The Irish Film Institute in Eustace Street in Dublin has done some renovations and is now reopened for business.
I’ve been going to the IFI for over a decade and consider a must do/must be a member for anyone living in Dublin. Membership is cheap as chips and if you’re a member, every month there is a chance to see a film for free. You also get the monthly brochure delivered to your door.
I’ve seen some great films there including the Norwegian film O Horten, Me and Orson Welles and have also been to some great talks and Q & A sessions with the likes of French FIlmaker Nicholas Philibert (the man is a legend) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age Director, Shekhar Kapur.
Yesterday the good folk at the IFI decided to have an open day to celebrate the revonations being completed and offered Free Films all day.
There was really only one I wanted to see Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyessy. It was the 70 mm print and as far as I know the IFI is the only place in Ireland that can show 70mm.
It was great to see such as classic on the big screen. I had a bit of a giggle when I saw the astronauts eat their dinner as they watched news from home on what can only be described as the 1968 equivalent of a iPad (hehe!)
The IFI cafe has been updated with all the main courses available costing under a tenner! There’s a new bookshop at the front of the building, you get a discount if you’re a member. The biggest improvement, well the one people will notice immediately is the new loos!! Thumbs up, hopefully the city centre shoppers availing of the conveniences will have a coffee while they are there.
A third screen has also been added, a cute 50 seater!