Irish Film Institute
Encyclopedia
The Irish Film Institute (formerly the Irish Film Centre) is both a film theatre and a national body that supports Irish Film heritage. It maintains an archive of Irish films and provides education in film culture. It shows independent and foreign language films overlooked by commercial multiplexes at its cinema in the Temple Bar
quarter of Dublin. Film festivals are also staged throughout the year.
There are three cinemas: Cinema 1 has a capacity of 258; Cinema 2 holds 106 people; and Cinema 3 seats 58. They are wheelchair accessible and support the use of hearing aids.
The Institute opened the Irish Film Centre on Eustace Street in September 1992. The award-winning building, designed by architects O'Donnell and Tuomey, was transformed from the old Quaker Meeting House into the Irish Film Centre, later the Institute, with funding from the Arts Council, the National Lottery, the European Union, Bord Fáilte (Irish Tourist board), and private sponsorship. The Centre gave a new home to the Irish Film Archive
as well as organisations such as Film Base, Access Cinema, Screen Producers Ireland, and Media Desk.
The IFI increases the range of films available to Irish audiences. New releases, national seasons, directors' retrospectives, thematic programmes, festivals, and special events have been regular features of the programme, with the number of films screened rising to over 400 a year. The IFI welcomed its one millionth customer in the late 1990s and improved its facilities, including the introduction of digital sound, larger screens in each cinema, and the installation of Ireland's only functioning 70mm projection system in Cinema 1.
The IFI also provides a venue for debate and acts as a meeting place for a variety of groups. A series of public interviews has brought many international filmmakers to IFI audiences over the years, including John Woo
, Peter Greenaway
, Dennis Hopper
, Atom Egoyan
, Sydney Pollack
, Tim Roth
, Joel Schumacher
, and Claude Miller
. Evening courses offer opportunities to explore everything from Indian cinema and America independents to Spanish film, with lectures following each screening.
The bookshop stocks a wide selection of literature about Irish cinema, as well as Irish and world films on video and DVD. There is also a bar and restaurant called the IFI Café Bar. Funding is provided by the Irish government through the Arts Council of Ireland
and by the National Lottery
.
Temple Bar, Dublin
Temple Bar is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin, Ireland. Unlike the areas surrounding it, Temple Bar has preserved its medieval street pattern, with many narrow cobbled streets. It is promoted as "Dublin's cultural quarter" and has a lively nightlife that is popular...
quarter of Dublin. Film festivals are also staged throughout the year.
There are three cinemas: Cinema 1 has a capacity of 258; Cinema 2 holds 106 people; and Cinema 3 seats 58. They are wheelchair accessible and support the use of hearing aids.
The Institute opened the Irish Film Centre on Eustace Street in September 1992. The award-winning building, designed by architects O'Donnell and Tuomey, was transformed from the old Quaker Meeting House into the Irish Film Centre, later the Institute, with funding from the Arts Council, the National Lottery, the European Union, Bord Fáilte (Irish Tourist board), and private sponsorship. The Centre gave a new home to the Irish Film Archive
Irish film archive
The Irish Film Archive is part of the Irish Film Institute the body charged with the promotion and preservation of film culture in Ireland....
as well as organisations such as Film Base, Access Cinema, Screen Producers Ireland, and Media Desk.
The IFI increases the range of films available to Irish audiences. New releases, national seasons, directors' retrospectives, thematic programmes, festivals, and special events have been regular features of the programme, with the number of films screened rising to over 400 a year. The IFI welcomed its one millionth customer in the late 1990s and improved its facilities, including the introduction of digital sound, larger screens in each cinema, and the installation of Ireland's only functioning 70mm projection system in Cinema 1.
The IFI also provides a venue for debate and acts as a meeting place for a variety of groups. A series of public interviews has brought many international filmmakers to IFI audiences over the years, including John Woo
John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
, Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
, Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
, Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan, OC is a critically acclaimed Armenian-Canadian stage director and film director. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica...
, Sydney Pollack
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...
, Tim Roth
Tim Roth
Simon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...
, Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher is an American film director, screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Schumacher was born in New York City, the son of Marian and Francis Schumacher. His mother was a Swedish Jew, and his father was a Baptist from Knoxville, Tennessee, who died when Joel was four years old...
, and Claude Miller
Claude Miller
Claude Miller is a French film director, producer and screenwriter.-Career:Claude Miller was born to a Jewish family. A student at Paris' IDHEC film school from 1962 through 1963, Miller had his first practical cinematic experience while he was in uniform, serving with the Service Cinéma de l'Armée...
. Evening courses offer opportunities to explore everything from Indian cinema and America independents to Spanish film, with lectures following each screening.
The bookshop stocks a wide selection of literature about Irish cinema, as well as Irish and world films on video and DVD. There is also a bar and restaurant called the IFI Café Bar. Funding is provided by the Irish government through the Arts Council of Ireland
Arts Council of Ireland
The Arts Council of Ireland was founded in 1951 by the Government of Ireland to encourage interest in Irish art and channel to funding from the state to Irish artists and arts organisations...
and by the National Lottery
National Lottery (Ireland)
The National Lottery is the state lottery of Ireland. It was founded when the Oireachtas passed the to support initiatives in the areas of sport and recreation, health and welfare, national heritage and the arts, and the Irish language. Since gaming operations began on 23 March 1987, over €3.6...
.