SUN & STARS INT'L FILM FESTIVAL Presents Two Award-Worthy Films From Ireland

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - EntSun -- (West Palm Beach, FL – January 24, 2025) The Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars International Film Festival© (SASIFF), presented by MorseLife, returns for its third season with screenings at the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts (Jan. 23-Jan. 30, 2025) and EVO Entertainment Delray Marketplace (Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2025). Among the 27 world-class films are two award worthy productions from Ireland.

HOUSEWIFE OF THE YEAR

(Documentary, 2024, Florida Premiere. Directed by Cierán Cassidy.  Ireland, 77-minutes)

Winner of Best Irish Feature Documentary at the 2024 Galway Film Fleadh.  From 1968 to 1995, Irish television annually featured the "Housewife of the Year" contest in which mostly-middle-aged mothers of many children competed for the crown and sash and the grand prize of a gas range after demonstrating their skill in household arts including preparing a simple meal. Scenes from the show's history range from humorously kitsch to shockingly sad, revealing a life with parameters strictly proscribed by society and the Catholic church, and in which motherhood was not optional.  The film's present-day encounters with surviving winners revive mixed memories while delving into once-forbidden subjects including virginity and marriage, unwed motherhood, contraception, and husbands wedded to the pub.

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Saturday, January 25 – 1 pm / The Kravis Center's Rinker Playhouse

THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN

(Drama, 2023, Florida Premiere. Directed by Pat Collins. Ireland, UK, 111-minutes)

Seasoned documentary filmmaker Collins (Song of Granite), whose earlier work has explored disappearing aspects of Irish culture, turns to fiction with this adaptation of John McGahern's novel.  Joe (Barry Ward) and Kate (Anna Bederke) abandon trendy London careers for a quiet life in the Irish countryside where Joe was born and where the seasons rule the rhythm of their days. The locals regard them with suspicion, especially when they aren't seen at the village church. Collins delves deep for the old stories of belonging, departure, and return. The cast includes veteran actors of the Irish stage and screen, including Lalor Roddy, Ruth McCabe, Brendan Conroy, Seán McGinley, and more. Best Film, 2024 Irish Film and Television Awards. "The Emerald Isle has rarely looked greener"—Eye for Film.

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Attached Images:

(Photo Credit: Sun & Stars International Film Festival)

1. HOUSEWIFE OF THE YEAR – Rinker Playhouse, January 25

2. THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN – Rinker Playhouse, January 27

Available for Interview:

Barbara Scharres, Artistic Director

The Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars International Film Festival

773.875.0304

Bscharres@sasiff.org

Media Contact:

Gary Schweikhart

PR-BS

561.756.4298

gary@pr-bs.net