Audi Dublin International Film Festival
Month: February
Genre: All
Ireland’s largest film festival presents around 120 films from around the globe. Includes a competition, the Volta awards for outstanding contribution to cinema, Q&As, workshops, panels and industry events. The festival accepts submissions for feature films between July and September.
Belfast Film Festival
Month: March/April
Genre: All
The BFF showcases local talent and the best in new international cinema. Its documentary film competition, the Maysles Brothers Award, celebrates the best of new observational documentary work from around the world. The short film competition provides a platform for fledgling filmmakers from across the island of Ireland.
Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival
Month: August
Genre: Comedy
Honours the pioneering spirit of a great filmmaker and advocate for social change. The festival is held in the village of Waterville on the Ring of Kerry and includes a range of events, screenings, workshops and Chaplin-themed street entertainment.
Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival
Month: April (Dublin) and October (Belfast)
Genre: Kids/Youth
This international festival for young people embraces the magic of film, television and digital technologies to educate, motivate and inspire through film screenings, industry workshops, practical masterclasses, filmmaking projects and outreach.
Clones Film Festival
Month: October
Genre: All
This County Monaghan festival shows non-commercial films to a local audience that would usually not have access to them. The programme consists of around five screening slots per day and includes full-length features, shorts, animation, workshops by film professionals and talks.
Cork Film Festival
Month: November
Genre: All
The logline of the Cork Film Festival is “Films. Music. Ideas”. As well as playing a rich selection of contemporary world cinema, it has a lively and varied music on film programme and a timely events series. The Festival is especially well known for its shorts screenings, which form a separate sub-festival called Shorts@CFF.
Month: May
Genre: Shorts
An independent festival in Schull, Co Cork, that brings together established and first-time filmmakers in a forum to celebrate the short film. Uniquely, this is a “no cinema” festival – screenings of short films take place in unusual settings (a school bus, a village hall, pubs, restaurants) around this picturesque Cork town.
Darklight Festival
Month: April
Genre: Digital/New Media
Ireland’s premier festival for filmmakers, animators and artists whose work explores the convergence of art, film and technology. With screenings, workshops, discussions, exhibitions and a “think tank”, the mission of this Dublin festival is to nurture new talent and create new possibilities for the imagination.
Dingle International Film Festival
Month: March
Genre: All
This Kerry festival supports filmmakers, celebrates the art of contemporary Irish and international cinema and has a focus on script, innovation and new media. It aims to engage with the audience by involving them in screenings, workshops, discussions and seminars. The DFF also hosts the annual Gregory Peck Award for excellence in the art of film.
Feminist Film Festival
Month: August-October
Genre: All
Ireland’s Feminist Film Festival has taken place during the autumn in Dublin since 2014. The festival aims to bring the perspectives, stories and experiences of women, feminists and women-identified people to a wider audience through film in an inclusive, positive and friendly environment and event. All profits go to the charity Sasane, with non-profut Planeterra matching the fund-raising euro-for-euro.
Fingal Film Festival
Month: Sept
Genre: All
This four-day event in the Dublin region showcases the work of local, national and international filmmakers, and provides access to industry professionals through workshops and training programmes. At least 70% of the festival’s schedule is dedicated to foreign films.
First Cut! ‘Pop-Up’ Youth Film Festival
Month: April
Genre: Youth
This County Cork festival was launched as a one-day event in 2009 with the aim of screening films made by young Cork people, and hosting workshops and talks by guest filmmakers. It has developed into a vibrant annual film festival which sets out to support the next generation by showcasing newly created short films.
Foyle Film Festival
Month: November
Genre: All
The Foyle Film Festival brings the best of international cinema and industry professionals to Derry. The festival comprises premieres and screenings, workshops and masterclasses, education programmes, outreach screenings, special events and competitions. The winners of its short-film competition qualify for the Academy Awards.
