The Dublin Community Blog

Some days, you just need to unwind in a place where all the stress and hectic of this oh-so-modern life does not really matter. And what better place to do that then in the cinema. And I’m not talking 20-screen-multiplex here. More the old, dusty ones, where the smell of 30 years selling popcorn will never be completely gone. And this is why I’m singing the praise of the Screen. After its latest refurbishment and re-installment of the famous neon-lights the Screen cinema has now initiated a new season of classical movies, “Ministry of Musicals”. These films will be screened weekly on Tuesday evenings from 17th November starting with Singing in the Rain.

Programme Manager, Anna Taylor commented, “We are delighted with the changeover to digital, it has given us the chance  to be even more creative with our film programming. We are embracing the future, honoring the past and we hope to keep our audiences happy for years to come”. While talking about  the Screen’s future intentions, Anna revealed that they intend to show classic films regularly in the cinema. She went on to say that the entire basis of film appreciation is looking back at the roots of modern cinema and that she hopes that showing classic movies will complement the Screen’s repertoire of new films.

My personal favourite of the classics is the -ahem- classic Wizard of Oz from 1939:

So, if you are looking for some escapism in these dire times, and especially as the weather will probably not improve for the next 5 months, why not pay a visit to a time-honoured Dublin cinema institution.

And to keep updated on future plans and more classic screenings, you can follow the Screen on Twitter or become a fan on their Facebook-profile. Hell, they even have their won Wikipedia-entry.

The end of the world is coming in 10 years time and it appears to have started in Dublin. That is according to the new movie The Road starring Charlize Theron and Viggo Mortensen. The movie is described as “A post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible”.

In typical disaster movie style the trailer starts with news footage of the start apocalypse. In prominent position is footage that looks to be from the 2006 Dublin riots. That means we have 7 years until most of us are dead and the survivors are pursued by gangs of lawless killers. So really if things keep going the way they have with mass protests, taxi drivers blocking the city center driving commuters crazy and herds of llamas running rampage around the suburbs 7 years might be an optimistic estimate to the apocalypse.

Next weekend, the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar will be screening four state-of-the-art Anime/Manga movies in the course of the Japanese Anime Weekend, amongst others the brilliant “Ghost in the Shell 2″.

This event offers Irish audiences a rare chance to see four 21st-century anime movies on the big screen, where their artistry can be fully appreciated. The films are different in style, approach and content, but they represent a snapshot of the current state of this art form.

There will also be 2 supporting lectures to provide background to this cultural phenomenon, “A brief history of post-war Japanese animation” and “Japanese animation for adults” on Saturday and Sunday between screenings.

As an unexpected event prevented me from attending my last shift as a volunteer and delayed my posting here, I’ll just give you a short impression of what happened last week. A bigger and better researched post will follow once all has settled – and of course after today’s closing of the festival.

My personal highlight of the festival is definitively the screening of Sacha Gervasi’s incredible incredible documentary “Anvil! The story of Anvil!” and the incredible incredible live performance of the band directly after the show in front of the screen. An extraordinary event for everyone who attended the show. Some impression are here.

Thanks to entertainment.ie for the pic.

As everyone is watching tonight’s closing movie, “The Secret of Kells” at the Savoy while I am writing this post, I’ll now prepare to head off for the closing party of the festival. And with us having won the Irish blog awards there’s more than one reason to celebrate.

Damn it. My team actually made it last in yesterday’s volunteer’s movie quiz. But at least we got the questions about German movies right, and were awarded with some nice Gran Torino longsleeves.
So far it’s been great to work for the festival – I’ve met loads of movie enthusiasts (festival visitors and volunteers), some starlets, interesting French movie directors and a lady who insisted on getting her personal programme and a bottle of water back after both were discarded accidentally. Thankfully my venue captain Anna reacted quickly and peace was restored so everybody could go back to one of the important things in life, watching movies.

Today’s shift will have yours truly attending the screening of the Irish Film Board Shorts at the IFI:

The Irish Film Board and the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival are pleased to present this showcase of new work in the short film format. The programme features both established and up-andcoming filmmakers and exemplifies the diverse range of talent, technical expertise and innovative styles which have already been recognised both in Ireland and internationally.

But as stated earlier, my personal highlight will be the screening of “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” at Cineworld, especially as the band and director Sacha Gervasi will be attending. Horns up!

PS: Neil Gaiman likes being in Dublin, seemingly.

As promised, I’d like to give you an update on the Jameson Dublin Film Festival.

