St. Patrick's Week Films 2017
17 Place du Théâtre, 2613 Luxembourg
15 and 19 March 2017
The Ireland Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ILCC), along with the Irish Club of Luxembourg (ICL) and the Embassy of Ireland in Luxembourg, is supporting the British & Irish Film Season (BIFS) regarding the organisation of a mini film festival in mid-March at the Cinèmathèque in Luxembourg city centre.
As an extension of BIFS, the St Patrick's Week Films will see the screening of the top two Irish comedies, the hilarious and heartbreaking "Sanctuary" and the equally hilarious "The Young Offenders" which both had their world premiers at last year's Galway Film Fleadh.
- Wed 15 March @ 18:30: Sanctuary (87 mins), directed by Len Collin and starring Charlene Kelly, Kieran Coppinger, Robert Doherty, Frank Butcher, Paul Connelly, Valerie Egan.
Synopsis : A hilarious and heartbreaking comedy about two people who want to be together despite their world doing everything to keep them apart. Two members of a group of people with intellectual disabilities, Larrie and Sophie, slip out of a cinema during a group outing. When their carer returns, the others have disappeared too… Produced with the support of the Blue Teapot Company (www.blueteapot.ie)
The director Len Collin and actor Robert Doherty will both attend!
- Sun 19 March @ 17:00: The Young Offenders (83 mins), directed by Peter Foott and starring Chris Walley, Alex Murphy, Hilary Rose, PJ Gallagher.
Synopsis : A hilarious comedy about two lovable rogues in Cork city who dream of riches when they learn of a haul of cocaine being washed ashore in West Cork, setting in motion a chain of capers involving a series of characters. Inspired by the true story of Ireland's biggest cocaine seizure in 2007, the film uses anecdotes from a trip the writer/director made to West Cork in his youth. It can also be described as a road movie with a difference, on stolen bikes, with one sub-plot involving a totally inept Garda Sergeant. This film grossed €1m plus at the Irish box office!
The actor Chris Walley will attend!
Tickets cost €8.80 each or €15 for both screenings, via www.bifilmseason.lu.
event report
Two Irish comedies Sanctuary and Young Offenders, featured in this year’s St Patrick’s Week Luxembourg Mini Film Festival.
G -Media sarl, organisers of the annual British & Irish Film Season (BIFS), in collaboration with the Irish Club of Luxembourg (ICL) and the Ireland-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ILCC), and with the support of the Embassy of Ireland in Luxembourg, made this film week possible.
Sanctuary, directed by Len Collin, tells the story of a group of intellectually disabled people who get separated while on a cinema day trip. Each splintered group enjoy their freedom from supervision with both hilarious and often poignant results. This film was thought provoking and left the viewer with a better understanding of life as seen through the eyes of the intellectually disabled. Both Len Collin director and Kieran Coppinger lead actor, were in attendance for a short Q & A session following the screening of the film. Collin explained to the audience that the film was adapted from a play produced by Blue Teapot company which is an Irish theatre company whose actors are mainly intellectually disabled. The same actors who appeared in the original play also appeared as their stage characters in the film.
The Young Offenders, which was screened on Sunday 20th March, was the last film of the St Patrick's Week Film Festival. This comedic film attracted a full house and Chris Walley, one of the film’s lead characters, was present to receive questions from the audience after the screening.
Chris who is a native of Cork and currently studying drama at RADA, explained that he has been involved in drama all his life. He told the audience that the film was made on a shoestring of €60,000 and has more than reaped its rewards as it has grossed so far, € 1m euro at the Irish box office alone.
The Irish chamber would like to wish both Sanctuary and The young Offenders every best wish for their screenings at various Film Festivals in Europe and America.
Both films were screened at the Cinémathèque Luxembourg.