Film fans and filmmakers will return to Kilcar this St Brigid’s Bank Holiday weekend for the second edition of the village’s international film festival.
In its first year, director M.A. Littler planned to screen just three films at Aislann Chill Chartha. The idea quickly grew, attracting 11 titles and audiences from much further afield.
Visitors travelled from New Zealand, the USA and Canada, while members of the Gaeltacht diaspora chose Kilcar and Carrick for their winter break.
The success of the first festival brought Littler back to the drawing board, with ambitions to expand the programme for year two.
The 2026 festival runs from 30th January to 2nd February at Aislann Chill Chartha and features a programme with a strong emphasis on Irish-language cinema, maritime themes, personal stories, music and a sense of place.
There is a particular focus on work rooted in lived experience and cultural identity, alongside a Canadian thread highlighting shared maritime traditions between the west coast of Ireland and North Atlantic countries.
“At the start, we were just hoping people would show up,” said Marc Alexander Littler, festival founder and German-South African filmmaker, author and founder of Slowboat Films.
“Now we are receiving films from all over the world, and with local support and funding, we are looking at ways to make it an annual event with workshops, more youth involvement and deeper international links.”
With seven sold-out screenings and 85% occupancy overall at the 2025 event, Littler says the festival brings people into the area, supports local businesses and reminds audiences that creativity is a life force.
” Donegal audiences are open-minded and curious. They’ll give anything a chance — “sure something different.”
Cinegael Paradiso
He said the impact of the festival is most evident in moments like “seeing a packed room watching a slow, quiet film in total silence, followed by long discussions that continue into the early hours at the pub. That is when you know it is working.”
Many of the filmmakers will once again attend screenings and discussions, giving audiences the opportunity to engage directly with the creative process. The programme includes documentaries, short films and features exploring coastal life, heritage and the role of music in storytelling.
The festival opens with Cinegael Paradiso, which tells the story of Irish independent filmmaker Bob Quinn’s production company in Conamara during the 1970s. The award-winning documentary, directed by his son Robert Quinn, was brought out of the archives last year to mark 50 years since the making of Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoire.
Other highlights include a filmmaker session with Sarah Share, director of If I Shall Fall from Grace – The Shane MacGowan Story, with MacGowan’s widow Victoria Mary Clarke also expected to attend.
Michael Higgins also will be attending to discuss his exceptional essay film, A Shooting On Brandon.
If I Shall Fall from Grace – The Shane McGowan Story
Kilcar will also host the European premiere of Another Light on the Road, in which 92-year-old artist June Leaf invited friends and neighbours from rural Nova Scotia to come sit in her kitchen and remember her late husband, Robert Frank. Frank, a legendary Swiss-American photographer and filmmaker, moved to Mabou, Nova Scotia, seeking solitude and distance from the art world, a retreat that profoundly shaped the quiet, reflective final decades of his life and work.
The festival closes with Littler premiering a black-and-white version of his 2016 film Armenia, a poetic blend of film, literature and history.
Armenia
Thirteen films will be screened over three days, with another diverse audience expected to travel to the area. Visitors will have the chance to see films they would not normally encounter, while also providing a welcome boost to local hospitality businesses during the shoulder season.
All screenings will take place in the newly upgraded cinema at the Aislann Cultural Centre. The venue features a state-of-the-art Christie projector, comfortable cinema seating and an immersive surround sound system to view films that stay with you after the credits roll.
Littler describes the festival as “small, honest and quietly powerful”, with much of that power coming from its setting in Kilcar.
“It is unexpected. People arrive and say, ‘I did not think something like this could happen here,’ and that is the point. It changes how people see the place, and themselves.”
Event Details:
Kilcar International Film Festival to bring bank holiday boost to south-west Donegal was last modified: January 8th, 2026 by Rachel McLaughlin
Tags: