Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Marvel's Spider-Man Secret Lair promotional image

    Get a Look At the Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man Superdrop

    09/08/2025
    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions gameplay still

    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions Is All About Adventure (with Friends)

    09/08/2025
    Chord in Persona 5 The Phantom X

    Now Is The Perfect Time To Jump Back In ‘Persona 5: The Phantom X’

    09/05/2025
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Interviews » INTERVIEW: Festival Director Maedhbh Mc Cullagh Previews CIFF 2023

INTERVIEW: Festival Director Maedhbh Mc Cullagh Previews CIFF 2023

Jason FlattBy Jason Flatt03/02/20233 Mins ReadUpdated:06/01/2023
Capital Irish Film Festival 2023
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Capital Irish Film Festival 2023

The 17th Capital Irish Film Festival is on at AFI Silver in Silver Spring Maryland from March 2-5, 2023, featuring 29 Irish narrative features, documentaries, and short films. Opening with a screening of the 2023 Oscar-nominated The Quiet Girl and offering a number of North American and regional debuts, Captial Irish Film Festival 2023 is celebrating the enormous global success of Irish cinema in 2022 and launching a new year of narrative features, documentaries, and shorts. We spoke with the festival’s director Maedhbh Mc Cullagh ahead of the festival, who shared some of the highlights and major themes in this year’s lineup.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

The festival is organized by Solas Nua, an organization dedicated to uplifting Irish arts in Washington, DC. Its name means “new light,” and true to its name, for Mc Cullagh one of the most important goals of the festival is lifting up new and diverse voices in Irish filmmaking. The festival and its partners are determined to highlight rising stars and help generate new ones. Last year, the festival inaugurated its Norman Houston Short Film Award with the 2023 Oscar-nominated An Irish Goodbye, and this year celebrates Homebird, by Caleb J. Roberts. Homebird, one of several LGBTQ+ films screening at the festival including Foxglove and Pray For Our Sinners, is the story of a young man who suddenly leaves home but returns after dropping out of university and has an awkward meet-up with his father.

Homebird is also part of a special focus on Northern Ireland, in recognition of the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement and in appreciation of its dynamic and diverse contemporary culture. Mc Cullagh explains how in her experience of the Irish diaspora, public perceptions of Irish culture, life, and storytelling can be frozen in a certain period in time. Films screening as part of the Northern Ireland Focus block, Homebird, Ballywalter, and Young Plato offer contemporary Northern Ireland.

Mc Cullagh also explains that one of the stand-out themes in the Capital Irish Film Festival 2023 lineup explores the reality that Ireland has one of the highest rates of immigration in Europe and is home to a wide diversity of cultures and backgrounds. Films like Aisha, starring Letitia Wright, Your’e Not Home, and La Tumba exemplify migrant experiences in Ireland. Meanwhile, Irish language itself is a major aspect of the festival too. Mc Cullagh shared exuberance for the rising popularity and viability of Irish-language movies. Several films, including the delightful Róise & Frank, Foxglove, and The Quiet Girl are helping recontextualize the language as modern and not merely a language taught in schools or spoken in remote, old corners of Ireland. Sports, music, and masculinity are among the many other themes highlighted throughout Capital Irish Film Festival 2023’s selections.

Capital Irish Film Festival 2023 is taking place from March 2-5th in Silver Spring, MD. Follow all of our CIFF coverage.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’ is the Most Fun I’ve Had While Failing (XSX)
Next Article Seven Seas Licenses Love, A Kitten, And A Salty Dog
Jason Flatt
  • X (Twitter)

Jason is the Sr. Editor at But Why Tho? and producer of the But Why Tho? Podcast. He's usually writing about foreign films, Jewish media, and summer camp.

Related Posts

Yeon Sang-ho behind the scenes of The Ugly

TIFF 2025: Yeon Sang-ho Asks Audiences To Question Beauty In ‘The Ugly’

09/11/2025
Final Fantasy Tactics interview promo image

Final Fantasy Tactics Devs Talk About The Relevance Of The Game’s Politics Today

09/10/2025
Naoki Yoshida's Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail

Final Fantasy’s Naoki Yoshida Looks Back To Look Forward

09/03/2025
The Comic Shop

Cheyenne Ewulu’s ‘The Comic Shop’ Is The Sitcom Fandom Deserves

08/30/2025
Star Wars Visions Volume 3 BLACK Directed by Shinya Ohira

Shinya Ohira Explores Pain, Sacrifice, And Storytelling In ‘Black’ For ‘Visions Volume 3’

08/29/2025
Star Wars Visions Volume 3 James Waugh But Why Tho

James Waugh Believes Unique Expression Is The Heart Of ‘Star Wars: Visions Volume 3’

08/28/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

By Kate Sánchez09/11/2025Updated:09/11/2025

The Long Walk is a brutal watch. Equally heartfelt and heartbreaking, it’s one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s work.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

EA Sports FC Icons Match promotional image from Nexon News

2025 Icons Match Returns With Football Legends Bridging The Pitch And Video Games

By Kate Sánchez09/03/2025Updated:09/03/2025

NEXON has announced the return of the ‘2025 Icons Match,’ a live event that brings a full roster of legendary players to the pitch.

Gojo Jujutsu Kaisen - But Why Tho (2) Features

Everything To Know About Satoru Gojo

By Kate Sánchez09/07/2023Updated:02/16/2025

Satoru Gojo is the heart of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 — now, heading into Cour 2, here is everything you need to know about the character.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here