JANE SEYMOUR IN CONVERSATION WITH RICK O’SHEA

Each year we invite filmmakers to participate in public interviews and discuss their careers and inspirations, previous guests include Stanley Tucci, Mike Leigh, Liam Neeson, Julie Andrews and the late Angela Lansbury.

We are delighted to welcome acclaimed actor and producer Jane Seymour to the festival and to talk about her illustrious career with RTE broadcaster; Rick O’Shea.

A multiple Emmy and Golden Globe winner, recipient of the Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in the year 2000, which was bestowed upon her by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, Jane Seymour has proven her talents in virtually all media, the Broadway stage, motion pictures and television. Currently, Seymour stars in Harry Wild for Acorn TV as a college professor who cannot quite manage to stay quietly retired to the dismay of her police inspector son. The series, which is filmed on location in Dublin, Ireland, debuted to rave reviews in the Spring of 2022. Seymour recently appeared alongside Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin in The Kominsky Method for Netflix and on film starred opposite Robert De Niro in the family comedy The War with Grandpa and with Malin Akerman in Friendsgiving. Additional past films include the James Bond movie Live and Let Die, the cult classic Somewhere in Time, and the comedy smash Wedding Crashers, and Ruby’s Choice, a poignant tale that follows three generations of strong Australian women who struggle to deal with the effects of Ruby’s illness as it threatens to push them apart. Additional television credits include the Emmy Award winning performance in Onassis: The Richest Man in the World as Maria Callas, East of Eden for which she was awarded a Golden Globe, the mini-series War and Remembrance and her iconic Golden Globe winning role as “Dr. Quinn” on Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. Through her production company, she served as the executive producer of the documentary Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me, which tells of his touching farewell tour while dealing with the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to her work in film and television, Seymour has written over a dozen books including The Road Ahead, The Wave, Open Hearts Family, Among Angels, Open Hearts, Making Yourself at Home, and Remarkable Changes. An accomplished fine artist, her art serves as inspiration for Open Hearts by Jane Seymour, her signature line of jewellery which reflects her mother’s philosophy that only when you keep your heart open can you best give and receive love.

INFO: Sat 4 Mar / Dublin Castle / 14:00

8 9 10

International Festival Programmers

INFO: Sat 25 Feb / Instituto Cervantes / 10:30

Get connected and get informed. Whether you have a new film or a new project in the works get ahead of the curve and get your festival strategy off to a flying start by meeting the best festival programmers in the world.

• Rachel Rosen; New York Film Festival

• Sharon Badal; Tribeca Film Festival

• Christoph Terhechte; Doc Leipzig

• Jaie LaPlante; Doc NYC

• Ania Trzebiatowska; Sundance Film Festival

The panel will discuss their festival and programming policies, deadlines and submissions criteria – vital information for anyone preparing their own international festival strategy. Chaired by Ciaran Walsh (Culture Ireland)

‘Maximising your Festival Presence’

INFO: Wed 1 Mar / The Generator, Smithfield / 17:15 with Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International & Jonathan Rutter, Premier PR: a focused discussion to ensure that all filmmakers use their DIFF launch to the maximum to successfully maximise your festival premiere and to sustain your festival run.

International Sales Agents event

Following our hugely successful Sales Agents event in 2019, we have invited a select group of sales agents to join us to meet with Irish filmmakers in 2023. With a keynote address by acclaimed sales agent Calum Gray who will outline current trends in sales and acquisition. We are delighted that guests include Stephen Kelliher; Bankside Films, Marcin Luczaj; New Europe Film Sales, Matthias Ziegler; Global Screen, Immy Sutton; Autlook Films and Charades.

For more details, please email industry@diff.ie

The Ordinaries

INFO: Sun 26 Feb / Light House 2 / 18:30 / 120 mins

DIRECTOR: Sophie Linnenbaum

WRITER: Michel Fetter Nathansky

CAST: Pasquale Aleardi, Christian Steyer, Noah Tinwa

COUNTRY: Germany

Have you ever felt like a supporting character in your own life?

Sophie Linnenbaum’s daring and original film imagines what it would be like if you really were one. It tells of Paula - a supporting character in a movie - who dreams of having her own storyline by attending Main Character School and becoming a lead. A clever satire about identity and exclusion, The Ordinaries sees a woman battling these themes playfully in a filmic meta world.

*DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE

Foudre

INFO: Tue 28 Feb / Light House 1 / 13:15 / 92 mins

DIRECTOR: Carmen Jaquier

WRITER: Carmen Jaquier

CAST: Lillith Grasmug, Lou Iff, Diana Gervalla

COUNTRY: Switzerland

Proudly supported by

Swiss director Carmen Jaquier’s drama is a powerful account of female emancipation in the early 1900s. When novice nun Elisabeth (17), returns home to her rural Swiss village following the unexpected death of her sister, family require her help on the farm. There, Elisabeth discovers a world she thought she had lost as she experiences an awakening. On finding her sister’s diary - which raises her suspicions about her death - she decides to assert herself in her conservative village.

*DIRECTOR + CAST IN ATTENDANCE