COMING INTO CLOVER is a groundbreaking documentary film that traces the evolution of cinematic representations of Ireland and the Irish in early American cinema.

The film will feature never-before-seen footage from the earliest days of the American cinema as well as interviews with film scholars and archivists, Irish writers, historians and filmmakers.

The film is being produced by Dawn Morrissey and directed by Peter Flynn.

Full details on COMING INTO CLOVER can be found online here.

The Magners Irish Film Festival are proud to support the Independent Film Festival Boston with their east coast Premiere screening of SAVIOURS, directed by Ross Whitaker and Liam Nolan.

TO BUY TICKETS: http://www.iffboston.org

SAVIOURS follows the paths of three of the many pugilists at St. Saviors as they punch their way toward their respective goals. Their opponents are not always the men in the opposite corners of the square ring. The flats of inner city Dublin, the will to continue, the risk of injury, and even the government are at odds with these promising young boxers.

The film will screen on Saturday April 26th 7:30pm Brattle Theatre (Harvard Square) & Monday April 28th 6:00pm Somerville Theatre Davis Square).

Director Liam Nolan will be in attendance!

The 2007 Director's Choice Award Winner On Broadway opens Friday March 14th . . .

The acclaimed film from writer/director Dave McLaughlin will screen at the Cameo Theaters 1 & 2, the Dedham Community Theatre, Sharon Cinemas 8, Somerville Theatre and West Newton Cinema. Click here for full details.

On Broadway tells the story of Jack O'Toole, a 30-something Boston everyman, who writes a play about his dead uncle as a way to reconnect with his hard-nosed dad. With no money and just his gut to guide him, Jack quits his job as a carpenter so that he can mount a production of his play on the only stage he can afford: in the back room of his neighborhood pub, on a little street called Broadway.

On Broadway was the winner of the Best Feature Award at last year's Woods Hole Film Festival as well as the Grand Jury Prize at the New Hampsire Film Festival.

Free Screening of IN BRUGES on Tuesday, Jan 29.

The Magners Irish Film Festival kicked off its 10th year with a free screening of In Bruges. Sponsored by the Brattle Theatre and BIFF Productions, Inc.

IN BRUGES
at 7:00 (seating begins at 6pm)
(2008) dir Martin McDonagh w/Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy, Jérémie Rénier, Thekla Reuten, Jordan Prentice [107min]

Bruges (pronounced "broozh"), the most well-preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium, is a welcoming destination for travellers from all over the world. But for hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), it could be their final destination; a difficult job has resulted in the pair being ordered right before Christmas by their London boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) to go and cool their heels in the storybook Flemish city for a couple of weeks.

Very much out of place amidst the gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, the two hit men fill their days living the lives of tourists. Ray, still haunted by the bloodshed in London, hates the place, while Ken, even as he keeps a fatherly eye on Ray's often profanely funny exploits, finds his mind and soul being expanded by the beauty and serenity of the city. The longer they stay, however, the weirder their experience becomes. And when the call from Harry finally comes, Ken and Ray's vacation becomes a life-and-death struggle of darkly comic proportions and surprisingly emotional consequences.

2006 Excellennce Award honoree Brendan Gleeson with Colin Farrell in Martin McDonagh's In Bruges.

Academy Award-winning writer/director Martin McDonagh (for Six Shooter) makes his feature directorial debut with In Bruges, from his own original screenplay. His plays (which include "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" and "The Pillowman") have brought him two Olivier Awards and four Tony Award nominations. He wrote and directed "Six Shooter", starring Brendan Gleeson, which earned him the 2006 Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Film.

The 9th Annual Magners Irish Film Festival unspooled Nov. 8-11 2007 before recording-breaking audiences at the Brattle Theatre and the Harvard Film Archive. Continuing its celebratioin the very best of Ireland and the Irish on screen, the event once again showcased an outstanding collection of contemporary Irish and Irish-related features, documentaries and shorts.

Among the many films screened this year were the 2007 BIFF Award winners:

• The Front Line (Best Feature)
• The Hunger Strike (Best Documentary)
• Deep Breaths (Best Short Subject)
• On Broadway (Director’s Choice.)

The 2007 Excellence Award honoree was Aidan Quinn. Mr. Quinn was present at a special screening and award ceremony held in his honor.

The event also featured screenings of John Boorman's new film The Tiger's Tail and the celebrated new comedy Short Order and marked the launch of a new Education Program for filmmakers and the general public. The program featured a symposium of short film distribution for filmmakers and a series of talks on contemporary Irish and Irish-American cinema by Prof. Tony Tracy of the Huston School of Film and Digital Media in Galway.

Click here for:

• Full listing of events & screenings
• Selected Trailers of this year's films
• Full details on this year's BIFF Award Winners
• Aidan Quinn: 2007 Excellence Award Honoree

2007 marked the festival's best-ever attendance figures, with films screening to capacity crowds.

Special guest and 2007 Excellence Award honoree Aidan Quinn.

The Irish-American Police Officers Association's Pipes and Drums Band announce the launch of the 9th Annual Magners Irish Film Festival in Harvard Square.

Aidan Quinn to be honored at the 9th Annual Magners Irish Film Festival

Each year an Excellence Award is given to acknowledge the contributions of an individual talent to the Irish film and television industries.  This year’s recipient was Aidan Quinn. 

Born in Brooklyn to Irish parents, Mr. Quinn spent his childhood alternating between Ireland and the US.  It was in Ireland at the age of 19 that he decided to be an actor.  Stage work in the late 70s and early 80s gradually gave way to roles in such films as Reckless (1984), Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) and The Mission (1986) as well an Emmy-nominated performance in the TV miniseries An Early Frost (1985).  Since then Mr. Quinn has alternated roles in high-profile Hollywood films such as Legends of the Fall (1994) and Music of the Heart (1999) with smaller Irish films such as The Playboys (1992), This is My Father (1998, which he also produced) and Song for a Raggy Boy (2005).  He has also been featured in a variety of TV work including Two Of Us (2000), Empire Falls (2005), The Book of Daniel (2006) and, most recently, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007) for which he earned his second Emmy nomination.

To celebrate this year’s honoree, the Magners Irish Film Festival screened Song for A Raggy Boy featuring one of Mr. Quinn’s most acclaimed performances.  The film screened on our opening night Nov. 8 at 7:00pm at the Brattle Theatre and was followed by a retrospective of Mr. Quinn’s career before the honoree took to the stage to accept his award and answer questions from the audience

Mr. Quinn is the fifth Excellence Award recipient, following Jim Sheridan, Gabriel Byrne, Fionnula Flanagan and Brendan Gleeson.

2007 Excellence Award honoree Aidan Quinn at a special career retrospective held in his honor at the Brattle Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 8.

Festival Producer Dawn Morrissey presents Aidan Quinn with the 2007 Excellence Award, made by Duiske Glass in Ireland.