About
The San Francisco Irish Film Festival
September 22nd – 25th, 2011
The San Francisco Irish Film Festival (SFIFF) was founded in 2003. This year, we will be celebrating our 8th annual festival. The festival presents the very best in contemporary Irish cinema, celebrating everything from features to documentaries to Irish language films (with English subtitles for those of us who didn’t spend a summer at a Gaeltacht). With the Irish short film rapidly becoming the dominant art from in Ireland, we hit the pub and celebrate with free pints of Magners Original Irish Cider and watch Ireland’s best short films during our annual Magners n’ Shorts night. A night not to be missed!
Throughout the year, we continue the celebration of Irish film in the Bay Area. Sign up for our newsletter to learn of our special events!
Staff
Niall McKay
Executive Director
Festival director Niall McKay founded the San Francisco Irish Film Festival in 2003. Niall’s critically acclaimed feature documentary “The Bass Player: A Song for Dad” was aired on RTÉ (Irish Television) in August and made its North American premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October. It was nominated for an Irish Film and Television Academy Award. It is described as an “absorbing, charming and deeply moving documentary” in the The Irish Sunday Independent. The film was financed by the Irish Arts Council, The Irish Film Board and RTE (the Irish national broadcaster). McKay won an Emmy for his documentary “Sikhs in America” about the challenges of being Sikh in the US, which aired on PBS stations nationwide. His work includes documentaries for PBS and dramas for cable television. He co-produced Irvine Welsh’s directorial debut, “Nuts.” Niall is also the co-founder of the Los Angeles Irish Film Festival. A former print journalist, Niall’s work has appeared in The Economist, The New York Times and Wired Magazine. You can email Niall at info@sfirishfilm(dot)com
Una Fannon
Co-Director
Una Fannon is the Co-Director of the San Francisco Irish Film Festival. She has spent most of her career as a diplomat for the Irish Foreign Service and served as Vice Consul at the Consulate General of Ireland in San Francisco from 2004 to 2008. As part of her duties as Vice Consul, Una was responsible for promoting all aspects of Irish culture in thirteen of the western states.
Ria Murphy
Deputy Director
Ria Murphy is the Deputy Director of the San Francisco Irish Film Festival. In addition to the festival, Ria is currently a producer at Pilot Productions in London where she produces travel shows. She recently finished her position as Associate Producer at the Oscar-nominated and Emmy-Award winning Promises Films where she worked on the outreach and distribution around the documentary film Our Summer in Tehran (aired on RTÉ Ireland, Public Broadcast Stations in the U.S., and HBO-Latin America in 2011). Ria is also an actress and is best known for her lead roles in Education of Saints, a coming-of-age film set in 90′s Ireland, and Kathmandu, a Nepali hit feature. Her actor’s portfolio can be found at www.riamurphy.com.
Kate Gunning
Director Sponsorship/Marketing
Kate Gunning is responsible for the SF Irish Film Festival marketing and sponsorship activities. Kate has a background in drama and is a strong advocate for the arts and independent film making. She runs a business consultancy, BioVisability, specializing in market development for emerging international life science and clean technology companies. Kate is also a co-founder and vice chair of Biolink – USA, a network of Irish scientists and engineers working in the US.
Sponsors
Imagine Ireland - Culture Ireland
The IFI
Consul General
