From podcasts to in-depth discussion and reviews, here's where we take a look at the Irish films released or broadcast in 2026.
Saipan
DIR: Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn • WRI: Paul Fraser
In cinemas 1st January 2026.
Saipan explores the intense, complex rivalry between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy, which exploded onto the global stage in the lead-up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Keane’s eleventh-hour departure from the Ireland squad turned the eyes of the world onto the tiny island of Saipan. With the nation’s hopes resting on Ireland’s talismanic midfielder, a public outcry followed, even prompting the Taoiseach to intervene. But this feud transcended football—it was a deeply personal battle of pride, standards, and animosity.
CAST: Éanna Hardwicke, Steve Coogan, Miles Paloma, Peter McDonald, Oliver Coopersmith, Jack Hickey, Stephen Jones, Niall McNamee
Shelter
DIR: Ric Roman Waugh • WRI: Ward Perry
In cinemas 30th January 2026.
This was shot in Dublin and Wicklow. On a remote coastal island, a reclusive man rescues a young girl from a deadly storm, drawing them both into danger. Forced out of isolation, he must confront his turbulent past while protecting her, sending them on a tense journey of survival and redemption.
CAST: Jason Statham, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Bill Nighy, Naomi Ackie
With this strong cast, familiar Irish backdrop and absorbing action, Shelter is a riveting thriller that can more than weather any storm.
Read Matthew Briody's review here.
Are We One
DIR: Dónal Ó Céilleachair
Premiered at Galway Film Fleadh 2024. Coming to VOD 1st February 2026.
A documentary tracing the transmission of Zen meditation through the life’s work of 90 year-old Irish-American Jesuit Zen Master Robert Kennedy – and his successors and students – in a contemporary exploration of interfaith dialogue on the common ground of human experience. STARRING: Robert Kennedy SJ, Amy Yee, Krishna Das, Miriam Healy, Ken Byalin, Ellen Birx, Joan Halifax, Charles Birx, Noel Brennan, Dr Cuca Montecel, Inge Von Woebeser-Hopfner, Dr Mónica Maher, Mary Laheen
A Quiet Love
DIR: Garry Keane
In cinemas on 6th February 2026.
Documentary A Quiet Love captures the remarkable love stories of three Deaf couples through Irish Sign Language: a decades-long forbidden romance across a religious divide, a same-sex couple navigating parenthood with Deaf and hearing children, and a Deaf boxer and his hearing partner facing a life-altering choice.
An emotional scrapbook...The film’s narrative creates an immersive experience of deafness.
Read Khushi Jain's review here.
My Father's Shadow
DIR: Akinola Davies • WRI: Akinola Davies, Wale Davies
In cinemas 6th February 2026.
This semi-autobiographical tale is produced by Element pictures, and set over the course of a single day during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, two young brothers follow their estranged father through the massive city of Lagos, witnessing both the city's magnitude and their father's daily struggles as political unrest threatens their journey home.
CAST: Stars Sope Dirisu, Godwin Egbo, Chibuike Marvelous Egbo
A deeply personal, profound and intimate family portrait.
Read Mutale Kampuni's review here.
Girls & Boys
WRI/DIR: Donncha Gilmore
In cinemas 19th September 2025. Available to stream online 14th February 2026.
On Halloween night in Dublin, rugby player Jace meets aspiring filmmaker Charlie at a college party.
CAST: Liath Hannon, Adam Lunnon-Collery, Francis O'Mahony
With a pitch-perfect central pairing, sharp dialogue, beautiful visuals and essential subject matter, Girls & Boys is simply a cinematic must-see.
Read Matthew Briody's review here.
Listen to our podcast with Donncha.
Read Matthew's interview with Liath Hannon.
The Spin
DIR: Michael Head • WRI: Wally Colin Broderick, Mark McCausland
Premiere at Belfast Film Festival 6th November 2024. In cinemas 27th February 2026.
Two down-on-their-luck record store owners, Elvis and Dermott, take a cross country road trip to Cork to acquire a priceless record that could save their failing business and save them from eviction from their evil landlord, Sadie.
CAST: Brenock O'Connor, Tara Lynne O'Neill, Leah O'Rourke
The lovely, touching moments celebrating friendship are underpinned by a wholesome message of encouragement in following your dreams and punctuated by brilliant comedic timing from our hapless protagonists.
Báite
Premiere at Galway Film Fleadh 2025. In cinemas 6th March 2026.
DIR: Ruán Magan • WRI: Sheena Lambert
A woman's body is found under the waters of a lake in the countryside, and the arrival of a Detective from Dublin is the last thing Peggy, the owner of Casey's Pub, needs as she tries to save her business and her family.
CAST: Moe Dunford, Eleanor O'Brien, Denis Conway, Tara Breathnach
Director Ruán Magan delivers a gentle mix of subtle visual storytelling and rich production design.
Read Brian Ó Tiomáin's review here.
Listen to our podcast with writer Sheena Lambert.
One Last Deal
DIR: Brendan Muldowney • WRI: Peter Howlett
In cinemas 13th March 2026.
A veteran sports agent races to secure a final lucrative contract for his star client, as both their careers and lives hang in the balance.
CAST: Danny Dyer, Elliott Rogers
Dyer brings an unexpected emotional heft…a deeply engaging presence on screen.
Read Matthew Briody's review here.
