The Irish Film Festival, organised by Irish Film & Television UK (IFTUK), returns to London 12–16 November for “five days of cinematic discovery,” organisers write. Documentary highlights include Aoife Kelleher’s Testimony(see below), and Andrew Gallimore’s In the Opinion of the Censor, about the wholesale massacre of classic films over the past century by the Irish censor.
Festival Director Michael Hayden comments on the overall festival program: “In another strong year for Irish film, the Irish Film Festival London recognises how daring the country’s filmmakers are in taking on serious and pertinent topics of debate. There is work here that deals with national identity, the legacy of abuse and conflict, feminism and gender politics, censorship, the naivety of youth, the pain of aging, generational differences and battles for justice.”
“There’s also work that joyously celebrates music, art, film and football, this stuff of life that matters to so many of us, these topics addressed with humour, wit and creative invention,” he adds. “The programme is intended as a powerful and celebratory snapshot of where Irish cinema is right now, and I look forward to welcoming the people behind these films to London in November and to sharing their work with audiences.”
Following her acclaimed documentary Mrs Robinson, which opened the festival in 2024, Aoife Kelleher returns with Testimony, a feature documentary that tells a story of an extraordinary group of women, supported by the activist organisation Justice for Magdalenes, whose battle to hold the Irish government accountable for the abuses of the Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby Home institutions takes them all the way to the United Nations. More than 10,000 women and girls became slave labourers at these institutions run by the Catholic Church between 1922 and 1996, incarcerated and shunned by Irish society.
Andrew Gallimore (One Night in Millstreet) returns to the Irish Film Festival with In the Opinion of the Censor. At the birth of the Republic, the Censorship of Films Act 1923 required all films shown in Ireland to be reviewed by the censor. Strongly influenced by the Church and government, successive censors banned over 2,500 films and cut a further 11,000, often sparking national debate. Featuring John Kelleher, Ireland’s last film censor, alongside historians and filmmakers, Gallimore’s documentary charts how censorship mirrored Ireland’s shifting cultural and political values, with clips from such classics as Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, The Graduate, The Life of Brian, The Last Temptation of Christ and Ulysses.
Dennis Harvey and Lars Lovén’s feature doc Celtic Utopia (Útóipe Cheilteach) shines a light on a new wave of acclaimed Irish folk musicians who take inspiration from the sounds, culture and oppression of the country’s history while making music that looks to a brighter future. Featuring performances from The Mary Wallopers, Lankum, Jinx Lennon and more, Celtic Utopia is a glorious celebration of Irish music at a significant moment in its evolution.
José Miguel Jiménez’s Amanda is an intimate documentary portrait of Irish artist Amanda Cullen as she prepares for a retrospective of her work. Her painting is instinctive, expressive and free-flowing, shaped by years of creating in isolation after suffering abuse and institutional oppression. Displaying her work in galleries, Amanda reveals her harrowing life story, and how her art and creativity are wrapped up with the healing process and her fight for justice.
Dedicated to showcasing emerging talent, the festival will also present two New Irish Shorts programmes at the ICA. Programme 1 features films exploring recollection, loss and imagination, while Programme 2 brings together works reflecting on family, identity and connection.
The festival opens November 12 with Lance Daly’s fiction feature Trad, a joyous and heartfelt road movie “celebrating Ireland’s musical soul and the restless spirit of youth.”
