“We think there’s nothing like the magic of going to the movies” said Young Offenders stars, Alex Murphy and Chris Walley
It has been a busy summer for cinema lovers with the likes of ‘The Odyssey’, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and ‘Obsession’ releasing in quick succession. The Irish cinema industry has came together to celebrate the role of cinema in Irish life.
This weekend, September 5-6, movie lovers across the Republic of Ireland can enjoy a trip to the cinema from €4 as part of National Cinema Weekend. Around 99% of cinemas across the Republic of Ireland will take part in the initiative on both new and older releases.
Ireland has the highest screen density per capita of any European country. The strong bond between Ireland and Cinema can be seen in the past success of National Cinema Days which saw 200,000 tickets sold in one day.
Off the back of this success the film industry extended the project to a full weekend for this year. This will give the audience a chance to watch multiple films at a reduced rate across Saturday and Sunday.
Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland is the official sponsor of National Cinema Weekend, with their Chief Executive, Désirée Finnegan stating “Screen Ireland is proud to support National Cinema Weekend which is set to be a fantastic celebration of cinema, in recognition of Irish audiences and their continued support for Irish film on the big screen”.
The Young Offenders movie will celebrate it’s 10 year anniversary during the course of the weekend and will be re-released in cinemas across Ireland. The movie was nominated for the ‘Best Film Award’ at the 2017 Irish Film and Television Awards.
The two stars of the movie Alex Murphy and Chris Walley explained their love for cinema. “We think there’s nothing like the magic of going to the movies. The shared communal experience of enjoying films as they were meant to be seen – on the big screen with a captive audience is one of our favourite things to do.”
The National Cinema Weekend is ensuring easy access for audiences to reach the cinema, as they have partnered with cinemas in every county in the Republic of Ireland. There will also be additional screenings for those of diverse audiences such as sensory screenings alongside subtitled and captioned screenings across a range of cinemas.