Listen to our podcast with director Brendan Muldowney here.
Aontas
DIR: Damian McCann • WRI: Damian McCann, Sarah Gordon
Screening at Dinard Festival of British & Irish Film. Broadcast on TG4 16th March 2026.
Three unlikely women rob a rural Irish Credit Union. A backwards chronology unravels what went wrong.
CAST: Carrie Crowley, Brid Brennan and Eva-Jane Gaffney
Listen to our interview with Damian McCann at Dinard British and Irish Film Festival here.
Midwinter Break
DIR: Polly Findlay • WRI: Bernard MacLaverty, Nick Payne
In cinemas 20th March 2026.
Longtime retired couple Stella and Gerry realize that their relationship has reached a crossroads while on holiday in Amsterdam. After so much time and so many memories, long-held promises and deeply concealed wounds threaten to come to light and force them to confront their future.
CAST: Lesley Manville, Ciarán Hinds, Julie Lamberton
Spilt Milk
DIR: Brian Durnin • WRI: Cara Loftus
In cinemas 20th March 2026.
Set in Dublin in 1984, Split Milk follows an 11 year-old boy, who dreams of becoming a great detective like his TV hero Kojak.
CAST: Alisha Weir, Danielle Galligan, Laurence O'Fuarain
Article: From Dublin Dreams to French Screens - Spilt Milk Screening at Dinard
No Ordinary Heist
DIR: Colin McIvor • WRI: Aisling Corristine, Colin McIvor
Premiere in Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2026. In cinemas 27th March 2026.
Inspired by an extraordinary true story. In heavily policed, post conflict Belfast, two Northern Bank workers become pawns when a dangerous gang use tiger-kidnapping in an unorthodox, brilliant bank heist.
CAST: Eddie Marsan, Éanna Hardwicke, Michelle Fairley
Father, Mother, Sister, Brother
DIR: Jim Jarmusch • WRI: Jim Jarmusch
Premiere TIFF 2025. In cinemas 10th April 2026.
Estranged siblings reunite after years apart, forced to confront unresolved tensions and reevaluate their strained relationships with their emotionally distant parents. This film was co-financed by Screen Ireland and filmed in part in Ireland.
CAST: Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik
The Three Urns
WRI/DIR: Stephen Warbeck, John-Paul Davidson
In cinemas 17th April 2026.
Long time resident of France, Mr O’Connor travels to Ireland after the death of his wife to reconnect with his family. His journey across Ireland is full of many serendipitous encounters including a Lithuanian painter, an itinerant priest, horse traders and horse whisperers, a Choctaw native commemorating the Great Famine, some mystic women worshipping at the Beltany Stone Circle and mysterious woman in a diminutive electric car with charging issues. Finally, he visits the family farm and discovers the truth about his wife’s favourite cousin.
CAST: Ciarán Hinds, Stephen Dillane, Olga Kurylenko, Stephen Fry, Sinéad Cusack, Niamh Cusack, Lisa Dwan, Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė
The Mummy
WRI/DIR: Lee Cronin
In cinemas 17th April.
The story is set in Dublin, where Jack Reynor's character encounters the Mummy. Principal photography began in Ireland and Spain in March 2025. The Mummy follows the young daughter of a journalist who disappears into the desert without a trace. Then eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful reunion turns into a living nightmare.
CAST: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, and Veronica Falcón
Hokum
In cinemas 1st May 2026.
WRI/DIR: Damian Mc Carthy
The supernatural horror thriller follows reclusive novelist Ohm Bauman as he retreats to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes. He soon discovers the staff’s tales of an ancient witch haunting the honeymoon suite has filled his mind. That’s followed by disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance draw him into a nightmarish confrontation with the darkest corners of his past. Hokum was primarily filmed at the West Cork Film Studios in Skibbereen.
CAST: Adam Scott, Austin Amelio, David Wilmot, Peter Coonan
Power Ballad
DIR: John Carney • WRI: John Carney, Peter McDonald
In cinemas 29th May 2026
Rick, a washed-up wedding singer, and Danny, a fading boy band star, bond over music and a late-night jam session. When Danny turns Rick's song into a hit, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves.
CAST: Peter McDonald, Marcella Plunkett, Rory Keenan
The Death of Robin Hood
WRI/DIR: Michael Sarnoski
In cinemas 19th June 2026.
The Death of Robin Hood has received funding support from Northern Ireland Screen and makes use of Northern Irish cast, crew and locations, with post production taking place in Co. Down. The infamous outlaw finds himself grappling with a heavy conscience after a life of crime and murder, leaving the battle-worn vigilante a recluse and masking his true identity from those seeking revenge.
CAST: Hugh Jackman, Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett
Jimmy
DIR: Aaron Burns • WRI: Justin Strawhand
In cinemas 6th November 2026.
Shot in West Cork Film Studios in Skibbereen, this film tells the story of America's most-beloved actor James Stewart and the iconic role that saved him. Principal photography is scheduled to begin on 1st September, with support from the Screen Ireland Nationwide Fund.
CAST: KJ Apa, Jason Alexander, Sarah Drew
Films to Watch Out For
All Our Yesterdays
(WRI/DIR: Breege Rowley)
Screening at Capital Irish in 2026.
