It’s a long way to tipperary, but not the Boston Irish film festival
When he first launched the Boston Irish Film Festival in 1999, fest director (and ex-Dubliner) Peter Flynn had no idea that his humble screening series would grow into an annual two-week extravaganza boasting a Magners sponsorship (it’s now called the Magners Irish Film Festival), world premieres, and such marquee celebrities as Aidan Quinn and Gabriel Byrne. Flynn gives us the lowdown on this year’s festival, taking place November 13 through 24 (see www.irishfilmfestival.com for details).
Q: What does the fest’s 10th-anniversary installment have in store?
A: There’s a lot of stuff we’re really proud of. I suppose our most important event is our Excellence Award ceremony honoring John Boorman. In addition to [Hollywood] films like Deliverance and Hope and Glory, in the last 10 years he’s made two of the most significant films to come out of Ireland: The General and The Tiger’s Tail. So that’s our crown jewel, if you will.
Q: What films will you be screening?
A: We’re screening the Boston premiere of Eden, which received our award for Best Film. We also have a very strong program of documentaries and a special music program — it’s quite eclectic.
Q: How has the festival changed over the last decade?
A: One of the things that we’ve noticed is that Irish cinema —particularly since the early 1990s, with the success of films like The Crying Game — has become very international. Our festival has become much more a celebration of global Irish culture rather than something focused on the island of Ireland.
Q: Do you sponsor other programming outside of the festival?
A: We just recently became a nonprofit, and part of our mission is to run smaller events. Our first is scheduled for February. We’ve collected a whole fascinating array of very early American films produced prior to 1917 that show American representations of the Irish. They haven’t been seen in 100 years, and we’re going to screen those at the Coolidge with live musical accompaniment. So that’s the first of our upcoming year-round events.
Q: Wow, that’s so cool.
A: Yeah, no rest for the wicked.