Fresh Film Festival
Month: March
Genre: Young Filmmakers
Fresh Film Festival is Ireland’s national film festival for young people aged 7-18. It focuses on two strands – the young person as filmmaker and the young audience.The festival programme includes specialist workshops, an international programme and screenings of classic, foreign language and independent films. Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year Awards celebrate the work of young producers are the highlight of Fresh’s programme. For further information see www.freshfilmfestival.net or contact at info@freshfilmfestival.net Phone/Fax +353 (0) 61 319555
Galway Film Fleadh
Month: July
Genre: All
A six-day international film event, the Fleadh is very much a film lovers’ festival, and attracts directors, actors, cinematographers and artists of all generations and cultural backgrounds. Also includes masterclasses, public interviews, debates, a competition, workshops, seminars and other industry events as part of the Galway Film Fair.
GAZE
Month: August
Genre: LGBT
This Dublin festival celebrates Irish and international LGBT film, presenting, exploring and providing a platform for LGBT cinema and filmmakers.
Guth Gafa
Month: May
Genre: Documentary
Guth Gafa (Captive Voice) Documentary Film Festival takes place in Malin, Co Donegal. The unique festival screens more than twenty Irish and international documentaries over three days, with in-depth post-screening discussions from visiting directors/producers. Sponsors include the IFB, the Arts Council, Screen Training Ireland and TG4.
iffy Film Festival
Month: July and November
Genre: Short Films
iffy is a bi-annual short film festival in the heart of Dublin City during the months of July and November. A showcase evening and networking opportunity for Irish filmmakers. Our festival is the price of a cinema ticket and the length of a feature. For that you get a carefully curated selection of brilliant little pieces, chosen for their sparks of creativity, relevancy and distinctive style. The collection is generally Irish, with a few international shorts that have shone through.
IFI Documentary Festival
Month: September
Genre: Documentary
The Irish Film Institute in Dublin programmes and hosts many festivals throughout the year, including IFI Stranger Than Fiction, IFI French Film Festival, IFI Horrorthon, and the IFI Family Festival.
IFI Family Festival
Month: June
Genre: All
The Irish Film Institute in Dublin programmes and hosts many festivals throughout the year, including IFI Stranger Than Fiction, IFI French Film Festival, IFI Horrorthon, and the IFI Family Festival.
IFI French Film Festival
Month: November
Genre: French Language Films
The Irish Film Institute in Dublin programmes and hosts many festivals throughout the year, including IFI Stranger Than Fiction, IFI French Film Festival, IFI Horrorthon, and the IFI Family Festival.
IFI Horrorthon
Month: October
Genre: Horror
The Irish Film Institute in Dublin programmes and hosts many festivals throughout the year, including IFI Stranger Than Fiction, IFI French Film Festival, IFI Horrorthon, and the IFI Family Festival.
Indie Cork
Month: October
Genre: Independent film
IndieCork welcomes film entries in all categories and genres. The festival is unique in its focus on independent shorts, documentaries and features, but also in its ownership structure: it is managed by a voluntary committee, and its honorary patron is director Ken Loach.
Kerry Film Festival
Month: October
Genre: Shorts
Set in the beautiful location of Killarney, Co. Kerry, KFF is a leading Short Film Festival and annual meeting place for emerging and established filmmakers and industry professionals. Celebrating new talent and innovation, Kerry Film Festival presents an International Short Film competition, Feature Screenings, a Short Film Market, Live Film/Music events, Industry Networking Events and Niche Film Events in Unique Venues throughout the county.
OFFline
Month: October
Genre: All
Workshops, screenings, competition and events. A festival dedicated to making and screening quality short and feature-length fiction and documentary films in the Irish Midlands.
The Richard Harris International Film Festival
Month: October
Genre: All
A festival to promote emerging and established film-makers from the Irish Diaspora and Showcase Home Grown Creative Talent, also viewings of Richard Harris’s most iconic films. Taking place in October RHIFF is the place to be for short film makers, feature filmmakers, actors, poets, singers and writers, producers and screenwriters. Includes Feature & Short Film Screenings, Newport Beach Film Festival Competition, Industry Network Events, Workshops, Image and Monologue Competitions.
Stranger than Fiction
Month: April
Genre: Documentary
This is Ireland’s largest dedicated non-fiction film event, taking place in the Irish Film Institute in Dublin. A programme of Irish and international documentary features and shorts runs alongside panel discussions, Q&As and industry events.
Underground Cinema Film Festival
Month: September
Genre: Independent
The UCFF is an annual event showcasing independent features and short films from around the world.