The 10th Annual Magners Boston Irish Film Festival was our biggest and most successful festival to date! Record-breaking audiences and a terrific line-up of films and filmmakers, helped

The festival featured close to 50 features, documentaries and short films. 2008 Excellence Award honoree John Boorman (above) was present for a special award ceremony and career retrospective held in his honor. The ceremony followed a special screening of The General (1998), the highly-acclaimed drama about Dublin's real-life crime lord, Martin Cahill.

Other films screened at the festival included this year's BIFF Award winners: Eden (Best Film), The Basket Case (Best Short Fiction), At Home With the Cleary (Best Documentary) and Vox Humana (Director's Choice).

The 9th Annual Magners Irish Film Festival ran Nov. 8-11 2007 at the Brattle Theatre and the Harvard Film Archive. Among the films screened were the 2007 BIFF Award winners: On Broadway (Director's Choice Award); The Hunger Strike (Best Documentary); and Deep Breaths (Best Short).

Aidan Quinn was present at the 9th Annual Magners Irish Film Festival to receive the 2007 Excellence Award. Mr. Quinn attended a special ceremony and career retrospective held in his honor on Thursday, Nov. 8 at the Brattle Theatre. The event followed a screening of Aisling Walsh's Song for A Raggy Boy.

The 8th Annual Magners Irish Film Festival ran Nov. 9-12, 2006, with another excellent line-up of contemporary Irish cinema. Among the films screened were Black Irish, Studs, and the 2006 Director's Choice award winner Small Engine Repair. Other 2006 winners included Home (Best Documentary) and Badly Dawn Roy (Best Short Fiction/Animation).

Brendan Gleeson was honored at a special ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2006. The event featured a career retrospective hosted by Irish film historian (and the festival's Associate Director) Harvey O'Brien and video testimonials from Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan and John Boorman.

The 7th Annual Magners Irish Film Festival ran Nov. 17-21, 2005 and featured the hit Irish comedies Man About Dog and The Honeymooners, the award-winning dramas Song for a Raggy Boy and Adam and Paul, and Tamar Simon Hoffs' affecting family drama Red Roses and Petrol, starring Malcolm McDowell. Also on offer was a special series of programs celebrating 100 years of the Abbey Theatre.

Fionnula Flanagan was present at the Harvard Film Archive on Sunday, Nov.20 for a special ceremony in her honor. The night began with a special screening of Some Mother's Son and was followed by a retrospective of Ms. Flannagan's work. Some Mother's Son director Terry George made a special appearance to present Ms. Flanagan with her award.

The 6th Annual Magners Irish Film Festival ran Oct. 21-24, 2004 with a gala screening of Bloom at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge. Director Sean Walsh and Angeline Ball (Molly Bloom) were on hand to introduce the film and answer questions afterwards.

Other guests included Alan Gilsenan and Liam O'Maonlai (present for the screening of Best Feature winner Timbuktu) and Andrew McCarthy (winner of a Special Jury Prize for News for the Church),

The 2004 Excellence Award honoree was Gabriel Byrne. Mr. Byrne was present for the festival's closing night ceremony that included a retrospective of his career in film and television.

The 5th Annual Boston Irish Film Festival featured the Boston premiere of Jim Sheridan's In America as well as Boxed, Photos to Send, The Ghost of Roger Casement and Disco Pigs.

The festival also saw the inauguration of the BIFF Awards. Jim Sheridan was the recipient of the festival's first Excellence Award presented during a gala screening of In America. Marion Comer received the Best Feature Award for Boxed. Ian Thuiller was awarded the Best Documentary Award for Darkroom and Nora Twomey received the Best Short/Animation Award for From Darkness.