The inaugural John Ford Ireland Film Symposium takes place between the 7th and 10th June with a four day focus on film and filmmaking, inspired and informed by the timeless work of legendary Irish-American director John Ford, who directed such classics as The Searchers and The Quiet Man. Taking place is the following:

 

• Opening night Gala Screening of Ford’s silent epic The Iron Horse at the National Concert Hall with music accompaniment from award winning composer/conductor Christopher Caliendo and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. 7th June, tickets from €10

 

• A Public interview with Oscar nominated director Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show) who knew Ford and made the remarkable documentary Directed by John Ford, which includes rare interviews with Ford, Henry Fonda, James Stewart and Clint Eastwood. 8th June, tickets €10

• 20th Anniversary screening of Clint Eastwood’s Oscar winning revisionist Western Unforgiven, with Kyle Eastwood, Empire Magazine’s Kim Newman and the film’s Oscar winning editor Joel Cox (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby). 9th June, tickets €8

• Over a dozen Public Screenings; including a FREE outdoor screening of The Searchers, the 1956 classic John Wayne western; rare screenings of Ford classics Fort Apache, The Informer and the recently discovered feature film Upstream (screening for the first time in Ireland).

• FREE Ford Panel Discussions each day with leading international film experts including Charles Barr (University of East Anglia), Gaylyn Studlar (Washington University), Kevin Rockett (Trinity), Luke Gibbons (NUI Maynooth) and Waylon White Deer (Choctaw Nation), amongst others.

• Kyle Eastwood Band special performance at The Button Factory. 9th June, tickets €15

• Ford Industry Hub with Oscar nominated directors Jim Sheridan (Into the West) and John Boorman (Deliverance), BAFTA nominated Brian Kirk (Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones) and Emmy nominated Thaddeus O’Sullivan (Into the Storm), IFTA winning screenwriter Pat McCabe (The Butcher Boy), Colin Bateman (Divorcing Jack), Ian Power (The Runway) and Eoghan Harris (Sharpe). 8th and 9th June, tickets €10

• The 60th Anniversary screening of The Quiet Man, with special guests Dan Ford (grandson of John Ford), and Oscar nominated producer Redmond Morris (The Reader). 10th June, tickets €9.90 (in partnership with IFI)

• Keynote address and Ford Lecture by world-renowned biographer and film historian Joseph McBride (biographer for Ford, Spielberg and Orson Welles amongst others).9th June, tickets €5

• Masterclass with Oscar winning editor Joel Cox (Unforgiven, Mystic River).

• Music for the Screen event with Golden Globe nominated composer and musician Kyle Eastwood (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby and Gran Torino) and Christopher Caliendo (The Iron Horse). 9th June, tickets €10

• The Abbey Players & John Ford - an exploration of Ford’s relationship with the actors of the Abbey Theatre. 9th June, tickets €3

• The John Ford Exhibition displaying rarely seen Ford papers and correspondence.


You can pick up tickets and further information from www.johnfordireland.org