Sara, Jenny and Julie’s childhood friend, because I knew she was super talented.” Meanwhile, Buter met previous Antibalas drummer Francis when his band opened for Arcade Fire.

Warner Bros blockbuster started below that of other Dceu standalone character titles.

Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (June 16-18) Total gross to date Week 1. The Flash (Warner Bros) £3.2m £4.3m 1 2. Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse (Sony) £2.5m £20.2m 3 3. The Little Mermaid (Disney) £1.3m £22m 4 4. Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts (Paramount) £1.2m £5m 2 5. Greatest Days (Elysian Film Distribution) £389,235 £536,955 1

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.28

Warner Bros’ The Flash topped the UK-Ireland box office on its opening weekend, with a £3.2m session.

Opening in 670 sites, the film took a £4,739 average. Its opening is the 10th-highest of 13 DC Extended Universe films to date, behind previous...

Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” led the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second consecutive weekend with £4 million ($5.1 million), according to numbers from Comscore. The web-slinging animation now has a total of £16.2 million.

Paramount’s “Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts” debuted in second place with a healthy £2.9 million. In its third weekend, in second position, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” collected £2.1 million for a total of £19.9 million. In fourth place, another Disney title, “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3” earned £511,837 in its sixth weekend for a total of £35.5 million.

Rounding off the top five in its fourth weekend was Universal’s “Fast X” with £475,640 and a total of £14.2 million.

There were three more debuts in the top 10. Bowing in eighth place was Disney’s “Chevalier” with £124,432. Rbe’s Punjabi-language “Maurh” debuted at ninth position with £31,975 and close behind was Picturehouse Entertainment’s “War Pony” in 10th with £31,792.

Coming up,...

Exclusive: British comedian and writer Nina Conti has wrapped production on Sunlight, a comedy road movie set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that marks her debut as a feature director. Check out the first-look image above.

Conti directs from a screenplay by Shenoah Allen. Conti and Allen both star in the pic, with Christopher Guest serving as an Executive Producer. Metro International is handling international sales and plans to launch the pic on the festival circuit in early 2024.

Billed as a “hilariously dark and unconventional love story,” the pic follows two people on the edge of life who find purpose and romance through an unlikely connection, escaping the darkness in search of some sunlight.

Full synopsis reads: Disappearing into a monkey costume and creating a new persona, Jane strives to break free from a toxic relationship when she encounters a suicidal radio show host, Roy, who presents a path to freedom.

Projects include ‘Orange World’, the latest from ’Sunlight’ filmmaker Claire Dix.

Katie Holly’s Irish production company Blinder Films, the outfit behind Extra Ordinary, Mr Malcolm’s List, Love And Friendship and Dublin premiere Sunlight, has re-launched as Keeper Pictures, with an expanded team and a bustling slate of development projects.

Long-standing Keeper Pictures producer Yvonne Donohoe has been promoted to a newly created role, head of creative. Evan Horan, who was associate producer on Mr Malcolm’s List, has been promoted to producer. Amy Carroll has joined as development executive, previously working at South of the River and Kudos,...

The documentary recounts the Debenhams picket strike in 2020

Joe Lee’s 406 Days received the audience award at Dublin International Film Festival after closing the event on Saturday (March 4).

The feature documentary recounts the Debenhams picket strike which took place in April 2020 after 1,000 of the store’s retail workers were made redundant via email. It is produced by Fergus Dowd.

406 Days also picked up best Irish documentary in the Dublin Film Critics Circle (Dfcc) awards and won the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (Iccl) human rights film award.

Runners up for the audience award included Claire Dix’s debut feature Sunlight,...

Ever since "Taken" proved a huge hit in 2008, Liam Neeson has been taking on action roles as often as possible. Along with the "Taken" sequels, he's since shown up as an (increasingly generic) aging badass in movies such as "Unknown," "Non-Stop," "Run All Night," and "The Marksman."

But before that sharp change in career trajectory, the Irish actor was known as a serious dramatic performer. Now, with his latest role in Neil Jordan's "Marlowe," the 70-year-old — who's repeatedly claimed he's retiring from action films — combines the gruff machismo of his action roles with the more reflective, brooding aspects of Raymond Chandler's classic private eye character, Philip Marlowe.

/Film's Jack Giroux spoke with Neil Jordan, who said of his former "Michael Collins" collaborator, "I've done three or four movies with Liam in the past, and he's been firing weapons and using his fists, which he's very, very good at.

Dublin International Film Festival will run from February 23 - March 4.

World premieres of Fintan Connolly’s Barber and Claire Dix’s Spotlight are among the line-up for the Dublin International Film Festival.

Connolly’s Barber stars Aidan Gillen as a private investigator investing the disappearance of a wealthy widow’s granddaughter. Gillen previously led Connolly’s 2005 film Trouble With Sex which was nominated for eight Irish Film and Television awards.

Sunlight follows a recovering addict who is caring for his terminally ill sponsor. The cast includes Barry Ward and Liam Carney. Dix was last as Diff in 2013 with audience award-winner Broken Song.