The Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival returns for its 20th edition later this month – running from February 23 to March 6 – with a packed programme launched today.

2022 will also see the festival return to cinemas, presenting domestic and international feature films, short films, documentaries, premieres and galas to live, in-person audiences – alongside additional online programming.

The festival will be welcoming an exciting selection of onscreen talent, including Carrie Crowley, Alan Cummings, Moe Dunford, Vicky Phelan and George MacKay, alongside filmmakers and creatives Neil Brand, Nathalie Biancheri, Adam McKay, Laurent Larivière, Joi McMillon and many more.

Across the 12 days of the festival, there will be over one hundred events to choose from, bookended by festival opener An Cailín Ciúin, Colm Bairéad’s portrait of an Irish childhood, and closing night’s My Old School, Jono McLeod’s look at the 1990’s Brandon Lee story, one of the strangest and most notorious imposter cases of modern times.

The festival will also continue to highlight the strength of Irish cinema, with a stellar Irish programme. Set over the course of one night in Belfast, Nightride is a real-time, one-shot thriller about a dealer trying to pull off one last job in order to go straight. Other Irish gems include Nathalie Biancheri’s Wolf (featuring an impressive cast including George MacKay and Lily-Rose Depp); Young Plato, a documentary about maverick headmaster Kevin McArevey in Belfast’s Ardoyne area who uses the wisdoms of ancient Greek philosophers to encourage his pupils to challenge war and conflict; Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy’s Irish language feature Róise + Frank, which tells of grief stricken Róise who comes to believe a mysterious dog is the reincarnation of her late husband, Frank; and the world premiere of Dónal Foreman’s highly anticipated The Cry of Granuaile.

Filmed in iconic locations around Dublin, Conor McMahon’s comedic horror Let the Wrong One In features a strong Irish cast alongside Buffy icon Anthony Head. Kate Dolan’s highly anticipated psychological thriller You Are Not My Mother will receive its Irish premiere at the festival after its successful debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Acclaimed TV director Lee Haven Jones will present his debut feature The Feast. Told in the Welsh language, it centres on a mysterious young waitress tasked with serving privileged guests at a remote dinner party. Jenna Cato Bass’s South African supernatural thriller, Good Madam, addresses how past racial suffering can resonate with and haunt those affected generations later. South Korea’s entry for the 2022 Oscars, Escape From Mogadishu, is a nail-biting political thriller based on a true story; while 1980s period thriller drama Superior features a woman on the run, who goes home to hide with her identical twin – changing both their lives.

There's a brilliant array of documentaries showing too. Vicky is Sasha King’s intimate journey into Vicky Phelan’s fight to expose the truth of what happened in the Cervical Check Scandal, as well as her own personal fight to stay alive. Seamus Murphy’s The Peculiar Sensation of Pat Ingoldsby examines Irish writer Ingoldsby’s unique world through his poems and candid anecdotes; while How to Tell a Secret finds filmmakers Anna Rogers and Shaun Dunne taking an artistic approach to HIV disclosure.

Documenting Irish music and culture, acclaimed music video maker Myles O'Reilly turns his lens to music documentary with the powerful Dark Horse on the Wind, about Irish folk singer and songwriter Liam Weldon, who had a lifelong interest in the songs of the Irish Travellers and whose music reflected a strong awareness of poverty, disadvantage and exploitation. The musical cultures of Ireland and India meet through the work of two of their greatest composers, acclaimed Indian classical musician Ustad Wajahat Khan and renowned Irish musician Peadar Ó Riada, in Dónal Ó Céilleachair’s documentary Continuing Traditions. In Alan Gilsenan’s film-poem Ghosts of Baggotonia, the cultural life of the area around Baggot Street is explored, and in  North Circular Luke McManus takes us on a journey of the sights and sounds of the legendary artery that links some of Dublin’s most beloved places.

The 2022 Festival Retrospective celebrates the work of Sarah Maldoror – continuing the focus on trailblazing Black women filmmakers initiated in last year’s event.

“We are all thrilled to celebrate our 20th anniversary year as a living, breathing cinematic experience," says Festival Director Gráinne Humphreys. "I am particularly delighted to premiere the superb line up of new Irish films and show these new works alongside their international counterparts. It’s a festival programme which I am extremely  proud of, packed with discoveries and gems. I’m thankful as ever to all our partners and friends for their support in helping us to realise a physical festival and to my colleagues for their commitment to making this the best festival possible. It has been a labour of love – so please enjoy.”

For more information see diff.ie