Irish Film Days festival kicks off

AMMAN — The Embassy of Ireland in Jordan on Monday launched Irish Film Days, the inaugural Irish Film Festival in Jordan, which is set to screen a selection of Irish films, in addition to an Arabic short film, over the course of three nights.

The event is held in cooperation with the Royal Film Commission (RFC), the Irish Film Institute and Culture Ireland, according to a statement from the Irish embassy. 

In her remarks on the opening night, Ambassador of Ireland to Jordan Marianne Bolger expressed her thanks to the RFC in Jordan, the Irish Film Institute and Culture Ireland, for organising the festival. 

The ambassador remarked that “this festival offers us the opportunity to showcase Irish film in Jordan, and to act as an important mechanism for sharing important messages about our culture and values, including on issues around youth empowerment, gender equality and disability”. 

The short-film, funded by the Embassy of Ireland in collaboration with Generations for Peace and Cinemagic, “Abia” will be screened on October 10 and 11. The film tells the story of a young woman experiencing gender-based violence. 

“Abia” was made by a team of young Jordanian and Syrian youth, with the support of Generations for Peace and Northern Ireland-based organisation Cinemagic. The youth learned filmmaking skills, which resulted in the creation and production of the short film. 

The film features wide-sweeping views of Amman throughout, and shares a global message rejecting violence against women, also highlighting issues of gender equality and the empowerment of women, read the statement. 

The opening night features a documentary film entitled “Breaking Out”, which tells the story of late Irish singer-songwriter Fergus O’Farrell. The singer was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at a young age, but he refuses to define himself by his condition or allow it to limit his musical pursuits. 

The second film to be screened is an Irish-language psychological thriller, called “Doineann” (storm), which follows a father whose wife and child go missing as a storm approaches his remote Irish town. 

On the final night, the family friendly film “Róise and Frank” will be screened. This Irish-language film features the widow Róise, who believes that a stray dog embodies the spirit of her late husband, telling a tale of finding hope and consolation amidst grief and loss, according to the statement.