All Our Yesterdays is a documentary exploring 250 years of Irish history through the voices of a town in the west of Ireland. With rare archives, stories, and music, it captures resilience, heritage, and deep ties to the Irish diaspora.
FEATURING: Nora McBurney.
Rowley embeds the story with deep compassion for the people who lived and died during the famine, as well as the countless generations lost to emigration.
Read Brian Ó Tiomáin's review of All Our Yesterdays here.
Everybody Digs Bill Evans
Premiere at Berlinale & DIFF.
(DIR: Grant Gee • WRI: Mark O’Halloran, Owen Martell)
Everybody Digs Bills Evans is set in June 1961 in New York City where legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans has found his perfect musical trio. But tragedy hits, leaving Evans unable to bring himself to play. Financiers include Screen Ireland and Break Out Pictures is planning a 2026 release.
CAST: Anders Danielsen Lie, Bill Pullman, Laurie Metcalf, Barry Ward, Valene Kane and Katie McGrath
Under the hand of Gee’s direction, O’Halloran’s sharp observations and two knockout performances from Metcalf and Pullman mean there's something for everyone to dig in this biopic.
Read Shannon Cotter's review here.
Celtic Utopia
(DIR: Dennis Harvey, Lars Lovén)
Celtic Utopia is a feature documentary that tells the story of a new Ireland, following a resurgent wave of alternative folk and traditional musicians who are making music 'to scare priests and politicians.' As they produce their strange new sounds, they are redefining and problematising the form and reshaping the culture in their own image. The bold, outspoken and humorous young musicians pass the narrative to each other as the film progresses, just as they would pass the melody to each other in a traditional music session.
FEATURING: The Mary Wallopers, The Deadlians, Poor Creature, Negro Impacto, and Lankum
The Hook
(WRI/DIR: Thomas Beatty)
Premiere at Bournemouth Film Festival 2025.
24 hours to save Rock n Roll and their family.
CAST: Lucas Aurelio, Mei Bignall, Harvey Dean
Read Matthew Briody's interview with writer and director Thomas Beatty here.
The Song Cycle
(WRI/DIR: Nick Kelly)
Premiere at Galway Film Fleadh 2024.
Veteran musician and filmmaker Nick Kelly sets off to cycle from his home in Dublin to the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, carrying all his gear on his bike and playing shows en route, to prove it’s possible to tour live music without driving. He’s accompanied by his long-suffering friend and musical partner Seán Millar, who tracks Nick’s progress by bus, and joins him onstage each night. The day they finally played Glastonbury Nick turned 60, officially outliving his famous politician father.
CAST: Nick Kelly, Seán Millar, Kevin Anderson, Pauline Bourdon, James Dove, Tom Dunne, Dermot Lynch, Olivia O’Leary, Claire O’Neill, Alexia Kelly
The Restoration at Grayson Manor
(DIR: Glenn McQuaid • WRI: Clay McLeod Chapman, Glenn McQuaid)
Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2025.
Boyd Grayson and his mother, Jacqueline, reluctantly share their sprawling family estate—a mansion that feels more like a gilded cage than a home. After a devastating accident, Jacqueline spares no expense on her son's rehabilitation, transforming an entire wing of the house into a state-of-the-art recovery ward. But beneath her generosity lies a single expectation: an heir to continue the Grayson legacy. Boyd, however, has other plans. Welcome to the standoff between mother and son.
CAST: Chris Colfer, Alice Krige, Daniel Adegboyega, Gabriela Garcia Vargas, Declan Reynolds
All That Glitters
WRI/DIR: Peter Lavery
Premiered at DIFF 2026.
After accidentally summoning the ghost of William Shakespeare, an apathetic teenager gets crash-coursed in romance, poetry, and vulnerability in a desperate bid to land the role of Romeo in his school play and win over his Juliet.
CAST: Elliot Grihault, Paul Ready, Tim Downie
All About the Money
DIR: Sinéad O'Shea
This documentary looks at a wealthy heir who establishes a communist revolutionary camp in rural Massachusetts to fight the capitalist system he's grown to hate, launching an extraordinary path ahead.
One Night Only
(WRI/DIR: David Gleeson)
One Night Only is a loving tribute to the cinema experience and a timely reminder of the power of community. Set in a cinema in 1980’s small town Ireland, One Night Only is a breathless tale told in real time over the course of a Friday night screening from hell.
CAST: Colin Morgan, Calam Lynch, Clara Crichton, India Mullen, Niamh Cusack, Andrew Bennett
500 Miles
(DIR: Morgan Matthews • WRI: Malcolm Campbell)
500 Miles is a life-affirming story and celebration of the human spirit that follows a broken family who are forced to come together when their two young boys run away from home. While their fighting parents tear their hair out with worry, the boys embark on an epic adventure from Yorkshire, over land and sea, to the wild west coast of Ireland. The destination: Dingle, County Kerry, and their beloved Grandfather, who their parents haven’t spoken to since the fateful events of the previous summer.
CAST: Bill Nighy, Roman Griffin Davis, Maisie Williams, Dexter Sol Ansell, Clare Dunne, Michael Socha
Froggie
DIR: Luke Morgan • WRI: Jake Morgan, Luke Morgan
Premiere at Galway Film Fleadh 2024.
Brothers Fiachra and Tadgh peaked at the age of 7 when they appeared on the TV singing with their homemade puppet, "Froggie". 25 years later, they are still singing the same ol' song - until one day, Froggie is stolen.
