SUN & STARS INT'L FILM FESTIVAL Presents Two Award-Worthy Films From Ireland, January 25 & 27 in WPB

Arts and Entertainment

January 25, 2025

(West Palm Beach, FL – January 24, 2025) The Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars International Film Festival© (SASIFF), presented by MorseLife, returns for its third season with screenings at the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts (Jan. 23-Jan. 30, 2025) and EVO Entertainment Delray Marketplace (Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2025). Among the 27 world-class films are two award worthy productions from Ireland.

HOUSEWIFE OF THE YEAR

(Documentary, 2024, Florida Premiere. Directed by Cierán Cassidy. Ireland, 77-minutes)

Winner of Best Irish Feature Documentary at the 2024 Galway Film Fleadh. From 1968 to 1995, Irish television annually featured the “Housewife of the Year” contest in which mostly-middle-aged mothers of many children competed for the crown and sash and the grand prize of a gas range after demonstrating their skill in household arts including preparing a simple meal. Scenes from the show’s history range from humorously kitsch to shockingly sad, revealing a life with parameters strictly proscribed by society and the Catholic church, and in which motherhood was not optional. The film’s present-day encounters with surviving winners revive mixed memories while delving into once-forbidden subjects including virginity and marriage, unwed motherhood, contraception, and husbands wedded to the pub.

Saturday, January 25 – 1 pm / The Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse

THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN

(Drama, 2023, Florida Premiere. Directed by Pat Collins. Ireland, UK, 111-minutes)

Seasoned documentary filmmaker Collins (Song of Granite), whose earlier work has explored disappearing aspects of Irish culture, turns to fiction with this adaptation of John McGahern’s novel. Joe (Barry Ward) and Kate (Anna Bederke) abandon trendy London careers for a quiet life in the Irish countryside where Joe was born and where the seasons rule the rhythm of their days. The locals regard them with suspicion, especially when they aren’t seen at the village church. Collins delves deep for the old stories of belonging, departure, and return. The cast includes veteran actors of the Irish stage and screen, including Lalor Roddy, Ruth McCabe, Brendan Conroy, Seán McGinley, and more. Best Film, 2024 Irish Film and Television Awards. “The Emerald Isle has rarely looked greener”—Eye for Film.

Monday, January 27 – 7 pm / The Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse

For more information about the 27 international films that will be screened during SASIFF or to purchase tickets, please visit www.sasiff.org.

About The Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars International Film Festival:

The Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars International Film Festival©, presented by MorseLife, aims to bring highly anticipated, critically acclaimed, and thought-provoking films to Palm Beach County. As a world-class film festival, The Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars International represents a major contribution to the cultural life of Palm Beach County. SASIFF returns for a new season with screenings at the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts (Jan. 23-Jan. 30, 2025) and EVO Entertainment Delray (Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2025). For more information, please visit www.sasiff.org, www.facebook.com/DME.SASIFF and www.twitter.com/dmesasiff or www.instagram.com/dme_sasiff or contact [email protected] or 561.220.6735.

About MorseLife:

MorseLife serves more than 3,600 seniors every day on its campus in West Palm Beach and through its community outreach programs. Founded in 1983, MorseLife is a provider of health care and residential services for seniors in Palm Beach County. A charitable, not-for-profit organization, its programs also include short-term rehabilitation, long-term care, independent and assisted living, memory care assisted living, hospice, home health care, care management, meals-on-wheels, and PACE. Since its beginnings, MorseLife has built a reputation and tradition of caring for seniors with excellence, dignity, and compassion. For more information, visit morselife.org, www.facebook.com/MorseLife, www.twitter.com/MorseLifeHealth, www.instagram.com/morselifehealth or www.linkedin.com/company/morselife-inc-/ or contact [email protected].