The Irish Film Institute (IFI) in Temple Bar, does little to promote itself, yet upon entering you feel as if you’re the only person who wasn’t let in on the secret as you eye the diverse range of people seated around the bar and restaurant! The two screens are housed in a large building with exposed stone work throughout which used to be a 17th century Quaker meeting house. Stepping across the threshold is to enter what was once a profoundly sacred place and there is a sense of leaving the world behind.
The glass roofed courtyard is bright and airy and leads onto the bar and restaurant. Every table was full when we arrived early to get some food and there was a buzz from the tables seating a mix of trendy youths and an eclectic older crowd. We lingered for a short while and we got a table in the courtyard. The menu is basic yet inexpensive. You can get a meal here for the price of popcorn and drink in another cinema. It is the sort of place you could pop into for a drink, bite to eat and a spot of people watching and a movie of course!
The IFI shows a mix of Irish and foreign films and they host a variety of film festivals. Last Friday we decided to check out what was on offer at the Documentary Film Festival and ‘Dear Zachary’ was our chosen documentary and to say it was a tear-jerker would be putting it mildly, it has even been described as a ‘tear duct cleaner’! It is an absolutely tragic story and it a labour of love from the film maker for his murdered childhood friend, Dr. Andrew Bagby. The really tragic part is while the film maker is making the documentary (for Bagby’s son, Zachary); Zachary is also murdered by the same woman that murdered Bagby. But it is the presentation of the naked anger and grief of Bagby’s parents that leaves the greatest impact as his father at stages roars at the camera in an outpour of anguish. Stepping back out into the buzzing atmosphere of Temple Bar on a Friday night with bleary eyes was enough to pick my mood back up again! So if you feel like a different kind of movie experience I would definitely recommend the Irish Film Institute.
Walking Time from Temple Bar Hotel to the IFI - a 6 minute stroll, leave 7 if you're in heels (those cobbles need some manoeuvring!)
No comments:
Post a Comment