Irish Premiere of Saipan Announced as Opening Gala of 70th Cork International Film Festival 2025
Fiona Clark, Festival Director & CEO of Cork International Film Festival, commented; “We are delighted and honoured to bookend our landmark 70th Festival edition with two Irish premieres of this stature. A Festival of our scale and impact is a huge undertaking by our dedicated team and we are excited to share the outcome of our endeavours and invite audiences to celebrate this remarkable milestone – as Ireland’s largest and longest-running film festival – with prestige titles like Saipan and, of course, with its significant Cork connections. We will be showcasing over 200 films and special events across Cork with more films announced in advance of the unveiling of the full programme on Wednesday 15th October. We look forward to welcoming audiences to share the spotlight in Cork in November.”
Cork International Film Festival (CIFF) has announced that the Opening Gala of the 2025 edition, marking the significant 70th anniversary of Ireland’s oldest film festival, will be the Irish Premiere of the hotly anticipated Saipan. The Opening Night Gala takes place at The Everyman Theatre on Thursday 6th November at 19:00. The film has received rave reviews following its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The Closing Night Gala on Sunday 16th November, also at The Everyman Theatre, has been announced as the Irish Premiere of Bradley Cooper’s Is This Thing On?, starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern.
Fiona Clark, Festival Director & CEO of Cork International Film Festival, commented;
“We are delighted and honoured to bookend our landmark 70th Festival edition with two Irish premieres of this stature. A Festival of our scale and impact is a huge undertaking by our dedicated team and we are excited to share the outcome of our endeavours and invite audiences to celebrate this remarkable milestone – as Ireland’s largest and longest-running film festival – with prestige titles like Saipan and, of course, with its significant Cork connections. We will be showcasing over 200 films and special events across Cork with more films announced in advance of the unveiling of the full programme on Wednesday 15th October. We look forward to welcoming audiences to share the spotlight in Cork in November.”
OPENING GALA
Saipan, Thursday 6th November, The Everyman Theatre.
Directed by Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, starring Steve Coogan and Éanna Hardwicke. It’s 2002, shortly before the FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea. The Irish national football team arrives on the Pacific island of Saipan, where they are to bond and train before moving to Japan. But the management’s relaxed approach does not match team captain Roy Keane’s expectations. The Man U star player is here to win it.
Filmmakers Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn handle the story that captured a nation with all the respect due to one of the most seismic events in Irish sporting history. A respect for facts, for protagonists and for all the people of Ireland who found themselves having to take sides. Indeed, the public quarrel between Keane and coach Mick McCarthy rocked the country and sparked debates on notions that went far beyond sport: loyalty, ethics, identity. Saipan was, and is, a big deal.
“Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa’s film is, quite frankly, an unexpected treat.” Irish Independent
“Coogan, continuing his unlikely career as one of England’s most reliable character actors, is excellent but it’s Hardwicke who steals it…” The Guardian
“Steve Coogan and Eanna Hardwicke are a dream team”
Commenting on Saipan opening the 70th CIFF programme, filmmakers Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn said:
