The Office of The Northern Ireland Executive was thrilled to take part in Scéal Eile, the 2025 Irish Film Festival Belgium, which celebrates film from across the island of Ireland. On 9 April, ONIEB sponsored screenings of three Northern Ireland films, Dead Man’s Money, Dear Imelda and Oscar-winning An Irish Goodbye as part of the festival’s week long programme. All three films were excellent examples of the depth of creativity in the Northern Ireland Film Industry, which has been enjoying growing success in the past few years, supported by NI Screen.
We were delighted to be joined by the writer and director of Dear Imelda, a team of two cousins, Declan Curran and Árón Holden, one of whom also stars in the short film. They gave an introduction before the screening of their film, a heart-warming short about a grandson and grandmother forced to live together in a remote part of Ireland.
The evening continued with a screening of Oscar-winning short film An Irish Goodbye. This short film follows two estranged brothers on a farm in rural Northern Ireland who are forced to reunite after the untimely death of their mother. But when the pair discover an unfulfilled bucket list belonging to their late mum, their pained reunion takes an altogether different course.
After a short intermission, the audience enjoyed the evening’s feature film, Dead Man’s Money, introduced by its writer and director Paul Kennedy. The mysterious drama follows Young Henry who conspires with his wife and chauffeur to prevent his wealthy uncle’s new romantic interest from inheriting his fortune. Their plan goes awry, leading to a spiral of distrust and dire consequences for all involved. Described as ‘darkly entertaining’, guests thoroughly enjoyed the film.
Scéal Eile is the result of dedication and hard work from organiser Declan Lynch, and ONIEB is glad to have the opportunity to take part and share three fantastic Northern Ireland films with a Brussels audience.
