Irish Film Institute announces new talks series curated by Hot Press’ Roe McDermott

The Irish Film Institute has announced a new four-part talks series curated by Hot Press film critic Roe McDermott, tackling the question of art made by people who have caused harm.

Titled After the Monster: Cinema, Art & Accountability, the four part series will take place over the rest of the year, aiming to bring writers, critics, academics, and filmmakers together to explore how audiences and formal institutions respond to ethical dilemmas in art.

The opening event will take place next week, April 16 with the event Monsters & the Fan’s Dilemma centering on the audience and the “emotional, psychological, and ethical tension of loving work that becomes morally fraught.”

It will open with a virtual keynote from the author of the acclaimed book Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma Claire Dederer, before jumping into a panel discussion featuring Dave Rudden, Sophie White, and Farbod Akhlaghi, and hosted by McDermott.

 

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“What I’m seeking from the After the Monster series is open, honest conversations about how we live with art that becomes morally complicated,” says McDermott. “The opening event focuses on the emotional experience of being a fan, and what happens when that identity is destabilised.

“Art has the power to wrap itself around memory, desire, selfhood, and identity” she concluded, “and I’m interested in how that shifts when the person behind the work is revealed to have caused harm.”

Following events, starting in June, will focus on the issues surrounding programming and curation ; the collaborative nature of filmmaking; and the questions of legacy and preservation.

Tickets for the series’ first event, Monsters & the Fan’s Dilemma, are priced at €5 and are on sale now here.