CAST: Seán T. Ó Meallaigh, Carrie Crowley, Jemma CurranFRewa
TerraForma
(WRI/DIR:Kevin Brennan & Laurence Durkin)
Premiere at Galway Film Fleadh 2024.
TerraForma is the story of how the remote desert island of Ascension was ‘terraformed’ by Victorian scientists into a tropical paradise.
Dead Men's Money
(WRI/DIR: Paul Kennedy)
Premiered at Galway Film Fleadh 2024.
When Young Henry’s wealthy uncle starts courting “the Widow” Maureen Tweed, he starts to fear that he’ll be written out of Old Henry’s will. Conspiring with his wife, Pauline – and a chauffeur with a chequered past, known as Gerry the Wheels – Young Henry puts a plan in motion to make sure that the Widow Tweed never sees a penny of the inheritance he thinks is rightfully his.
CAST: Ciaran McMenamin, Pat Shortt, Judith Roddy, Gerard Jordan, Kathy Kiera Clarke
The Wise Guy
(WRI/DIR: Sam O’Mahony)
Premiered at Galway Film Fleadh 2024.
A lonely boy desperately searches for guidance and protection, when he finds a completely unconventional mentor hiding in the nearby woods.
CAST: Senan Jennings, Darrell D’Silva, Lisa Dwyer Hogg, Paul Mallon, Joanne Crawford
The Line
(DIR: Danny McCafferty • WRI: Lee Crowley, Pete Daly)
Showcased at Cannes Film Festival 2024.
The premiere feature from Avenue Productions, The Line tells the story of a disgruntled local forms an unlikely friendship with a Ukrainian refugee.
CAST: Joe Mullins, Veronika Lukyanenko, Lea Claffey
Love Lane United
Premiere at Galway Film Fleadh 9th July 2025.
(DIR: Jack Thornton • WRI: Cahal McQuillan, Jack Thornton)
Benny loses his job, begins a doomed romance with his housemate, and forms a Sunday League Football team. All in an effort to avoid moving forward in life. The film is currently in the final stages of the sound mix in Raygun Post-Production.
CAST: Seán Óg Cairns, Gordon Quigley, Daiana Madeira.
Interview with Jack Thornton, Director & Co-Writer of Love Lane United here.
My Freaky Family
(DIR: Mark Gravas • WRI: Cleon Prineas, Harry Cripps, Penny Greenhalgh)
Premiered in the Sydney Film Festival.
A magical Australian-Irish animation, based on the popular children’s books The Floods, in which 12-year-old Betty discovers her mystical powers just as a dark force kidnaps her family.
CAST: Evanna Lynch, Miranda Otto, Richard Roxburgh
Old Guy
(DIR: Simon West • WRI: Greg Johnson)
Premiere at Newport 2024.
This film follows a contract killer facing the end of his career who is thrilled when The Company pulls him back into the field training Gen Z newcomer: Wihlborg, a prodigy assassin with an attitude. Produced by Martin Brennan, Old Guy was shot on location in Belfast, with support from Northern Ireland Screen.
CAST: Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu, Cooper Hoffman
Mad for Love
(DIR: Jason Byrne, Kevin Treacy • WRI: John Connors, Kevin Treacy, Eoghan McKenna, Des Byrne)
During his voluntary stay at an Irish mental hospital, manic-depressive Clayton falls head over heels for involuntary schizophrenic patient Anna. Clayton’s doctor feels the relationship is helping him heal, but Anna’s doctor thinks it is a disaster waiting to happen and tries to separate them.
CAST: John Connors, Jade Jordan, Graham Earley, Lalor Roddy, Kevin Glynn
The Wolf, The Fox And The Leopard
(WRI/DIR: David Verbeek)
The Wolf, The Fox And The Leopard is a dystopian story about a girl found living among a pack of wolves. She is brought back to an ultra-modern medical centre to be examined under extreme scrutiny and prepared to return to society. Before her return to the ‘real’ world, she is kidnapped by a couple of extremists working to build a new, purer world on an abandoned oil rig. As she learns to adapt to their ways her curiosity quickly gets the better of her. Slowly but surely, she starts to provoke and rattle the status quo and eventually escapes.
Cry From the Sea
(DIR: Vic Sarin • WRI: Ciaran Creagh)
In the aftermath of the first World War and the Irish Civil War, Seamus Óg Mac Grianna tends to a lighthouse on an isolated Irish island, haunted by the loss of his wife and son. When the new priest, Fr. MacGabhann clashes with him over the improper burial of his late wife on the lighthouse grounds, the conflict leaves the island’s loyalties divided. Seamus’ burgeoning friendship with American war widow Edith begins to strain his relationship with his housekeeper and protector, Maire, and with his grief, he must decide what kind of life he is willing to fight for.
CAST: Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Sarah Bolger, Aidan Quinn
Feed
(WRI/DIR: Marco van Belle)
A group of twenty something influencers escape to a remote Irish forest for a weekend of luxury and fun. However when they awaken the world’s original vampire from her slumber, they must fight for their lives.
CAST: Grace Collender, Clinton Liberty, Daisy Jelley, Niamh Hogan, Rhys Mannion, Oskar Smith
No Place Like Home
(DIR: Myrid Carten)
You can’t choose what you inherit, or can you? This uncompromising look at what gets passed down is framed around a contested house in the west of Ireland. A coming-of-age story and a survival story about the cost of love; and how difficult it can be to escape.
