Dublin International Film Festival releases full line-up

The programme for the upcoming Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF) has been launched in Light House Cinema by festival director Gráinne Humphreys.

Brendan Gleeson, Jared Harris, Juliet Stevenson, Steve McQueen, Isabelle Huppert and Maxine Peake are among the confirmed guests for DIFF 2024, which runs from 22 February to 2 March.

The festival will open with director Marian Quinn’s crime drama TWIG, a reimagining of Antigone shot on location in Dublin, with rising star Sade Malone in the titular role.

This year’s highlights include several Irish films premiering at the festival: Dermot Malone’s King Frankie starring Peter Coonan, Maurice O’Connell’s crime thriller Swing Bout, Danny McCafferty’s The Line which explores immigration in Ireland, Colin Hickey’s drama Perennial Light, Alan Friel’s sci-fi thriller Woken and Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s Baltimore, starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.

International features making their Irish debut include İlker Çatak’s The Teacher’s Lounge, Germany’s Oscar entry for Best International Feature; Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls, his first film without his brother Joel; Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist, a follow-up to Drive My Car; Matt Brown’s Freud’s Last Session, featuring Anthony Hopkins as the eponymous psychoanalyst; and Michel Franco’s Memory, starring Peter Sarsgaard.

Among the documentaries at this year’s festival are Ciarán Ó Maonaigh’s music documentary Brendan Gleeson’s Farewell to Hughes’s and Ross Killeen’s Alzheimer’s study Don't Forget to Remember.

The DIFF Closing Gala will screen That They May Face the Rising Sun, director Pat Collins’ adaptation of John McGahern’s final novel, which stars Barry Ward and Anna Bederke.

Legendary French actress Isabelle Huppert and celebrated British director Steve McQueen will be honoured with the festival’s Volta award for their career achievements.

Full details on all screenings and events are available at diff.ie.