Most of the opening night I was handing out free whiskey to all kinds of movie- and TV-related guests of the aftershowparty at the official Festival-Pub, Ron Blacks. And therefore missed the defile on the red carpet at the Savoy, where Irvine Welsh confirmed that there are plans to make a movie of the sequel to “Trainspotting”, “Porno”. I really would love to see Robert Carlyle reprise the role of  Begbie again…

Generally I’m always surprised how closely most of the arts are connected, especially literature and film – I don’t think that screenwriters could do without books or short stories providing the basis for most movie-plots. On that topic: another famous fiction author, Neil Gaiman attended the Irish premier of “Coraline 3D”, a stop-motion animated movie based on one of his books at Movies @ Dundrum yesterday.

My other shift last week was at one of Dublin’s oldest cinema’s, the time-honoured Screen Cinema on Townsend Street. As this was the first time I actually attended a screening there (one has to confess that the outer appearance of the place is not very convincing), I was surprised by the cosy atmosphere and old-worldliness that is persisting there despite the worn-down facade – perfectly fitting atmosphere for the French and Turkish movies that were shown. I attended the screening of “The Grocer’s Son” of French director Eric Guirado, a movie that surprised as one of the small hits of the festival already – there’ll be more to come from this director, that’s for sure.

Today I’m looking forward to watch “Exterminating Angels”. And this one at the Screen again.

As some of you may now, this year’s Jameson Dublin Film Festival has started today; and this year yours truly will work for the festival as a volunteer. Therefore over the next ten days I’m planning to share my experiences with you, and maybe I can even sneak in one interview or two. And of course some gossip, who knows who I’ll be meeting while ripping of tickets

But the festival is not mainly about stars, but movies:

Here are just a few of the highlights for opening weekend……

Dive in to Documentaries
Experience a new world with our opening weekend documentaries including Creative Chaos (13th @ 4pm), Pirate for The Sea (14th @ 4:40pm), Bigger Stronger Faster (15th @ 6:10pm).

Turkish Delights
Get a taste of the Eastern delights at the festival with Dot (14th @ 2pm), Havar (15th @ 6:10pm) and Takva (15th @ 8:45pm).

Not Just Another Manic Monday
Get the week off to a good start and beat the Monday blues with Snow (16th @ 6:30pm) and Exterminating Angels (16th @ 8:45pm).

Guaranteed Irish
Come and see whats on offer from some of the shining lights of Irish film with Christine Molloy & Joe Lawlors Helen (15th @ 4pm), and John Crowley’s Boy A (16th @ 6:45pm).
Going, going, gone..

I am really looking forward to the ecletic mix of European and American movies, with not few classics and Cannes-winners featured. My personal picks for the festival are:

“I sell the dead”. A 18th century grave-robbers tale featuring Ron Perlman and Dominic Monaghan.
“Exterminating Angels (Les Anges Exterminateurs). Controversial French director and writer Jean-Claude Brisseau created a wild mix of sexual tension and suspense in this thriller from 2006.
“Anvil! The Story of Anvil”. As the old metalhead that I am, no one’s gonna stop me from watching this extraordinary documetary about one of the most understimated bands in Rock. Hellyeah.
And last but not least “Tokyo!”, a cinematic triptych of three Tokyo-set stories filmed by three different directors, one of them the brilliant Michel Gondry.

So, see you at the movies!

The former James Bond will visit Easons on Saturday 17th at 2pm to meet fans and sign his autobiography My Word is Bond. For many of us Moore was the bond we grew up with and while now we may or may not prefer other Bond actors Moore will always be the Bond who drove the under water Lotus car, fought Jaws, went into space, and saved Silicon Valley allowing us to have blogs

Any Bond fans might want to pick up a signed autobiography, or even pick up one as a really early Christmas present for someone else.

Though we have to wait until January 21st before the full programme is announced, the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival presented some early programme highlights yesterday.

Taking place from the 12th – 22nd February, the festival will feature over 130 film screenings from Ireland, Europe and across the world, many of which will be their first and only screening in Ireland. As well as the chance to catch some great movies, the festival holds many non screening events such as the Dublin City Libraries film quiz, which will see older people pit their film knowledge against each other, the Write Here Write Now screenwriting award in association with Walt Disney Motion Pictures, Q&A sessions and much, much, more.

The festival is also still looking for volunteers to support the three festival areas Administration & Production, Venues and Event Hospitality. You can download the application form here.

The annual “Stranger Than Fiction” Documentary Film Festival takes place in the Irish Film Institute this weekend. There are some real gems showing. Some of my favourites:

The Blue Tailor
Greendale, Death of a School
Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037
Tory Island
Corridor#8
Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens

Thats just a snippet of whats on. The IFI have done a fine job in their selection. Tickets available online here.