Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival launches 2019 programme

Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival has announced a busy programme for its upcoming edition. Beginning on February 20th, this is the first festival to have the media company as its title sponsor.

Grainne Humphreys, the festival’s director, acknowledges what the new partner brings to the experience. “In simple terms it’s just visibility,” she says. “One of the things we’ve found in the past is that it’s difficult to get the word out. We have a great dedicated audience. They are dedicated Irish film fans. They are world-cinema fans. But trying to bring in new audiences, whether it’s students or whatever, is becoming harder and harder. The media landscape is so noisy. We are excited by the plan Virgin have to promote across platforms and to engage with a more general audience.”

The event kicks off with a gala screening of John Butler’s serious comedy Papi Chulo. The follow-up to the director’s much-admired The Stag and Handsome Devil, the film – a hit at the recent Toronto International Film Festival – follows a Los Angeles weatherman as he copes indifferently with single life.

The Irish Times, Wed, Jan 23, 2019