A painter, a photographer, a visual artist, a musician, and several remarkable women who participated in a popular housewives’ competition. Against the backdrop of civil conflict, the struggle for reproductive rights, departure from Catholic dominance, and breathtaking landscapes dotted with herds of sheep. One cannot speak of contemporary Ireland without addressing its past. Perhaps this is why some of its creators leave the emerald island to seek stories across the ocean.
Although Ireland conjures images of a picturesque green island, the reality is far more complex, as demonstrated by the films we have selected. The history and residents of Ireland have considerably more in common with us Poles than might initially appear. And this extends beyond the substantial Polish diaspora that has established a strong presence on the island over many years. This diversity is precisely what we aim to showcase in our programme: a variety of themes and forms, revealing an Ireland our viewers have yet to discover, remarks Programme Department Director Barbara Orlicz-Szczypuła.
There has been considerable discussion recently about the growing popularity of artists from Ireland. For several years now, Irish writers such as Sally Rooney, have been making a genuine sensation. In cinema, Irish actors and actresses are excelling, as evidenced by Oscar nominations for Saoirse Ronan and Barry Keoghan. Meanwhile, figures like Enya, Bono, and Sinead O’Connor have transcended the music world to become true icons of global pop-culture. But who are the protagonists of the documentaries in Focus on Ireland? There is no shortage of artistic souls with complicated yet fascinating biographies, and strong women who managed to survive conservative regimes.
Island of Women
A hot meal on the table, a clean house, children who are cared-for, and support for the husband from a beautiful wife. Behind this idealised, traditional image of an Irish household there were often exhausted and isolated mothers. The nationwide Housewife of the Year contest emerged as their opportunity to escape the confines of home and improve the financial situation of their large families. Broadcast from 1969 to 1995, this TV show represented an enormous opportunity for many women, whilst simultaneously reinforcing stereotypes about Irish women whose life’s purpose was supposedly to take care of the home for free. The documentary directed by Ciaran Cassidy features archival footage from this popular programme, interwoven by conversations with its participants. Through the stories of several generations of Housewife of the Year contestants, one can trace the sociopolitical history of the country. For these women, their homeland was a source of oppression – preventing them from having gainful employment, denying access to contraception, or placing them in tyrannical Catholic institutions. Several experienced marital breakdown, illness, or financial hardship. Despite these difficulties, they remained steadfast, and their sense of humour and self-awareness continue to inspire subsequent generations of Irish women.
What is merely alluded to in Cassidy’s film resonates fully in Sinead O’Shea’s harrowing documentary Pray for Our Sinners. The Irish director and journalist returns to her homeland to expose and publicise the abuse that was taking place in local Catholic institutions. In her confrontational documentary, she speaks with people who were intimidated and mistreated by teachers and nuns in the 1960s and 1970s. The shocking events in Navan took place during an era when hardly anyone thought to question the authority of the church, and particularly one embodied by a charismatic and popular priest. The director pays tribute to victims of this violence. Among them are women who, as teenage mothers, were sent to Magdalene laundries, and pupils of unmarried teachers who recognised beating and humiliation as the only method (known to them from personal experience) of working with young people. O’Shea also acknowledges those who, despite the enormous power of the church hierarchs, attempted to oppose their actions by providing support and shelter to the most wronged.
Island of Artists
The powerful influence of the church on the lives of Irish women has significantly affected their families and loved ones. In this context, two stories of artists’ mothers suffering from Alzheimer’s appear profoundly symbolic. In the first documentary, Don’t Forget to Remember, the ailing woman is as central a character as the members of her family. Her beloved and devoted husband cares for his wife with tremendous patience, accompanying her each day. Asbestos, a popular street artist, struggles to come to terms with his mother’s gradual decline. He attempts to confront themes of memory and transience through his art. For him, art is not merely a preferred form of expression, but also one of the few fragments of the past that the mother still identifies her son with. Although Ross Killeen’s documentary tackles a deeply moving subject, with Asbestos’s help the director ultimately crafts a serene and reflective narrative about closeness, departure, change, and the role of art beyond gallery walls. The protagonist’s inclusive artistic projects not only blend seamlessly into Dublin’s urban fabric but also offer an unexpected meditation on memory.