Moscow Nights
(DIR: Irina Maldea)
The peaceful ending of the Cold War and terrifying nuclear confrontation was a huge achievement, entrancing the world and making Mikhail Gorbachev one of the most famous people ever, along with his wife, Raisa.
Samanta Nobody
(WRI/DIR: Ciaran Creagh)
Samanta, surviving as best as she can living on the margins of society, realises that only music can secure her future.
CAST: Brendan Conroy, Ruby Jean Lennon, Maggie Hannon
Julián
(DIR: Louise Bagnall • WRI: Juliany Taveras)
The wide-eyed Julián spends a summer of discovery in Brooklyn with his Abuela. Nearly strangers, they brace themselves for tense conversations and new adventures. Julián explores the magic of his Caribbean heritage, Abuela's Brooklyn neighbourhood and his own assertion that he is really a mermaid!
CAST: Knyght Darius Jack, Milcania Diaz-Rojas, Zariah Georgia Ellis
The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes
(DIR: Jim O'Hanlon • WRI: Anna McPartlin)
For Rabbit Hayes, life is coming to an end. With a few days left, she must come to terms with her past and a future she won’t be part of.
Meanwhile, her close-knit, eternally optimistic family grapple with the reality of losing her and decide what will happen to Juliet, her 14 year-old daughter. As family members clash over who can offer Juliet the best life, Rabbit drifts back to Dublin’s 1980s music scene, where the great love of her life, Johnny, helps guide her toward peace.
CAST: Louis Kirwan, Niamh Algar, Baz Black
The Surgeon
(WRI/DIR: Roshan Sethi)
Produced by Wild Atlantic Pictures and Thunder Road Pictures and shot in Dublin and Wicklow. A retired surgeon is abducted and forced to operate on an unknown patient. Though she is greatly outnumbered and has no apparent way of escape, her captors have overlooked her 35 years of surgical experience, which has become her greatest weapon.
CAST: Michelle Yeoh
How to Divorce During the War
(WRI/DIR: Andrius Blaževičius)
In Vilnius in 2022, Marija has a revelation that she wants to divorce her husband, Vytas, right before Russia invades Ukraine. Forced to confront their crumbling relationship, they navigate the process of divorce as it collides with the ongoing war.
CAST: Marius Repšys, Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė, Amelija Adomaitytė, Indrė Patkauskaitė
Skintown
(DIR: Kieron J. Walsh)
Skintown is set to shoot in 2025. Set in the mid-90s during the IRA ceasefire, the film follows the journey of two best friends trying to escape their life in a small Irish town. Immersing themselves in the world of raves, drugs and gangs the boys dream big but are thwarted by the realities of the world around them.
CAST: Jack Rowan, Chris Walley, Jamie Lee O’Donnell, Hope Ikpoku Jnr, Roisin Gallagher, Martin McCann, Gerard Jordan,
You'll Never Believe Who's Dead
(WRI/DIR: Dallan Shovlin)
As an Irish family reunite for Christmas, talk turns to a local robbery. After discussing how they could do a better job, they accidentally put their theory to the test.
CAST: Ardal O’Hanlon, Simone Kirby, Peter Claffey, Ruth Codd, Jacob McCarthy, Michelle Farley, Stephen Rea
The Body is Water
(WRI/DIR: Vicky Wight)
After leaving a prison in the United States, Al moves to a small town in the West of Ireland. A town where no one moves to, so naturally the curiosity of the locals is piqued. When Al rescues a dog, its owner Lou insists on befriending him whether he likes it or not. While Lou overshares, Al withholds all information. Undeterred, Lou persists shaping a connection not only with her, but with the people of the town. However, not everyone falls for Al and when his past is revealed, he is forced to confront all that he’s been running from.
CAST: Isiah Whitlock Jr, Saoirse Monica Jackson, Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn, Eva Birthistle, Fionnula Flanagan, Allen Leech, Aunjaune Ellis-Taylor, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Bronagh Gallagher
Halima
(WRI/DIR: Naima Mohamud)
Halima is a 10-year-old Somali girl living in Finland and obsessed with Aqua and Leonardo DiCaprio but more than anything she wants a Best Friend Forever(BFF). One problem, her family is always on the move. After an inauspicious start, Halima becomes friends with Erika and she is delighted. Nothing can burst her bubble not even Eki the annoying Leo lookalike. Having a friend isn’t always easy and soon Halima's family are on the move again. But buoyed up by Erika’s parting words, Halima is more hopeful for the future because after all she has a BFF.
CAST: Iman Ali, Adora Vierimaa, Sophie Demirdjian
Kung Fu Deadly
(DIR: Fergal Costello • WRI: Patrick McDonald)
Danny and Frank, two bumbling pest exterminators, cross paths with the enigmatic Lien, a Taoist guardian hunting an ancient Chinese jiangshi in Dublin. Together they set out deal with this menace the only way they know how: extermination. Filming tookplace in February in Dublin and County Meath.
