Newly refurbished IFI opens with new programme for 2010

The IFI today unveiled its brand new luxury cinema screen and upgraded public areas and launches its new programme for the coming year.

At the launch event this morning Sarah Glennie, IFI Director said “We are thrilled to announce the completion of our major 2009 redevelopment. Cinema 3 in particular has allowed us to broaden the range and depth of our programme. I’m delighted to be able to announce a full and varied programme for 2010 incorporating festivals, seasons, new collaborations, programming strands and a range of special events.”

The IFI unveiled the completed renovations of its public areas including:

• IFI Cinema 3 A brand new luxurious 61 seat digital screen
• A new IFI Film Shop at our Eustace Street entrance
• A redesigned IFI Café Bar
• Upgraded public facilities including a new passenger lift and washrooms

               
Spring 2010 will see the completion of the redevelopment of IFI Irish Film Archive; upgrading their facilities and public access.

The IFI announced new initiatives and programme strands for 2010 which include:

• IFI Open Day – The 6th February will see the IFI throw open its doors to the city with a day of free screenings throughout the venue for all ages. Full programme details will be released in late January on our website www.ifi.ie
• Archive at Lunchtime – a new programme of twice-weekly free lunchtime screenings from the Irish Film Archive
• A focus on Irish Film, including support of new Irish filmmaking and two major retrospectives of the work of Jim Sheridan and Roddy Doyle
• IFI Family and Teen Screen – two new monthly programmes giving all our young film fans opportunities to see the best of Irish and world cinema
• A calendar of major festivals including IFI Stranger than Fiction,IFI French Film Festival and a new Family Film Festival.

The IFI also announced a range of new collaborations, seasons and special events including:

• New programming collaborations with a number of key cultural and educational organisations including Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, Irish Museum of Modern Art, FOMACS, NCAD and IADT
• A diverse range of unique seasons and events that bring our audiences the full range of contemporary and historical film culture and that span the work of directors, such as Jacques Audiard and Yasujiro Ozu, genres such as anime and personal selections by invited curators including Enrique Juncosa. 

These new initiatives for 2010 will run alongside the IFI’s already full and diverse programme of new releases from Ireland and around the world, established monthly strands from the Archive, Ireland on Sunday and IFI Stranger Than Fiction Presents…, as well as extensive IFI Irish Film Archive and IFI Education national activities.

Notes on the IFI’s New Programme for 2010 and
Completed Redevelopment

IFI Redevelopment

The IFI redevelopment is now complete and open to the public. Our new luxurious sixty-one seat Cinema 3 greatly expands the IFI’s programming possibilities and can be used in a range of formats allowing greater access to new work and material from the IFI Irish Film Archive.
The IFI Film Shop now has its own custom built space upgrading the facilities for this specialist supplier. The IFI Café Bar has been given a sophisticated new look with new options including Sunday Brunch and Tapas menus.

Work will continue behind the scenes with the completion of the IFI Irish Film Archive Redevelopment by late spring 2010, allowing better access to the archive’s collection for the IFI’s audience, film researchers and students. The IFI foyer, box office and washrooms have been given an upgrade with an emphasis on better information provision for the public.
The IFI Redevelopment was made possible by a €1.2 million ACCESS II grant from the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. Commenting on the successful completion of the works yesterday Martin Cullen TD, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism said, “The extra capacity that will result from this redevelopment will enable the Irish Film Institute to significantly enhance its cinema programme, allowing for more flexible runs of successful films, and add to the IFI’s unique programme of special festivals and initiatives which includes events such as the IFI French Film Festival, the IFI Stranger Than Fiction documentary film festival and the international film exhibition programme called IFI Reel Ireland. I am very pleased that a particular focus of Cinema 3 will be the presentation of Irish Film Archive material and the critical appreciation of Irish film through educational programmes drawing on the Archive collection. The Archive is central to the strength of the IFI project and these improvements both in terms of access and storage will ensure its place as a nationally significant collection.”

New Initiatives & Programming Strands:

Open Day

The IFI is delighted to announce that on February 6th it will open its doors to the public with a day of free screenings across all three cinemas, to celebrate the newly refurbished IFI. The programme of films will reflect the breadth of work that the IFI presents from new releases to classics and from Irish film to gems from the Archive. The full day of screenings will be accompanied by special events and guests. Speaking of the initiative Sarah Glennie said, “We are delighted to be able to offer a full day of free activities to our customers, both old and new. This day will allow many people of all ages to engage with the IFI’s rich and varied programme.” Full details of the programme will be announced online at www.ifi.ie at the end of January and tickets will only become available on the day.

Archive at Lunchtime

As part of the IFI’s ongoing commitment to provide opportunities for the public to engage with the Irish Film Archive, one of Ireland’s most significant cultural resources, we are starting a new series of twice-weekly free lunchtime screenings. These programmes will focus on short films in the collection – from sources as varied as adverts, public information films and amateur footage – all of which hold great potential to engage with a range of audiences and bring our social history to life in a very visceral, accessible form. Archive at Lunchtime screenings are free and under half an hour, making them the perfect way to pass a lunch hour.

Focus on Irish Film

The IFI and Irish Film Board will be working together to support the exhibition of new Irish film in 2010, to provide audiences with an opportunity to engage with the work of some of the dynamic new voices that are emerging in Irish filmmaking. From the 5th February the IFI has the exclusive release of Eamon by Margaret Corkery – a first feature that has been shown to critical acclaim on the international festival circuit. A particular focus for the IFI will be supporting emerging filmmakers that may not yet have distribution and are not widely available to audiences beyond the festival circuits.

