Chicago Irish Film Festival

“Thank you, IFTA. This is for everybody in Belfast, our cast and crew, for everything they bring to this show. We couldn’t do it without this city. It’s a special place, and we love it dearly” Stephen Wright (Producer - Blue Lights) @CNaM_ie Best Drama Winner 2026 #IFTA

And that’s a wrap. 🍀🎥 Thank you for streaming, cheering, and celebrating Irish film with us. Until next year, Chicago!

"In my life, I have watched John Kennedy talk on television about missiles in Cuba. I saw Lyndon Johnson look Richard Russell squarely in the eye and and say, "And we shall overcome." I saw Richard Nixon resign and Gerald Ford tell the Congress that our long national nightmare was over. I saw Jimmy Carter talk about malaise and Ronald Reagan talk about a shining city on a hill. I saw George H.W. Bush deliver the eulogy for the Soviet bloc, and Bill Clinton comfort the survivors of Timothy McVeigh's madness in Oklahoma City. I saw George W. Bush struggle to make sense of it all on September 11, 2001, and I saw Barack Obama sing 'Amazing Grace' in the wounded sanctuary of Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina. "These were the presidents of my lifetime. These were not perfect men. They were not perfect presidents, god knows. Not one of them was that. But they approached the job, and they took to the podium, with all the gravitas they could muster as appropriate to the job. They tried, at least, to reach for something in the presidency that was beyond their grasp as ordinary human beings. They were not all ennobled by the attempt, but they tried nonetheless. "And comes now this hopeless, vicious buffoon, and the audience of equally hopeless and vicious buffoons who laughed and cheered when he made sport of a woman whose lasting memory of the trauma she suffered is the laughter of the perpetrators. Now he comes, a man swathed in scandal, with no interest beyond what he can put in his pocket and what he can put over on a universe of suckers, and he does something like this while occupying an office that we gave him, and while endowed with a public trust that he dishonors every day he wakes up in the White House. "The scion of a multigenerational criminal enterprise, the parameters of which we are only now beginning to comprehend. A vessel for all the worst elements of the American condition. And a cheap, soulless bully besides. We never have had such a cheap counterfeit of a president* as currently occupies the office. We never have had a president* so completely deserving of scorn and yet so small in the office that it almost seems a waste of time and energy to summon up the requisite contempt. "Watch how a republic dies in the empty eyes of an empty man who feels nothing but his own imaginary greatness, and who cannot find in himself the decency simply to shut up even when it is in his best interest to do so. Presidents don't have to be heroes to be good presidents. They just have to realize that their humanity is our common humanity, and that their political commonwealth is our political commonwealth, too. Watch him behind the seal of the President of the United States. Isn't he a funny man? Isn't what happened to that lady hilarious? Watch the assembled morons cheer. This is the only story now." - Charles Pierce

CIFF is still streaming through Mar 8 Don’t miss The Trackless Wild — Tip’s pampas-spanning adventures, now playing from your couch. Last weekend to watch. Online tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

The festival has officially begun. New films. New voices. One unforgettable week. Join us at AMC NEWCITY or stream through Mar 8. Tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

Opening Night — you showed up! Now keep it going: CIFF runs all week at AMC NEWCITY + streaming through Mar 8. Bring a friend. Make a night of it. Tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

FILM HIGHLIGHT: SAIPAN Roy Keane. World Cup dreams. One legendary rupture. If you think you know the story — you don’t know the whole story. See it Sun, March 1 at CIFF. Book tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

Three Deaf couples, decades of devotion, and stories that go beyond words. Watch the trailer — then book your seat. Tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

Film Highlight: A Quiet Love Three Deaf couples prove that love is built in choices — across decades, families, and turning points. See it at CIFF Sat, Feb 28, 2026. Book tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

Meet the Maker: Garry Keane A Quiet Love is told entirely in Irish Sign Language — intimate, immersive, and deeply human. See it at CIFF. Tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

Catch the action with popcorn in hand at the theater or stream from home during the 27th Annual Chicago Irish Film Festival 🎬 February 26 to March 8, celebrating the finest in independent Irish cinema. Tickets - goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

Airstrikes outside, humanity inside. SANATORIUM is the kind of film that stays with you after the credits. See it at CIFF. Tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

Meet the Maker: Gar O’Rourke From docs to art films to commercials — now his debut feature, Sanatorium, Ireland’s Oscar entry, comes to CIFF. Tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

Film Highlight: Sanatorium Pastel halls. Airstrikes outside. Love, care, and resilience inside. A Ukrainian retreat becomes a refuge — and a reminder of what people protect when the world breaks. Tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

SO IT BEGINS 8 short films. 95 minutes. Vulnerability, discovery, transformation — the first spark of becoming. Close out the in-person fest with shorts that stay with you. Tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

Grab some popcorn at the theater or stream from home for the 27th Annual Chicago Irish Film Festival 🎬 Feb 26–Mar 8, celebrating the best in independent Irish filmmaking—from award-winners & bold debuts to wild heists and music docs. Get tickets now: chicagoirishfilmfestival.com

BP Fallon: Rock'n'Roll Wizard Behind the legends. Now, he takes the spotlight. Trailer’s up — now pick your screening. Book tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

On The Brink. 75 minutes. 7 films. Young adult voices (13+) on identity, transition, and the moments that change you. If you want something that hits — start here. Passes → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…

Grateful for Mike Houlihan’s endorsement in today’s John Kass newsletter. As AG, I’ll drive transparency, victims-first justice, and safer communities statewide. @john_kass @chicagocontrar1 @cpd_media @moviehooley @mikehoulihan @awake_il @chicagoirishff @iahcchicago @ssirishparade @jeanneives johnkassnews.com/houlis-endorse…

AONTAS: a heist story told in reverse. Every scene pulls the trap tighter. Trailer’s up — now pick your screening. Tickets → goelevent.com/ChicagoIrishFi…