After a successful debut festival hosted by Irish Chapter of Women in Film & TV in Dublin last October, the Centre Cultural Irlandais will be hosting the 2nd Irish Women's Film Festival in Paris later this year. The one-day Festival, which begins at 10:30 A.M. on September 29th, will feature films and filmmakers from WFTV Ireland and aims to bring together the European film community as well as aid women filmmakers in finding ways to collaborate in the future. The festival is part of the celebration of "le Cinéma au Feminin" and will be opened by Irish Ambassador Ms. Anne Anderson. Writers and directors will have the opportunity to introduce their work as well offer workshops to current film students.

A key player in the festival will be Pat Murphy, the director of Anne Devlin (1984), who will be showcasing one of her most recent films about the wife of James Joyce. In "Nora" (2000), an all-star cast (featuring Ewan McGregor as James Joyce and Susan Lynch as Nora Barnacle) comes together to tell the story of a charming hotel maid from Galway who is captivated by a young Joyce and ends up joining him in Trieste. The film documents their stormy relationship, including the trials of Joyce's drinking bouts and jealous rages. An intriguing film adapted from the 1988 biography by Brenda Maddox, Susan Lynch won the Irish Film and Television Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Nora.

Another highlight is "Song for a Raggy Boy,"  a film that is based on a true story and described as "...the story of one man's courage to stand up and fight the tough fascist regime in a boys Irish Reformatory School in 1939."  Written and directed by Aisling Walsh, it stars Irish-American actor Aidan Quinn and has won numerous awards at film festivals throughout the world.

Geraldine Creed will also be on hand, screening her 2006 documentary "Exile Files," which "...traces the trade and migration between Ireland and France from 1600 to 1815. The story is told through original journals and letters from soldiers, beggars, princes and gentlewomen." 

 Finally, the festival will also be screening "Hush-a-Bye Baby"  by Margo Harkin and "Disco Pigs" by Kirsten Sheridan as well as a selection of shorts. Harkin's film "Hush-a-Bye Baby" tells the heart-wrenching story of a pregnant Irish girl who attempts to contact her boyfriend in a British prison, but her letters aren't allowed through to him because she writes in Irish. Kirsten Sheridan's film "Disco Pigs" revolves around the intense connection between two teenagers, nicknamed Pig and Runt. Starring Elaine Cassidy and Cillian Murphy, it's a disturbing story of what happens when obsession and jealousy begin to overrule passion.

The festival will take place at the Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais in the 5ème arrondisement. Tickets for the entire day are 15 Euros.