CAST: Max Huang, Ling Cooper, TangJason Tobin, Steven He
Chasing Millions
(DIR: Stephen Burke • WRI: Stephen Burke, Katherine Thomson)
Chasing Millions follows Diana, a determined young Australian police detective, who finds herself investigating the £26 million robbery of the Northern Bank while on a family visit. Hoping to prove herself to her skeptical bosses back home, Diana is paired with Crayford, a seasoned Northern Irish detective resistant to her involvement. As they navigate old tensions, elusive suspects, and bizarre twists - including taunting messages from the thieves - the unlikely duo gradually learns to work together. When the case seems lost, Diana devises an ingenious plan that could render the stolen millions worthless. The film will start shooting on June 2nd in Dublin and Dundalk.
CAST: Christopher Eccleston, Madeleine Madden, Geraldine McAlinden
Ancestors
WRI/DIR: David Turpin
Set in the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, Beau returns to his London bedsit at dawn to find that his flatmate and surrogate little brother Tiny, has vanished. Beau’s search for Tiny, through dream and reality, memory and history, will bring him face-to-face with truths beyond life and death.
CAST: Éanna Hardwicke, Jack Wolfe, Jessica Reynolds, Rupert Everett, Christina Hendricks
One Sweet Hour
DIR: Declan Recks • WRI: Eugene O'Brien
An aging Elvis impersonator confronts his past while traveling with his estranged brother on a canal boat in the Irish Midlands.
CAST: Brían F. O'Byrne, Gary Lydon
The Slightest Touch
DIR: Rachel Fleit
As she turns forty - an age doctors once said she would never reach - Emma Fogarty, who lives with the rare and extremely painful condition Epidermolysis Bullosa, takes up the offer from longtime friend Colin Farrell to run the Dublin Marathon together, pushing her wheelchair for the final four kilometres. The Slightest Touch follows their lives and the enduring friendship that has sustained them through the years.
FEATURED: Emma Fogarty
Sky's the Limit
DIR: Loïc Jourdain, Mirjam Strugalla
Having already lost their older son Archie to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Paula and Padraig Naughton fight to fulfil the promise made to him on his deathbed: never to stop looking for a cure for his younger brothers Isaac and George. With humour, desperation, and determination dosed with realism, this family takes on the world and attempts to achieve the impossible.
Guggi
DIR: Ian Thuillier
An intimate portrait of Irish artist Guggi, the former Virgin Prunes frontman now a celebrated painter. His minimalist canvases reflect a lifelong struggle between chaos and order, faith and doubt and are framed by his friendships with Bono, Gavin Friday, and Dublin’s vibrant creative scene.
Shoal
DIR: Clare Stronge
This immersive underwater feature documentary brings audiences inside one of the most beautiful and mysterious sights on earth - a fish shoal. Using the latest science and technology, we witness the amazing unseen imagery of the underwater world while listening to warm, conversational voices of researchers deconstructing the fascinating behaviour onscreen. Along with an original score, this film will take audiences on a mesmerising, transcendent journey inside one of nature's greatest wonders.
The Siege Of Paradise
DIR: Gar O'Rourke
In Cinque Terre on Italy’s northern Riviera, fewer than 3,000 locals endure over four million tourists each summer. Across one chaotic season, six very different lives play out in parallel, revealing a sharply funny and surprisingly tender story of paradise under pressure in the age of social media driven tourism.
The Pervert's Guide to Utopias
DIR: Sophie Fiennes
Why do we need a guide to utopias? Philosopher Slavoj Žižek and director Sophie Fiennes return to complete their celebrated series to answer this question. Fiennes’ visually inventive direction immerses Žižek into scenes from movies, the natural world and a virtual game to deliver insight and entertainment in equal measure.
Who are we to Speak: A Eulogy in Nine Songs
DIR: Brian Cross
Detroit band The Supremes toured Ireland in 1981. This film explores the intersection of race, nationality and gender during a time of enormous instability. A photo diary kept by band member Kamau Kenyatta along with contemporary interviews explore the complex themes that emerged, which culminated when the band is robbed at gunpoint at their last gig.
Michael D: Power to the People
DIR: Alan Gilsenan
Eloquent and unafraid to challenge authority, former President Michael D. Higgins emerges as a moral compass in our dark and turbulent times, reflecting on a life shaped by art, politics, and compassion. From humble and traumatic beginnings in a family torn apart by Ireland’s bloody Civil War, to lifelong solidarity with global liberation movements, this film traces Michael D’s journey to the Irish presidency and beyond, celebrating his courage and his enduring vision of a fairer, more humane world that continues to inspire change.
The Fool or the Holyman
DIR: Daire Collins
Two siblings set out to unravel the truth behind their father, a man with many faces, Colonel Albert Bachmann — Switzerland’s most controversial Cold War spy. Through three conflicting narratives, the siblings attempt to piece together the life of a man who was seen as a hero, fool and something much darker.
Try!
DIR: Oisín Mistéil
Try! is an uplifting portrait of four diverse people who defy stereotypes and break barriers on the road to the Mixed Ability Rugby World Cup in Pamplona. Fuelled by heart, grit, and teamwork, it celebrates players, both with and without disabilities, who in their battle to become world champions show that the real victory lies in inclusion.
The Last Balkan Cowboy
DIR: Dragana Jurišić
In search of cult hero Hari Džekson - a pre-war director of Westerns from former Yugoslavia, artist and photographer Dragana Jurišić retraces his mythical story, and decides to reenact one of his films using the local population from both sides of the ethnic divide as actors. Returning to the home which she fled, she follows a ghost through a country that has long since disappeared.
