A cast of thousands (well, nearly) has turned out for the premiere of Nora, on the first night of the Dublin Film Festival on Thursday. Heading up the celeb guestline at the James Joyce Centre is actor Susan Lynch, who plays the title role of Nora Barnacle, the Galway woman who won Joyce's heart: she is wowing fans with her charm. One of her co-stars, Peter McDonald, is also smiling and shaking hands.
Film buffs are also watching out for Johnny Lee Miller, of Trainspotting fame, and his girlfriend Nicole Appleton, from the group All Saints. Sadie Frost, actor and wife of actor Jude Law (who couldn't make it), lends even more glamour and beauty to the festival buzz. Later, all 250 guests party late into the night in the Great Room of the Shelbourne Hotel.
Over the course of the 10-day event, all manner of famous directors, writers and actors will be whizzing from screening to screening and from reception to private party. Ron Shelton, the director of Blade, Cobb and Bill Durham, is expected to fly in with his wife, Lolita Davidovich, to attend the screening of his new film, Play it to the Bone. The festival will feature a retrospective of his work, screening seven films by the Californian. Also, it is hoped director Mike Figgis will be in Dublin for his film adaptation of Miss Julie, the famous Strindberg play, which opens here next Friday.