THE IRISH Film Institute (IFI) will add a third cinema as part of a major redevelopment of its premises on Eustace Street in Dublin’s Temple Bar area. Construction begins next month and is expected to be completed by the end of October this year.
The new cinema will be located on the site of the meeting room on the Eustace Street side of the building. It will have a capacity of 60 seats. The existing IFI cinemas can accommodate 258 people in the ground-floor auditorium, and 106 in the upstairs venue.
As is the case with the two existing cinemas, the new cinema will be equipped with the latest digital projection technology. It will be equipped to screen films in 16mm and other formats, allowing better access to material from the Irish Film Archive and emerging Irish filmmakers.
The extra cinema will allow the IFI to broaden its programme, allowing longer runs of successful films and complementing the IFI’s programme of special events, seasons, festivals and courses.
“This cinema expansion and redevelopment marks an exciting point in the IFI’s history,” Sarah Glennie, the institute’s director, said yesterday. “Since opening in 1992, the IFI has brought the best of film culture to audiences in Ireland, and this development will allow us to broaden the scope and depth of our programme as well as introducing new audiences to the Irish Film Archive, which is one of Ireland’s most important cultural resources.”
The redevelopment will also involve the renovation of the IFI’s public areas. This will include provision of new washroom facilities and improved box office and information services. The IFI bar and restaurant will be modernised.
The redevelopment will take place primarily during weekdays, when the building will be closed.
The existing cinemas will continue to provide a full service on evenings and weekends Irish cinema ticket sales for January this year exceeded 1.7 million, the highest on record for that month.