Strandhill Film & Folk Festival Unveils 2025 Programme Celebrating Film, Music, and Place
The Strandhill Film & Folk Festival (SFFF) has announced its 2025 programme, promising a brilliant weekend of film, music, and cultural celebration through a curated line-up of screenings, performances, talks and workshops. Taking place from August 29–31 in Strandhill village, full details and tickets are available at www.strandhillfilmandfolkfestival.ie.
Now in its second year, the festival adds an exciting range of fringe events while keeping its intimate atmosphere, leaning in themes of nature, biodiversity and conservation. The festival is has been made possible by support from The Arts Council, the Creative Ireland Programme 2023–2027 and Sligo County Council.
Opening night at Shells Café features acclaimed filmmaker Neasa Ní Chianáin in a Director in Focus panel moderated by Sligo-based director Marian Quinn, presented in partnership with X-Pollinator and supported by the National Talent Academies. A networking reception with refreshments from Shells Café will follow (RSVP required).
On Saturday, August 30, two short film programmes will be screened in St Anne’s Church. The first showcases award-winning Irish work, including Farmers!? by Freddie Leyden, winner of Best Director: Irish Short at Cork International Film Festival, and Dancing with Strangers: From Palestine to Ireland by Gavin Fitzgerald and Dr Rita Marcalo, a choreographic act of resistance where four dancers in Gaza offer people in Ireland an embodied experience of their personal story of occupation and genocide.
The second programme celebrates regional filmmaking, with shorts from Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon and Donegal. Highlights include An Buachaill Nua, a heartfelt 1970s-set Sligo tale by Diarmuid Timmons, and A Day in the Sun, written and directed by Edwin Mulane’s, this stunning film uses Sligo’s natural beauty to great cinematic effect.
The headline music event features The Máirtín O’Connor Trio — Máirtín O’Connor, Cathal Hayden and Seamie O’Dowd — performing in the atmospheric St Anne’s Church on Saturday evening. Known for their virtuosity and deep roots in Irish traditional music, the trio are celebrated for their dynamic, soulful performances.
On Sunday, August 31, the festival presents A Sense of Place — a day of talks and workshops connecting audiences to local heritage, ecology and creativity, this day of free events is funded by the Creative Ireland Programme 2023-2027 and Sligo County Council.
Archaeologist Marion Dowd and writer Maura Gilligan, joined by musician Stephen O’Dowd, will weave together archaeology, folklore, memoir and poetry exploring the Cúil Irra peninsula. Wildlife cinematographer Peter Clyne and biodiversity officer Ruth Hanniffy will reveal Sligo’s wild wonders through captivating images and stories.
Artist Peter Crann will demonstrate Crankie Boxes — hand-cranked storytelling devices with scrolling images and live narration. Uilleann piper Leonard Barry will offer hands-on workshops for those wishing to learn this iconic Irish instrument.
