13th Annual Baton Rouge Irish Film Festival

August 11-12, 2023 + August 14 for Pub Night

Dear Irish Film Lovers,

We are very excited to announce we’re returning to Celtic Media this year for our beloved film festival. We were extremely fortunate after a two-year hiatus, thanks to the pandemic, to hold an abbreviated festival at Celtic Media last year.

We are very happy to say we’ll be returning there this year to allow fans of Irish cinema to get that real theater-seating experience! In the past, the BRIFF was held the last weekend in July but this year it will be in August, just a few weeks later.

So please Save the Date for August 11-12, 2023, plus a Pub Night on the 14th! Get ready to view our picks for the festival. Thanks so much for all your support and patronage over the years and if you’d like to be a sponsor of this Baton Rouge Irish Club tradition we’d love to talk to you. (Contact Brooke Thorington at brookethorington@gmail.com).

Have a lovely St. Patrick’s Day and we’re counting down the days until you’re ‘Irish Eyes are Smiling’ once again for our 2023 selection of films.

Sincerely,

Brooke Thorington and Kevin O’Neil

Co-chairs of the 2023 Baton Rouge Film Festival

 

 

Congratulations, RUBY!

Congratulations to Director Michael Creagh and the entire RUBY cast & crew for taking home the O’Kalem Award for Audience Favorite Short Film of the 2019 Baton Rouge Irish Film Festival!  The award (pictured above) will be making its way safely across the pond to the RUBY team very soon.

This year’s Wee Irish Film Night took place on Friday, July 26th at the Manship Theatre, and 11 Irish short films were screened for a sold-out crowd.  This year’s selection of shorts were some of the best we’ve seen, and picking an audience favorite was no easy task.  A sincere “Thank You!” to all the short films, filmmakers and their teams for participating in this year’s Festival and helping to make it such a success.  We can’t wait to see what you create next!

Pub Night: July 22nd

There’s lots of exciting news about our 2019 Festival lineup just around the corner, but in the meantime, get excited for our “Pub Night” Festival kickoff party happening Monday, July 22nd at Phil Brady’s!

We’ll have Irish Trivia with prizes, followed by the hilarious Irish film “The Van”, starring Colm Meaney, written by Roddy Doyle and directed by Stephen Frears. As always, Phil Brady’s will have the bar stocked with Irish beer, and $1 burgers will be flying out of the kitchen. There’s no better way to beat the Monday blues and get geared up for more Irish film on Friday and Saturday! Doors open at 6pm, Irish trivia starts at 6:30pm, and films will roll at 7pm.

Best of all, this event is FREE and open to the public! Check out the trailer for THE VAN here:

2019 Submissions Are Now Open!

The submission season for the upcoming 2019 Baton Rouge Irish Film Festival has begun!  Submissions will remain open through April 30th, 2019, with certain exceptions made through May 31st, and acceptance notifications will go out on or before June 30th.  So get your submissions in now!  Head on over to our SUBMIT page for all the relevant submission criteria, rules and guidelines.  We look forward to seeing your film!

Congratulations, Man To Man!

Man To Man Acceptance
2018 O'Kalem Award
BRIFF Committee and Irish Club
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Congratulations to A.W. Stevenson and the entire Man To Man crew for winning the 2018 O’Kalem Award for Audience Favorite Short Film of the Baton Rouge Irish Film Festival!

We’re happy to report that members of the BRIFF Committee, the Baton Rouge Irish Club, and representatives from Louisiana Economic Development and the city of Baton Rouge traveled to Ireland with the award, and personally presented it to Lead Actor Hugh Gormley and Director of Photography Rua Meegan during a ceremony at the Irish Film Institute on August 23rd, 2018. And they also screened some Louisiana films for the audience! It was a unique experience for everyone involved, and it’s one that BRIFF hopes to continue in the coming years.

2017 O’Kalem Award Update

We’re happy to report that the 2017 O’Kalem Award has made its way safely over the pond and into the arms of Gridlock director Ian Hunt Duffy (pictured).  Another huge round of congratulations to the entire Gridlock team, especially since they continue to rack up awards on the Festival circuit!  We can’t wait to see what you guys do next.

Visit our awards page for a full run-down on the history of the O’Kalem Award of the Baton Rouge Irish Film Festival.

Congratulations, Rúbaí!

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Congratulations to RÚBAÍ for taking home the 2014 O’Kalem Award of the Baton Rouge Irish Film Festival for Audience Favorite Short Film!

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And a very special “thank you!” to all the shorts who were featured during Wee Irish Film Night at the 2014 Festival:  The Ledge End of Phil (from accounting), The Last Days of Peter Bergmann, Rubaí, Breakfast Wine, The Missing Scarf, Mechanic, Scratch, and Four Bhanríon (Four Queens).

This was definitely the strongest lineup of shorts we’ve ever had, and don’t know how we’re going to top them in 2015!