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Festival offers a week of free films celebrating ageing

The fourth ‘Reel Lives Film Festival’, organised by The Irish Centre for Social Gerontology at NUI Galway, is offering free lunchtime screenings of international films and documentaries celebrating ageing across the life-course from 18-22 May as part of the Bealtaine Festival.

The lunchtime screenings are open to the public and will begin each day at 1pm in the auditorium of NUI Galway’s new Institute for Lifecourse and Society Building in Corrib Village, Upper Newcastle Road.

This year the screenings will include: Nebraska; When Did You Last See Your Father?; Robot and Frank; My Afternoons With Margueritte; and My Old Lady.

The festival opens with Nebraska, telling the story of an ageing father (Bruce Dern) on a road trip with his son from Montano to Nebraska to claim a million dollar sweepstakes prize.

When Did You Last See Your Father? stars Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent, and a host of well-known faces. A restrained script and effortless acting show Firth watching his father (Broadbent) die, whilst reflecting on their troubled relationship across the lifecourse.

Robot and Frank is set in the near future when household robots are the norm. The cantankerous Frank, an elderly divorcee, lives slothfully alone until his son forces the robot on him to improve his lifestyle. Their initial fractious relationship turns into genuine friendship once Frank, a former jewel thief, recruits robot into a life of crime.

My Afternoons with Margueritte is a French movie with English sub-titles and stars Gerard Dépardieu. Dépardieu’s is an illiterate and lonely man who befriends an older and well-read woman, played by Gisele Casadesus.

The festival closes with My Old Lady starring Maggie Smith, Kevin Kline and Kristin Scott-Thomas. Shot in Paris, the film is both funny and touching. Kline inherits a glamorous apartment in Paris, but also its resident ‘viager’ (Smith).

Irish shorts being screened include: Bye Bye Now which focuses on the disappearance of rural telephone boxes; Jericho, a story revolving around a widower getting help from his childhood friend; Holding On, telling the story of how a man’s Alzheimer’s impacts on his family; and Sue Mills, about a West of Ireland eco-friendly woman and her Meitheal.

On Thursday, 21 May, there will be a special screening of Pockets by Oughterard film student, Luke Morgan. Pockets featured at the Cannes Film Festival and is a five-minute film covering empty nest syndrome. Luke uses his own mother as the acting lead as she discusses how she feels when her son departs for college.

In addition to free entry, audience members can enjoy complimentary refreshments and the chance to win a daily audience spot prize. There will also be a special pre-film choral performance by NUI Galway staff choir, Unitunes, on Thursday, 21 May at 1 pm, and a free guided walk of the Dangan area with Galway tour-guide Brendan Hynes on Friday, 22 May at 4 pm.

Parking is available on campus to non-NUI Galway personnel within the pay and display areas of Dangan car park, or a free shuttle bus runs regularly between Dangan car park and the main campus. The venue has a 250-seater lecture room with a theatre-size screen, surround-sound, and wheelchair access.

For further information contact event organiser Alison Herbert at 091 495461 or 087 2830757. Full details of the film programme are on www.icsg.ie.

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