Irish Abroad: John Crowley brings Brooklyn to Virginia (Film Festival)

The 28th annual Virginia Film Festival has added 20 new films to its programme, including John Crowley’s Irish emigration drama Brooklyn. The festival will be held in Charlottesville from November 5th to 8th.

Other films announced include Paulo Sorrentino’s Youth, Trey Edward Shults‘ SXSW winning Krisha, and Laurie Anderson’s Heart of a Dog. These join awards favourites Son of Saul and Carol.

Set in the 1950s, Brooklyn sees a young woman move from a small town in Ireland to Brooklyn, where she has the opportunity for work, for a future and for love. The film is an adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s best-selling novel by the equally best-selling British author Nick Hornby. Intermission director Crowley has gathered an all-star Irish and British cast, that features Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent, and Julie Walters.

Brooklyn is an Irish/British co-production from Wildgaze Films, Finola Dwyer Productions, Parallel Films and Item 7, with co-finance from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board. Brooklyn will be released in Irish cinemas on November 6th.

The Virginia Film Festival is presented by the University of Virginia and the Office of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts. The festival is one of Virginia’s most important cultural landmarks, and one of the most respected regional destination film festivals in the United States.