Irish Film Festival 2016

Overview

When charming animated odyssey Song of the Sea earned an Academy Award nomination in 2015, plenty of film folk were surprised. Not those hailing from Ireland, though. The nation's movie industry might not give Hollywood a run for its money — even if it did give US action flicks the gift that is Liam Neeson — but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in effort.

Of course, the same could be said of the Irish Film Festival, which celebrates its second year in 2016. Taking over the Chauvel from April 7 – 10, the four-day-long event might boast just seven features and eleven shorts in its program, plus two shindigs; however here, it's quality, diversity and celebrating the latest and greatest of the country's contemporary film offerings that matters.

That includes the aforementioned family-friendly gem, of course, as well as criminal underworld thriller Pursuit, Berlin-set drama Lost in the Living and a documentary about the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin. And fittingly, it all kicks off with not just a gala party, but with a screening of the Toni Collette-starring addiction effort Glassland. Not only does this pot of cinema gold at the end of the movie-going rainbow showcase the best Ireland has to offer to Sydney audiences, but it also champions a collaboration between Irish filmmakers and Aussie talent.