Get ready to roll out the red carpet!
The Dublin International Film Festival is gearing up to transform the Irish capital into a cinematic wonderland from February 20th to March 2nd, 2025. This year’s lineup is so packed with talent, you might need to bring your autograph book and a pair of sunglasses to shield yourself from the star power. The city is bracing itself for an influx of Hollywood royalty, with Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Lange, and Ed Harris leading the charge. Fiennes will kick things off with a bang in the opening film “The Return,” meanwhile, Lange and Harris will be honored with a Volta Award. They will be joined by other names such as Ben Foster, Fiona Shaw, Twiggy, Sadie Frost, Elia Suleiman and more…
Not to be outdone by the international crowd, Irish filmmakers are bringing their A-game with a whopping 10 world premieres. From Ardal O’Hanlon trading in his priest’s collar for football cleats in “Fran The Man,” to a 90s coming-of-age story that’ll make you cringe-laugh at your own teenage memories in “Ready or Not,” actress Fionnuala Flannagan will close the festival in Darren Thornton’s hilarious ‘Four Mothers’.
The documentary strand brings a wide range of films, from lottery-fixing scandals to typing icon mysteries, these films prove that reality can be weirder than anything Hollywood dreams up. And if you’ve ever wondered about the secret life of seaweed (and who hasn’t?), there’s even a film for that with the US documentary ‘Seaweed Stories’
And for the thrill-seekers among us, there’s the ever-popular Surprise Film. Its identity is so secret, even the projectionists are blindfolded while loading the reels. Okay, maybe not, but you get the idea. We have a sneak peak at some previous films from over the years here.
Talking about this years line up Festival Director Gráinne Humphreys said, “Following the success of last year’s festival, we are delighted to present what we believe is an equally exciting programme of films and guests to the audiences of Dublin and beyond. With our superb line up of international features and documentaries many screenings will be accompanied by their creators, a packed industry programme and as ever a line-up of world premieres of new Irish work. Our Volta awards will be presented to two of my favourite actors Jessica Lange and Ed Harris, while our country in focus will be Morocco and we present a tribute to the 25th Anniversary of Gilmore Girls, what more can you ask for?”
So, mark your calendars, dust off your fancy clothes, and prepare to be dazzled by another great year of cinematic celebration with DIFF.
For more info visit www.DIFF.ie