The mother of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Cathal McNaughton also struggles with Alzheimer’s, but her son’s work and activism form the central focus of I Dream in Photos. At the peak of his career, the protagonist decides to abandon his dream profession. For 25 years, he journeyed around the globe photographing its most remote corners, always present where significant events unfolded. Getting the perfect shot became his obsession, simultaneously alienating him from his family and son. The authors of the documentary, Ollie Aslin and Gary Lennon, chronicle the protagonist’s past through his phenomenal photographs. Images of the civil war in Belfast and Omagh are equally as harrowing as those brought back from the most distant parts of the world. McNaughton’s personal story intertwines with global tale of conflict, tension, climate catastrophes, poverty, and suffering. All these images filled the protagonist’s thoughts even in dreams. Returning from war zones to a tranquil country cottage in rural Ireland proves challenging. Though he finally has time to rebuild his relationship with his adolescent son and care for his parents, the past refuses to leave him be. An internal struggle rages on within him as he mourns those he photographed – the deceased, the abandoned, and the suffering.
It is not without some difficulty that Orli Barry manages to reconcile her artistic career with a rather unusual occupation. The protagonist of Notes from Sheepland inherited her family farm in Wexford and spends her days tending to her beloved sheep. She defies the gender role stereotypes that the church and conservative government assigned to Irish women for years. Though Orla proudly wears lipstick, she pairs it with work overalls whilst herding her animals. She lives in a non-heteronormative relationship and keeps her feet planted firmly on the ground. Her commitment as a breeder often astonishes onlookers, particularly as she found her profession with something as ephemeral as performance art and as elite as visual arts. Director Cara Holmes skilfully merges the protagonist’s two worlds, enriching the documentary with numerous recordings and archival materials from her artistic endeavours whilst portraying the daily reality of a farmer battling against industrial breeding in favour of sustainable and ecological alternatives.
Beyond the Island
The protagonist of The Graceless Age: The Ballad of John Murry is also an artist. An adopted relative of Nobel Prize winner William Faulkner, and above all, an alienated and defiant musician from the American South grappling with a difficult past filled with addictions, traumas, illnesses, and creative burnout, could has amassed enough life experience to bestow upon multiple individuals or a character in the famous writer’s novel. As a child, John Murry was adopted by the descendants of the renowned author; a brooding boy, he discovered his musical talent in a church choir, which eventually led to the release of his acclaimed 2013 album The Graceless Age. Unfortunately, like hundreds of thousands of young Americans, he fell victim to opioids, which then led to heroin addiction. Burnt out and ailing, he found himself on the Irish coast, where he discovered solace and met the film’s director. Sarah Share accompanies the man on his journey back to his past, but also through a symbolic attempt at renewal. The protagonist begins by repairing his relationship with his adolescent daughter, and meets with relatives, a church organist, and a Black schoolmate. Throughout this journey, he is accompanied by literature, music, and… Elvis Presley.
The experience of adoption is a familiar one to the protagonists of Sam Jones’s film. In his documentary My Lost Russian Mother, the Irish director tells the story of siblings who were adopted by an American family. It has always been Gabe’s dream to meet his mother. He manages to pick up a lead on her and, after discussing with his sister, decides to journey to Russia alone. Meeting his mother proves to be an extraordinarily painful experience. The woman is a depressed alcoholic for whom the visit of her abandoned child seems like a drunken hallucination or an insignificant event. During the protagonist’s stay with his relatives, other hidden secrets begin to surface. The Irish director’s documentary, ten years in the making, is a tale of family secrets and lies, and even murder. Gabe’s story and his disenchantment with his visit to Russia also has its own dark and unexpected conclusion.
Films in Focus on Ireland:
- Housewife of the Year, dir. Ciaran Cassidy, Ireland, 81’, 2024
- Pray For Our Sinners, dir. Sinead O’Shea, Ireland, 81’, 2022
- Notes from Sheepland, dir. Cara Homles, Ireland, 70’, 2022
- The Graceless Age: The Ballad of John Murry, dir. Sarah Share, Ireland, Canada, USA, 90’, 2023
- My Lost Russian Mother, dir.Sam Jones, Ireland, United Kingdom, 86’, 2023
- Don’t Forget to Remember, dir. Ross Killeen, Ireland, 77’, 2024
Irish productions have also been invited into competitive sections.
Focus on Ireland is partnered by the Docs Ireland International Documentary Film Festival.
Passes for the 65th Krakow Film Festival are now on sale!
The Krakow Film Festival is on the exclusive list of film events qualifying for the Academy Awards® in short film categories (fiction, animation, documentary) and feature-length documentary, the European Film Awards in the same categories, and serves as a qualifying event for the BAFTA Awards.
The Krakow Film Festival is organised with financial support from the City of Krakow, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Polish Film Institute, and the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme. The Polish Filmmakers Association serves as co-organiser.
The 65th Krakow Film Festival will be held from 25 May to 1 June 2025, and online on KFF VOD from 30 May to 15 June.