Cinema: Accessible Screenings at the Irish Film Institute for August

Upcoming open captioned and audio described screenings on at the Irish Film Institute this month. For booking information and more details, visit ifi.ie.

KNEECAP

Open captioned screenings Saturday 10 August at 3.50pm and Wednesday 14 August at 6.20pm

Audio described screenings From Friday 9 August

When fate brings Belfast teacher JJ into the orbit of self-confessed ‘low-life scum’ Naoise & Liam Óg, the needle drops on a hip hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish, KNEECAP fast become the unlikely figureheads of a Civil Rights movement to save their mother tongue. But the trio must first overcome police, paramilitaries and politicians trying to silence their defiant sound – whilst their anarchic approach to life often makes them their own worst enemies. In this fiercely original sex, drugs, and hip-hop biopic, KNEECAP play themselves with Academy Award Nominee Michael Fassbender in tow, laying down a global rallying cry for the defence of native cultures.

Only the River Flows

Open captioned screenings Friday 16 August at 1.30pm and Wednesday 21 August at 6.15pm

Adapted from Yu Hua’s novel Mistakes by the River, the third feature from Chinese writer-director Wei Shujun is set in the 1990s in the rural town of Banpo, Southern China. Ma Zhe (Zhu Yilong), chief of police (and father-to-be) investigates the brutal murder of an elderly woman whose body is found by the local river. An early arrest seems to resolve the case with alacrity, but Ma Zhe is frustrated by loose ends and continues the investigation. What begins as a seemingly routine police procedural develops into an exploration of the protagonist’s moral compass, and the endemic corruption of the society he serves. The film’s moody, rain-soaked imagery and chain-smoking detective allude to a typically stylish neo-noir, but Only the River Flows is a far more enigmatic, slippery, and ultimately haunting piece of work.

Mrs Robinson

Open captioned screenings Sunday 25 August at 2.30pm and Tuesday 27 August at 6.30pm

A reforming constitutional lawyer and senator in her early career, Mary Robinson detonated an electoral earthquake by winning the Irish Presidential vote in 1990. Later, as a crusading UN High Commissioner, she built a lasting legacy; fearlessly challenging perpetrators of human rights abuses all over the world. To this day, she exerts power and leadership as the Chair of The Elders; the independent group of global leaders (founded by Nelson Mandela) who work for peace, justice and human rights. As an influential global voice, Mary Robinson is also spearheading Project Dandelion: a women-led climate justice campaign.

Directed by Aoife Kelleher (One Million Dubliners) the film allows Mary Robinson, a highly articulate and astute commentator, to tell her story, in her own words, for the first time.

Touch

Open captioned screenings Friday 30 August at 3.30pm and Sunday 1 September at 8.30pm

Audio described screenings From Friday 30 August

An adaptation of the best-selling novel by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, Touch is the achingly poignant story of an elderly man who, on receiving a troubling medical diagnosis, embarks on an epic quest to find his long-lost first love. Widower Kristofer (Egill Ólafsson) sets off from Iceland on a seemingly impossible mission. Decades earlier, the young Kristofer (Pálmi Kormákur) met his first love, Miko (Kōki), in London. A student of economics, he decides to give up his studies and work in a Japanese restaurant. There he meets Miko, the owner’s daughter, and romance blossoms. Then she disappears without a trace. All these years later, with limited time left, Kristofer tries to track her down, eventually leading him to Japan and an astonishing discovery. A deeply moving, delicate, and spellbinding romance.

The Irish Film Institute provide regular audio description and open captioning for selected screenings. For more information about accessible screenings visit www.ifi.ie/accessible.

Images courtesy of the IFI. Notes by David O’Mahony.