Well… it's all kicked off! On Thursday the 13th, the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival kicked off in style with the gala screening of Calvary. In case you missed the posters floating around the place blaring our five-star gushing review for the movie, let us tell you this; we loved it! In attendance for the premiere was the movie's director John Michael McDonagh, who along with the JDIFF director Grainne Humphries, introduced us to the start of the festival and, more specifically, the start of the movie.
Before that though, we had a red carpet over-flowing with stars such as Brendan Gleeson, John Hurt, Dylan Moran, Aidan Gillen, Killian Scott and more, and that was just the beginning!
At the end of the movie, everyone headed to The Liquor Rooms for the Opening Night party, and we all got our Jameson & Ginger on, listening to the tunes, soaking up the atmosphere and rubbing shoulders with some of the famous folk. But mostly, it was the whiskey we were there for!
Over the first few days, there was also heavyweights such as Stanley Tucci, who gave a great interview before receiving his Volta Award for the festival, as well as giving a wee acting masterclass to a lucky few folk. There was also John Hurt, who answered questions about his career after the screening of his latest movie Only Lovers Left Alive (which we also loved). And then there was the fantastic screenwriter Peter Morgan, who sat down with a room full of other writers to talk about his craft, as well as talk about his work on the likes of Frost/Nixon, Rush, The Queen and loads more.
Elsewhere with the movies, there was a wide plethora of genres and originating countries, with some of the highlights including The Major, No Limbs No Limits, The Grand Budapest Here, Stranger By The Lake, Blue Ruin, Ida and so many more, with pretty much all of the screenings completely sold out.
And then every night, as it continues through the rest of the fest too, there was the Festival Bar in The Church on Jervis Street, so if you're looking for somewhere to hang out afterwards to digest and discuss the movies you've been watching all day, that's where to head to.
So we're really looking forward to the remainder of the festival, and we'll be keeping you up to date with all the latest news right up until the end on Sunday the 24th!