Clannad: The Farewell / An Scaradh Deireanach
DIR: Alan Gilsenan
In the 1970s the legendary Clannad emerged from a small home in the townland of Dore, Gweedore, County Donegal. Together this extraordinary family made some of the most genre defining music ever made, capturing the hearts of millions of music lovers around the world.
New Adam
DIR: Declan McGrath, Máté Takác
Having lost his memory at 50 after contracting meningitis, film editor Adam Fiers feels like an alien on earth, unaware of either his own past or of social mores. With the help of filmmaker Máté Takács, he re-assembles his own life story from old home movies and learns how to live again as 'New Adam'.
Forever is Now
DIR: Neasa Ní Chianáin
Premiere DIFF 2026.
Filmed observationally over the last 18 months of the Irish Green Party’s time in government, Forever is Now follows leader Eamon Ryan and his team as they continue to fight for the planet before it is too late. As Europe’s Green wave fades and public interest in green alternatives wanes, Ryan and his team take their fight for climate justice to the world stage. Interwoven through the film is Ryan’s tender relationship with his autistic son, Tommy, which poignantly demonstrates Ryan’s belief that lasting change requires both patience and hope.
Anam Na Mara
DIR: Gavin FitzGerald
The powerful and ultra competitive world of ‘currach racing’, a historic racing league, is contested on the wild and rugged Atlantic coast of Ireland. Amidst gruelling regattas, we follow the stories of an Irish speaking community who are rowing for more than medals and bragging rights.
Magilligan
DIR: Ross McClean
Ryan, a young man, in and out of prison in Northern Ireland, finds fleeting purpose working with sheep in correctional programs. What begins as a path toward rehabilitation slowly reveals itself as a deeper struggle: not just freedom from prison walls, but from the weight of grief, addiction, and community threats that shadow him outside. Moving between the rigid order of Magilligan Prison, the chaos of life beyond its gates, and the open fields where cycles of life renew, the film asks whether Ryan can ever find peace—or if he remains trapped between worlds.
Gays Against Guns
DIR: Paul Rowley
Premiere DIFF 2026.
Emerging as a powerful community response to the Pulse nightclub massacre in 2016, this film takes us to the front lines of the American gun violence epidemic. Over eight years, the film follows these inspiring LGBTQ+ activists who utilise the theatrical tactics that were forged during the AIDS crisis and fight for Marriage Equality – to take on the might of the gun industry and the NRA. Interwoven with powerful protests are moving survivor stories, and the perspective of the filmmaker, an Irish immigrant, who offers a unique insight into what has happened to their ‘gay American dream’.
WHIDDY
DIR: Adrian McCarthy
A small rural community in Ireland welcomes in a major, global oil company with open arms but just 10 years and numerous oil spills later, that dream turns into an unimaginable nightmare. 50 lives were lost in a tragedy that silenced and divided the community and still haunts it to this day.
Whitetail
WRI/DIR: Nanouk Leopold
Premiere DIFF 2026.
Jen is a forest ranger in a remote part of Ireland who has carried the guilt of a tragic accident since her teens - now, when a person from her past comes back into her life she is forced to confront the past and find a way forward into a new future. This slow burn thriller from Nanouk Leopold, shot on location in Ireland, is full of secrets and intrigue set amid the rich, rural Irish landscape.
CAST: Natasha O'Keeffe, Andrew Bennett, Aaron McCusker
The Lightkeeper
DIR: Vic Sarin • WRI: Ciaran Creagh
Premiere DIFF 2026.
Seamus is a lighthouse keeper whose elaborate rituals keep him at a distance from the outside world as he awaits the Each-Uisce to take him. His carefully constructed prison is blown open by three people who change the course of his life.
CAST: Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Sarah Bolger
Gorky Resort (Pojedynek)
DIR: Lukasz Palkowski • WRI: Dzamila Ankiewicz, Agatha Dominik, Robert Glinski
Premiere DIFF 2026.
An Irish-Polish co-production, Gorky Resort, follows a young Polish pianist, Karol, who is captured by Stalin along with other university professors, priests, doctors, poets and musicians with plans to ideologically ‘convert’ these influential citizens to Communism, to create the nucleus of a new Russian intelligentsia. Karol must resist brainwashing in order to fight for his freedom and for the soul of his country.
CAST: Jakub Gierszal, Aidan Gillen, Julia Pietrucha
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
DIR: Clio Barnard • WRI: Enda Walsh
Irish actors Anthony Boyle, Daryl McCormack and Lola Petticrew will star in Clio Barnard's Next Feature I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, which is adapted by IFTA winner Enda Walsh (Small Things Like These) from a Keiran Goddard's novel. The story, which is set in Ireland, explores the lives of five friends from a council estate as they navigate adulthood and the realities of their lives. .
CAST: Anthony Boyle, Joe Cole, Jay Lycurgo, Daryl McCormack, Lola Petticrew
West The Road
WRI/DIR: Ita Fitzgerald
West The Road tells the story of a group of women brought together by the death of their childhood friend.
CAST: Siobhán McSweeney, Imelda Staunton, Eileen Walsh and Hannah Waddingham.
