FILM STUDIES PROFESSOR BRIAN MCILROY SPEAKS AT VANCOUVER’S TWO ART CINEMA HOUSES IN APRIL
On April 16th, Brian McIlroy appears in a documentary film directed by Sean Patrick Shaul as one of the early cinema scholars recorded discussing the Canadian born actor and filmmaker Mack Sennett at Vancity Theatre.
Quebec-born Mack Sennett was the man who invented screen comedy. This Vancouver produced documentary explores the vibrant life and career of a larger-than-life entrepreneur, a producer/director who brought slapstick to the screen and discovered the greatest genius of the form, Charlie Chaplin. Experts including UBC’s Brian McIlroy and Michael van den Bos take us through a rollercoaster career, from Sennett’s famously bumbling Keystone Kops to flying custard pies and delicate bathing beauties.. All copiously illustrated with clips from Sennett’s hundreds of films. This is the story of a man who truly experienced the ups and downs of the Hollywood dream.
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.
http://www.viff.org/theatre/films/fc8853-silent-legend-the-mack-sennett-story
On April 22nd, Brian McIlroy introduces the Irish Film Institute’s curated films on the centenary of the Easter 1916 Rising that led to Irish independence. Opening night, Friday, April 22. 6:00pm – Doors 7:00pm – Introduction by Brian McIlroy + “Newsreel & Actuality Programme: Ireland 1916-23” with Live Music from Jocelyn Pettit 8:15pm – Young Cassidy
Co-presented by the Irish Film Institute, the Embassy of Ireland, and The Cinematheque
April 24 marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the 1916 Easter Rising, also known as the Easter Rebellion, a crucial moment in the history of Ireland’s struggle for independence and the ultimate creation of a sovereign Irish state.
This special program, curated by the Irish Film Institute, features films by an array of prominent directors, including John Ford, David Lean, Neil Jordan, and Ken Loach. It reveals how the events of 1916-1923 and their aftermath have continued to capture the imagination of filmmakers, both Irish and foreign, who have created a substantial body of work from a range of perspectives.
http://www.thecinematheque.ca/ireland-2016-centenary-film-programme
