merrion street

Jimmy Deenihan TD Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will this evening, Thursday, 13 Frebruary, 2014, attend the gala opening of "Calvary", the new Irish film by John Michael McDonogh and starring Brendan Gleeson, Domhnall Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd – at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

Set against the magnificent Sligo landscape, John Michael McDonagh’s second feature shares a leading man and a similar dark sense of humour with his debut, the hugely successful The Guard. But this new film is a complex tale with many tones and textures, at once a Dostoyevskian morality fable; a dissection of contemporary Irish society, a murder mystery (from the point of view of the victim) and a fascinating character study with a towering, career-best performance by Brendan Gleeson. It promises to be one of the highlights of this year’s Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, which features a record 27 Irish films.

Speaking in advance of the gala opening night, Minister Deenihan said:

"The number of Irish productions in this year’s Jameson Dublin International Film Festival is testament to the vibrancy of Irish film, which has grown 42% since 2011. This is growth which the Government is strongly supporting by improving the incentives for filmmaking. Ireland is a great place for film, and we want to see more films being made here - and more people working in film - in the period ahead. "