The 13th Underground Cinema Film Festival is an IFTA (Irish Film & Television Academy) Affiliated International Film Festival located in Dublin in Ireland.  A champion of emerging filmmakers, Underground Cinema has the belief that no matter what the film’s budget or the director’s vision it’s the filmmakers passion that drives a film.​

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​As technology allows greater access to short films as well as filmmaking tools, an increasing number of people are turning to short filmmaking as a form of expression and an opportunity to explore creative freedom.  Within the submissions we received this year we saw a wave of truly original and outrageously distinctive films united by their uncompromised spirit. This year we will present a new generation of adventurous independent filmmaking, in which boundaries are explored, pushed and often broken. The creative means employed in these films will take audiences on a wild ride towards the future of cinematic storytelling.

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We have been screening independent films online with our monthly screenings since May 2020.  Last September we hosted the 11th Underground Cinema Film Festival entirely online.  And what have we learned over the past two years since we began screening online is that it works and works very well!  The numbers viewing the films online are huge.  At last years festival we had close to 10,000 views.  That's a very impressive number for a three day event.  It works so well because film makers can connect.  Filmgoers and talent from the film can see and speak to each other via Skype/Zoom/Google Meet.   It creates a conversation. New technology allows the public to interact with actors and film makers that  are ordinarily inaccessible to them.  Filmgoers have a passion to discuss the movies they’ve seen. A screening of short films, feature and documentaries provides a forum by which like-minded people experience a sense of community, which encourages personal contact, ongoing conversations and relationships.  This year all online films will be available to view for the three days of the festival.  

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We have kept our ticketing simple. You can buy a single ticket for a specific screening or you can buy a number of different passes.  The full list of passes available are listed below.  

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The awards this year for the festival will be announced online on the evening of Sunday September 18th directly after the closing film Bound to Work.   The awards this year are as follows:

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Best Independent Feature Film
Best Independent Short Film
Best Student Short Film
Best Documentary
Best One Minute Short Film

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To finish up I'd like to say a huge thank you to all the filmmakers who submitted their work to UCFF  Your support has been greatly appreciated and we look forward to welcoming those who can make it to the festival this year to Dun Laoghaire.

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Dave Byrne

Festival Director