James Dempsey: The sun will never shine in Dublin like it does in Cannes, but this is still a festival to be proud of
brenda Fricker in Cloudburst
LOOK it isn't Venice, Berlin or Cannes, but what were you expecting? Our city has considerably fewer canals, is divided socially to the north and south and not politically by east and west, and the closest we come to Cannes is t-shirts for sale on Moore St. emblazoned with Is féidir linn.
No, the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival cannot hope to compete with those big three, what with their pedigree and heritage lending them a culturally significant air of class and artistry. In the history of cinema, this trio stands proudest, offering intellectual importance and critical gravity to the winners of their lions and palm trees and bears, oh my.
But ten years on, there is a genuine sense that JDIFF is finally beginning to reflect the passion and esteem the city has for cinema, as well as finding its place among the countless international festivals in search of industry validation for their stamps of approval.
Launched back in 2003 by film critic Michael Dwyer and film producer David McLoughlin, the festival has become an annual highlight on the calendar for Irish cinemagoers, offering audiences the opportunity to see a varied selection of international and Irish film, as well as bringing together a number of highly regarded writers, directors and actors to grace the red carpet and take part in Q&As.
Pride of place on this year's guestlist is Al Pacino, who will attend the festival with the first Irish screening of his documentary Wilde Salomé, depicting the iconic actor's attempts to come to grips with his stage production of the Oscar Wilde play in 2006.
A spiritual sequel to his 1996 Looking for Richard, a theatrical mediation on Shakepeare's Richard III which screens in the festival today, Wilde Salomé sees Pacino's artistic zeal take him from the cobbled squares of Trinity College to the barren deserts of the Mojave as he contemplates his relationship with the Irish playwright. All things concerned, it should offer a more compelling insight into the actor's work than his most recent release Jack and Jill, the Adam Sandler-starring oeuvre of the gender-bending milieu.
Other notable visitors to this year's festival will include Glenn Close, whose performance in the Dublin-set Albert Nobbs, which she co-wrote with Booker Prize-winner John Banville, has earned the actress her sixth Oscar nomination, and Mark Wahlberg, who will introduce his new thriller Contraband.
But the festival is not so much about the star power generated by its VIPs, rather the quality of the films on offer, and over its 11-day run, this 10th JDIFF promises a diverse run of contemporary, classic and documentary cinema.
Among the hightlights in this year's catalogue are two extremely different Scandanavian films, Häxan and Turn me on, Goddammit! The first is a silent 1922 depiction of witchcraft, while the latter deals with a teenage girl's sexual awakening. There's a chance to cry your eyes out at the death of Bambi's mother, relive the gothic splendour of Tim Burton's Batman and see Greek mythology get the Nouvelle Vague treatment in Cocteau's Orphée.
For those interested in Irish cinema, Marian Finucane examines her friendship with Nuala ó Faoláin in Nuala: A Life and Death. Kirsten Sheridan's Dollhouse, about four teenagers breaking into a Dalkey mansion, and Death of a Superhero, a story of a teenager's battle with terminal cancer and his escape into his illustrated fantasies, show that the industry in Ireland is still producing memorable films, despite numerous financial difficulties.
This year's festival, which premiered last night with a Gala screening of Cloudburst, a comic drama of cantankerous lesbian love staring Oscar-winners Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker, runs until February 26th, across a number of venues in Dublin city.
