Irish film calendar: what to plan around each year.

How to use this page

This page is an evergreen planning guide rather than a live event database. Use it to understand the types of film events worth watching for, then check the official cinema, festival or organiser page for the current dates and booking details.

Recurring planning windows

• Festival windows: Watch for multi-day film festivals, documentary festivals, short-film showcases and local arts festivals with cinema strands.
• School holiday periods: Family releases and matinee programming usually matter more during mid-term, Easter, summer and Christmas windows.
• Autumn awards season: Independent and prestige releases often cluster later in the year.
• Director and genre seasons: Independent venues may programme retrospectives, horror seasons, classic cinema runs or world-cinema strands.

Build your own watchlist

A useful Irish film calendar has three layers: films you want to see on a big screen, festivals you would travel for, and local venues whose programming you trust. The mistake is only tracking individual titles. Good cinemas often surface films you did not know to search for.

What Kino.ie will add next

The next useful expansion is a county-by-county venue and festival watchlist, kept separate from live showtimes. That keeps the information maintainable while still helping people discover where to look before booking.