Irish Traveller culture has been captured in photographs and on film for decades. The distinctive Traveller identity and culture, based on a nomadic tradition, will be celebrated in the IFI with a programme of screenings and discussions on Wednesday, June 7th to mark Traveller Pride day.
Co-curated by IFI and Minceirs Whiden, Ireland’s only all-Traveller forum, this presentation includes free screenings and discussions of Traveller-related films from the 1940s to the present day.
Drawing from the collections of the IFI Irish Film Archive, the programme will present Traveller heritage as it was recorded over the decades, and will explore how that heritage was represented in fiction and non-fiction film.
Traveller Culture has changed dramatically over the past 60 years. These changes are due to number of factors such as assimilationist policies, discrimination, and lack of culturally appropriate provision and recognition. However, Travellers and Traveller organisations have struggled throughout these decades to have our culture recognised and valued by the Irish State. This event will provide a valuable insight into past and present Traveller culture for both Travellers and for the majority community.
Thomas McCann – Minceirs Whiden
The programme will include amateur films from the 1940s showing a well-attended Traveller memorial in Galway, ethnographic films from the 1950s recording bygone Traveller crafts, tourist films from the 1960s celebrating the nomadic Traveller lifestyle, films about Travellers’ rights, and recent films about contemporary Traveller culture. The programme will also include fictional representations of Travellers from the 1950s to the present day.
A limited number of free places for Traveller Pride Day are available now from the IFI Box Office in person or over the phone on 01-6793477.