The Cork Film Festival kicks off from November 9th and runs until November 18th, with over 100+ features, documentaries and events to catch along the way.
As well as premieres of both Irish and international films, there's also plenty of talks, Q&As, and much more besides happening across the city. But, of course, it's all about the movies and we've picked out six movies that are definitely worth watching.
You can check the full programme and buy tickets at corkfilmfest.org, but for now, we kick things off with...
1. 'Float Like A Butterfly' - November 9th, The Everyman Theatre at 19.30
The opening gala of the Cork Film Festival is 'Float Like A Butterfly', Carmel Winters' period tale sees Hazel Doupe play a young Traveller woman in '60s rural Ireland take up an interest in boxing, much to the chagrin of her father played by Dara Devaney. There's also a second chance to see the movie the following day at 15.45, also at the Everyman Theatre.
2. 'Won't You Be My Neighbor' - November 10th, The Gate Cinema at 18.30
Fred Rogers may not be an immediately recognisable name to audiences here in Ireland, but the impact that his seminal television programme - 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' - had on American culture is incalculable. This heartwarming documentary delves into the life and times of Fred Rogers, as well as the groundbreaking messages that he brought into the world.
3. 'Collette' - November 10th, The Everyman Theatre at 18.30
Keira Knightley, Dominic West and Eleanor Tomlinson star in this period drama about the career of LGBT pioneer Colette, who initially wrote her novels under her husband's name in order to see the work published. Challenging both societal norms of the time and the perceived dominance of men in the field of literature, 'Collette' makes for a particularly timely story about female empowerment.
4. 'Assassination Nation' - November 10th, The Gate Cinema at 20.45
There's really no description that we can write that'll be able to capture the utter weirdness of 'Assassination Nation'. Suffice to say, it's going to be gory, loud and unlike anything you've ever seen before. Worth checking out on the basis of that alone.
5. 'The Favourite' - November 10th, The Everyman Theatre at 21.00
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman, 'The Favourite' is already on its way to being a hotly-tipped Oscar favourite (no pun intended). Set in 18th century England in the reign of Queen Anne, two women battle for her affection that sees them sniping across one another. Expect swirling visuals and razor-sharp wit, as well as sumptuous costumes and outrageous antics.
6. 'Being There' / 'Hal' - November 10th, The Everyman Theatre at 15.00 and November 11th, The Gate Cinema at 12.15
Arguably Peter Sellers' greatest on-screen performance outside of 'Dr. Strangelove', Hal Ashby's poignant and subtle directing in 'Being There' helped to elevate what could have been a daft idea in the hands of another direction into a touching piece of work. The documentary 'Hal', which screens the next day, touches on 'Being There' and just how radical his work at a time when the blockbuster was on the horizon.
7. 'The Old Man & The Gun' - November 11th, The Everyman Theatre at 20.30
If rumours are to be believed, 'The Old Man & The Gun' will be Robert Redford's last on-screen performance and what a movie to go out on. Playing an ageing bank robber who's on one final spree before he retires, Redford couldn't have picked a better film to finish out an incredible career with than this effort.
8. '9 to 5' - November 14th, The Gate Cinema Mallow at 18.30
Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda take on the world of business in one of the most recognisable caper comedies of the '80s. When three office workers decide to take on their egotistical, chauvinist boss and do him in, the results don't go precisely to plan and see them running things in the way they want to. Dolly Parton's title track, of course, became a hit - and looking back on '9 to 5' nearly 40 years later, it's still as enjoyable as ever.
9. 'White Boy Rick' - November 16th, The Gate Cinema at 15.45
Matthew McConaughey and breakout star Richie Merritt star in this crime thriller that sees a young man become a drug kingpin in '80s Detroit with the help of his wayward father after he's abandoned by police as an informant. Yann Demange, who directed the excellent Belfast-set thriller '71', follows up with a similarly-styled thriller that's sure to grab people's attention.
10. 'Lizzie' - November 17th, The Gate Cinema at 20.30
Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart star in this daring psychological horror based on the killings of Lizzie Borden, with Sevigny playing the title role and Stewart as the Irish housemaid with whom she has a passionate affair. The story is well-documented in American folklore, but it's only been put on screen a handful of times and this might just be the definitive version.
11. 'Sorry To Bother You' - November 17th, The Everyman Theatre at 21.00
Easily one of the most controversial movies of the year, 'Sorry To Bother You' is a provocative and weird mixture of satire, comedy and racial politics in America that's really unlike anything that's come before or since. 'Get Out' alum Lakeith Stanfield joins a telemarketing company and finds that using a white voice wins him more customer and more success than his own. Yeah. Like we said, weird - but boldly original, and definitely something you'll be talking about long after the credits have rolled.