Daughter of Eden
WRI/DIR: Fateme Ahmadi
A UK-Ireland co-production between Lunapark Pictures, Shudder Films and Irish production company Newgrange Pictures was filmed in Dublin. Set in London in 2006, the film is a psychological thriller about a British-Iraqi nurse whose need for answers draws her deep into another family’s life, after a chance encounter with an older woman she suspects is connected to her parents’ fate in Iraq.
CAST: Lindsay Duncan, Chris Jenks, Hiam Abbass
The Lost Children of Tuam
DIR: Frank Berry • WRI: Rebeca Lenkiewicz
Dramatizes the harrowing true story of nearly 800 children buried at the former Tuam Mother and Baby Home, following the excavation and the survivors' struggle for justice.
CAST: Ian McElhinney, Monica Dolan, Elaine O'Dwyer
Bad Bridget
DIR: Rich Peppiatt • WRI: Rich Peppiatt, Elaine Farrell, Leanne McCormick
Irish women fled famine-era Ireland for North America in the 1800s-1900s, facing hardship and crime. Many lost their names, labeled "Bridget" by employers, with some becoming known as "Bad Bridgets" in prisons.
CAST: Emilia Jones, Daisy Edgar-Jones
Victorian Psycho
DIR: Zachary Wigon • WRI: Virginia Feito
This Keeper Pictures film was shot in Meath. In 1858, an eccentric young governess, Winifred Notty, arrives at the remote gothic manor Ensor House. As Winifred assimilates, staff begin to inexplicably disappear, and the owners wonder if something is amiss about this new governess.
CAST: Maika Monroe, Thomasin McKenzie, Jason Isaacs
Silverback
WRI/DIR: Steve Kenny
A stay-at-home dad must weigh the benefits of a new friendship with a notorious criminal who moves in next door against the deadly threat it poses to his family.
CAST: Jason Isaacs, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
Lemonade
WRI/DIR: Kim Bartley
This went into production at the end of 2025. Danny, a kind-hearted teen about to age out of the care system is facing adulthood without family or support. After a turbulent childhood and separation from his younger brother, he is determined to build a future - but one reckless mistake puts him at risk of prison. As his eighteenth birthday approaches, Josh - his former social worker and the only adult who ever believed in him - returns, offering guidance when Danny needs it most. With new love, big dreams, and overwhelming challenges, he must choose whether to repeat the cycle of his past or fight for the life he deserves.
CAST: Barry Keoghan, Lewis Brophy, Connie Doona, Graham Earley, Barry Keoghan
Hillside Drive
Shooting in Dublin and Wicklow in 2026, and produced by Element Pictures, Hillside Drive focuses on the intertwining lives of several residents in a suburban neighborhood. Their stories unfold against the backdrop of everyday challenges and personal growth, capturing the essence of community and connection. The film examines relationships, aspirations, and the impact of choices, portraying the complexity of human nature. Through relatable experiences, it highlights how individuals can influence one another in unexpected ways, offering a raw yet authentic perspective on life in a tight-knit community.
One for All
(DIR: Edward Berger • WRI: David Kajganich)
Filming early in 2026 in Cork, Dublin/Wicklow and Kerry with Ridley Scott producing.
The Flying Mountain
(WRI/DIR: Nicolas Steiner)
Produced by Samson Films and filming in early 2026, The Flying Mountain is a drama that follows two brothers as they chase life’s biggest questions - from the cliffs of Ireland to Tibet’s mythical “Flying Mountain.”
Walk The Blue Fields
(DIR: John Crowley • WRI: Conor McPherson)
Filming in Dublin/Wicklow in early 2026, Walk The Blue Fields is a romantic drama based on the acclaimed short story by Claire Keegan. The narrative centres on a woman on her wedding day who is forced to confront a heart-wrenching decision from her past — as a long-buried love triangle threatens to resurface at the most pivotal moment of her life.
CAST: Emily Blunt, Ciaran Hinds, Andrew Scott, Tom Cullen
Override
(DIR: Jordan Downey • WRI: Jordan Downey, Jackson Murray, Kevin Stewart)
Filming in Belfast, Override takes place in the future, where a female soldier , presumed dead in battle, is “rescued” by a synthetic angel, an artificial intelligence designed to intervene in conflicts. But what should be a rescue mission soon turns into a philosophical and spiritual confrontation: can a machine restore humanity to those who have lost it?
CAST: Frank Grillo, Maria Bakalova
Oileán na gCapall (The Island of Horses)
(DIR: Paul Mercier • WRI: Paul Mercier, Anne Gately)
Filming will take place in Galway in June 2026 of this adaptation of the novel The Island of Horses by Eilís Dillon — a story revolving around themes of identity, belonging, and rural island life in Ireland
Meat, Blake Forder
(DIR: Freddie Hall • WRI: Neil Linpow)
Set against the vibrant backdrop of Dublin, Meat, Blake Forder is a raw, thought-provoking narrative that intertwines themes of relationships, societal pressures, and the complexities of modern life.
Bender
(DIR: Adam Bernstein • WRI: Adrian Cunningham)
Set in 1970's Ireland, Bender is a raucous, heartfelt coming-of-age comedy about a hapless gang of teenage misfits who see a mass gathering for a visiting Pope as their last, desperate chance to pop their cherries before they graduate.
CAST: Bill Burr
This list is regularly updated, to submit information about a feature film, email info @ filmireland.ie.