New Programmes for Young Film Fans

Following on from the IFI’s engagement with over 17,000 young people nationwide each year through its Education prorgamme, two new strands - IFI Family and Teen Screen - will be specially programmed to engage a different young audience outside of school. IFI Family aims to provide a fun and affordable day out for families at the cinema. The films will include special previews, quality family films from around the world and children’s classics selected by the IFI Education Department. IFI Family gets off to a great start on Jan 31st with a special complementary preview of Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.

Teen film enthusiasts have a new home at the IFI at our new monthly film club for those aged 15+. Teen Screen encourages young adults to come and experience a world of cinema beyond the blockbusters with exciting alternative films at an irresistible €5.

IFI Festivals Calendar for 2010

IFI Festivals are landmark events that bring the best of contemporary Irish and international film to our audiences and are major events in Ireland’s cultural calendar.

April 2010 – The very successful IFI Stranger Than Fiction documentary film festival will be moving to April (15-18) where it will continue to showcase the best documentary films to its loyal and expanding audience. At this year’s festival, for the first time the documentary programme will be focusing on four clear programme strands: International - the best new documentaries from around the world; Irish - new home-grown films from Irish documentary filmmakers; Archive - classic Irish documentary sourced from the IFI’s Irish Film Archive and; Retrospective - a focus on the work of an influential documentary filmmaker.

July 2010 – The IFI will be introducing a brand new Family Festival giving a chance for children and their parents to experience, interact with, and learn about film during the summer holidays.
The IFI also has an ongoing commitment to the following festivals in their current calendar slots. IFI Horrorthon (October), IFI French Film Festival (November) and the IFI German Film Festival (December) are key IFI events; showcasing two of the most important European film cultures and one of film’s liveliest genres. These three festivals continue to go from strength to strength – expanding audiences, box office and retaining their position at the heart of the city’s cultural calendar.

New Collaborations

The IFI is initiating a number of exciting new programming collaborations with a range of cultural organisations, educational institutions and curators. Film is central to contemporary culture and these cross-disciplinary collaborations place the IFI at the centre of Ireland’s cultural landscape. Programming partners for 2010 include FOMACS, IADT, the Experimental Film Club and IMMA.

Our spring evening course (starting February 9) is being run in collaboration with NCAD and will focus on the close relationship between film and visual arts, and will feature work by Derek Jarmen, Jeremy Deller and Eija Liisa Ahtila. The course will culminate on March 6 with a day of discussion and screenings addressing in particular the influence film has had on visual artists. During JDIFF, the IFI programming team is working in partnership with the Festival to bring the work of influential experimental filmmaker Kenneth Anger to Dublin and to present extensive retrospective of the filmmaker’s work that will include a major public interview.

New Seasons and Special Events

Crucial to the IFI approach to curating film is finding new contexts for appreciating film that add something the experience of regular movie going. The IFI regularly programmes a diverse range of seasons by leading directors. In January alone the IFI is presenting a Jacques Audiard season to accompany the release of his much-heralded new film A Prophet, a Yasujiro Ozu season based around the re-release of the Japanese master’s Tokyo Story, and a short season taking another look at the intriguing and intellectually ambitious work of British director, Thorold Dickinson.

In 2010 the IFI will also present a season examining the work of Jim Sheridan and Roddy Doyle, taking an in-depth look at a range of their work on film to date.

Other ways of linking and curating films will also be explored in 2010; Enrique Juncosa, Director of IMMA, will be curating a special, very personal season of films that hold the spirit of 1968. Newer genres are continually emerging and seeking recognition, and the IFI will be bringing back its massively popular Anime Weekend for a second year.

Summary

The IFI is an important economic and cultural asset for Dublin and Ireland. It employs over 60 people on a year round basis with an annual turnover of approximately €4.4 million every year. Unusually for an arts organisation, the IFI is able to generate a large portion of its income, with public subsidy only representing 20% of its turnover.

The IFI’s core aims are to exhibit, preserve and educate. The Irish Film Institute is Ireland’s national cultural institution for film. It aims to exhibit the finest in independent, Irish and international cinema, preserve Ireland’s moving image heritage at the Irish Film Archive, and encourage engagement with film through its various educational programmes.

The IFI runs an extremely successful programme of new releases with over 90 new releases in 2009, often showcasing some of the best new films exclusively in Ireland and ensuring that audiences here experience the best of contemporary film culture. In addition to the programme of new work, the IFI believes in creating new contexts for engaging with and appreciating film through seasons, festivals and special events.

The IFI is home to the Irish Film Archive one of Ireland’s richest and most significant cultural resources. The vast Archive collection preserves over 25,000 cans of film, 5000 tapes, 10,000 images and 20,000 documents. The Archive works to ensure that this resource is shared with the public in as many ways as possible – from making material available for filmmakers and researchers, public screenings and events in Dublin, nationally and internationally to DVD releases of key titles from the Archive.

IFI Education also reaches 17,000 students and countless film lovers through the Schools Programme, Wild Strawberries Film Club for the over 55s, and IFI Evening Courses. In the future IFI Education will be reaching even more people through the Family Festival and IFI Family strand.

The completion of the IFI Redevelopment leaves the IFI in great shape to continue to challenge, entertain and engage with Irish film enthusiasts, young and old, throughout the coming decade.