Ciné Gael Montréal Irish Film Series 1996

January 11th Opening Evening Grosse Ile Director: T. Cadieux Maeve Director: Pat Murphy Guest Speaker: Monique Mercure President, National Theatre School Grosse Ile - This short film presents recollections of Kate Boyle, orphaned on Grosse Ile in 1846 and adopted by a French-Canadian family. With Brigid Tierney, a young Montrealer, daughter of a Cine Gael Committee member, and the voice of Monique Mercure. Maeve - Back in her native Belfast, Maeve (Mary Jackson), named for the legendary warrior-woman of Connaught, is immersed in the old roles, relationships and passions, both personal and political. She jousts with her father and with her former lover, in a film that mixes drama, discourse and style. February 1st A Man of No Importance Director: S. Krishnama Guest speaker: Maurice Podbrey Artistic & Executive Director Centaur Theatre Alfie (Albert Finney), bus conductor, amateur theatre director and raconteur extraordinaire of the works of Wilde is preparing for his next production - Salome - and he wants to see Adele (Tara Fitzgerald) in the title role. Salome stands for everything that the Sodality of the Sacred Heart opposes. With these and other strong forces at work, Alfie takes on the language, mannerisms and traits of Wilde. A fine performance, particularly by Finney. February 15th Mona Lisa Director: Neil Jordan Guest speaker: JohnGriffin Montreal Gazette Film Critic. Absorbing adult drama of a small-time hood who's given a job driving around a high-priced call girl but remains naive about the life she leads and the degree of depravity his underworld chums have sunk to. Bob Hoskins, Michael Kane and a newcomer Cathy Tyson, give outstanding performances. From the director of The Crying Game. February 29th The Snapper Director: Stephen Frears Guest Speaker : Colleen Curran playwright, Co-Artistic Director Triumvirate Theatre The Snapper is an adaptation of the Roddy Doyle story about a young Dubliner who finds herself " in the family way ". Those who enjoyed the wit and the pathos of that other Doyle phenomenon 'The Commitments' will enjoy 'The Snapper'. March 21st Our Boys Director: Cathal Black Pigs Director: Cathal Black Guest Speaker: Marc Gervais, S.J. Concordia Film Department Our Boys - A challenging exploration of the Christian Brothers educational system in the 50's. Mixing classroom dramatization with documentary material, and interviews with former students, Black paints a disturbing picture of monolithic religious power. Pigs - In a ramshackle mansion squat in Dublin, a coven of marginalized souls: drug dealer, black pimp, prostitute, paranoid schizophrenic, middle aged ex-businessman still hankering after respectability - creates a transient community soon done in by enmity and violence. A disturbing look at life on the urban edges. April 11th An Evening of Irish Short Films Introduced by Kathleen O'Hara, Film Producer The 'short' has always been the route to recognition for ambitious young directors. This program will present some of the best recent Irish 'shorts'· perhaps the debuts of some of the great directors of the future. April 25th Words Upon the Windowpane Director: Mary McGuckian Guest speaker: Dr. Marilyn Rossner Internationally acclaimed medium and educator At a series of séances held in Dublin in 1928, the spirits of Jonathan Swift and the two women who loved him too passionately, act out the torment of their tragic triangle while witnesses at the séances two centuries later are forced to confront their own disquieting emotional truths. An elegant film with a superb cast. May 2nd Closing Evening Korea Director: Cathal Black Guest Speaker: Cathal Black - Film Director Korea is set among the stunningly beautiful lakes of Co. Cavan. It deals A with the aftermath of the return to his village of the body of an Irish emigrant to the US, killed in the Korean War. This adaptation of a McGahern short story deals with love and life and long standing feuds in the countryside.