Foyle Film Festival runs until December 1, showcasing both new and emerging cinematic voices with a varied programme to suit fans of all film genres.
Established in 1987 and led by the Nerve Centre, Foyle is Northern Ireland’s longest-running film festival. It is an Academy Award- and Bafta-qualifying festival through its Light in Motion short film competition - winners will be announced at the closing night ceremony in Brunswick Moviebowl on Sunday December 1.
Details of all listings and events at foylefilmfestival.org.
Here’s our pick of five to see at the festival:
1. To A Land Unknown
Brunswick Moviebowl, Tuesday November 26, 8pm
Winner of Best Film in the World Cinema competition at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh, To A Land Unknown follows Chatila (Mahmood Bakri) and Reda (Aram Sabbagh) who are saving to pay for fake passports to get out of Athens. The second feature from Palestinian director, Mahdi Fleifel, To a Land Unknown is an “empathetic and humanist tale”, highlighting the geographical and spiritual exile the conflict in Gaza has wrought on those displaced in its aftermath.
2. A Christmas Carol
Dementia-friendly screening - The Nerve Centre, Magazine Street, Wednesday November 27, 11am
Edwin L Marin’s 1938 heartwarming adaptation of Charles Dickens’s much-loved novella, A Christmas Carol has remained a timeless classic of old-fashioned Hollywood film-making and stars Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge and Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit.
3. The Wise Guy
Brunswick Moviebowl, Thursday November 28, 9pm
A coming-of-age ‘dramedy’ written and directed by Co Down-based film-maker, Sam O’Mahony. It tells the story of young Francis Burns (Senan Jennings), a lonely boy desperate for guidance and protection, who forms an unlikely friendship with a gangster in the woods (Darrell D’Silva).
4. A Real Pain
Brunswick Moviebowl, Friday November 29, 7pm
A 2024 film directed and produced by Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain is a poignant road trip comedy-drama featuring Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as mismatched cousins who reunite for a tour through Poland to honour their late grandmother.
5. The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Brunswick Moviebowl, Friday November 29, 9pm
Already Oscar-tipped, The Seed of the Sacred Fig is billed as ‘domestic drama meets tense psychological thriller’. Mohammad Rasoulof’s film was selected at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and has been acclaimed as “impactful and unforgettable”. It grapples with mistrust and paranoia in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran as nationwide political protests intensify. Following its selection at Cannes, Rasoulof was sentenced by the Iranian government to eight years in prison, with the director currently living in exile in Germany. It is scheduled for general release in 2025.
