N.I.C.E. with Irish Film FestaJuly, 18th-19th 2025 — 21:45Piazza Pitti, Florence
IT’S N.I.C.E TO BE IN FLORENCE!
The festival is organized as part of Apriti Cinema, the open air film screenings that takes place every summer in the most beautiful locations in town.
The open-air cinema returns to the enchanting setting of Piazza Pitti with a series of free cinematic events. The evenings dedicated to N.I.C.E, in collaboration with Irish Film Festa.
These screenings are presented in association with the Irish Film Institute’s IFI International programme, supported by Culture Ireland.
How to reach the arena
This year, the summer arena is located in a new setting, Piazza Pitti. To promote sustainable mobility, we encourage you to reach us on foot or by bike.
The Piazza is only a twenty-minute walk from Santa Maria Novella station, offering a pleasant evening stroll through the streets of the city center. For those who prefer to use public transportation, the nearest bus stop is “Pitti” served by lines C3 and C4, or “Piazza San Felice,” served by line 11.
“For four years now, N.I.C.E. has brought new Italian cinema to Ireland. The great enthusiasm of the local audience made us want to return the favour. So we sought the support of Irish Film Festa, a festival that has been bringing the best of Irish cinema to Rome for 15 years now, under the expert artistic direction of Susanna Pellis.
The 2024 pilot edition proved to be a great success and we are therefore happy to be able to continue this year. Thanks to this valuable collaboration, film enthusiasts will have the opportunity to discover and appreciate a selection of high-quality Irish films, thus enriching the cultural offer of our city,‘ says Viviana Del Bianco, artistic director of N.I.C.E. ’We are also particularly proud to be able to count on the support of the Irish Film Institute for the realisation of these screenings.
Viviana del Bianco — Direttore Artistico N.I.C.E. Festival
“We are pleased to continue our collaboration with N.I.C.E. by presenting a selection of Irish Film Festa 2025 titles to the Florentine public. We are presenting four films in Florence: the short animated film winner of our prize, Retirement Plan, and the short documentary The Memories of Others, which received a special mention; and two of the feature films most appreciated by our audience, the drama King Frankie and the black comedy Dead Man’s Money. A mini-film festival that, in just two evenings, manages to convey the variety of contemporary Irish cinema, highlighting its different excellences – animation, documentary – and as always celebrating the multifaceted talent of its magnificent actors.”
PIAZZA PITTI, FLORENCE
Friday, July 18th — 21:45
The screening will be preceded by the short film “Retirement Plan”
RETIREMENT PLAN by John Kelly — 7′
KING FRANKIE by Dermot Malone — 95′
Free entry with no reservation required
Language: English with Italian subtitles
Sabato 19 LUG — 21:45
The screening will be preceded by the short film “The memories of others”
THE MEMORIES OF OTHERS by Pauline Vermare, Marc Lesser — 20′
KING FRANKIE by Paul Kennedy — 82′
Free entry with no reservation required
Language: English with Italian subtitles
Ireland, 2024 - Running Time: 7‘ - Animation
Retirement Plan
by John Kelly
Animation - Best Short Film IFF 2025
At apathy with his life, Ray dreams of the beauty and joy he will find in retirement. Narrated by Domhnall Gleeson.
Language: English with Italian subtitles
Ireland, 2024 - Running Time: 95‘ Drama
King Frankie
by Dermot Malone
After the death of his father, Dublin taxi driver Frankie Burke (Peter Coonan) is confronted by the ghosts of his past in the form of an unexpected visitor who he has not seen in 10 years. The arrival sends Frankie back in time to the worst day of his life – to the Celtic Tiger 5-star hotel where it all went wrong.
Language: English with Italian subtitles
Dermot Malone is a filmmaker based in Dublin. Before his debut feature KING FRANKIE, he worked predominantly in commercials. He is the founder of Banjoman company and of BMan Entertainment, the film + TV sister company of Banjoman.
United States, 2024 - Running Time: 20‘ - Documentary
The memories of others
by Pauline Vermare, Marc Lesser
Documentary - Special Mention IFF 2025
A short documentary film uncovering Japanese photographer Akihiko Okamura's extraordinary work in Ireland during the "Troubles", and the artistic and emotional impact of its recent rediscovery.
Made in collaboration with Photo Museum of Ireland, Dublin and Akihiko Okamura Archive, Tokyo.
Language: English with Italian subtitles
Northern Ireland, 2024 - Running Time: 82‘ Drama
Dead Man’s Money
by Paul Kennedy
When Young Henry’s wealthy uncle starts courting “the Widow” Maureen Tweed, he starts to fear that he’ll be written out of Old Henry’s will. Conspiring with his wife, Pauline, and a chauffeur with a chequered past, Young Henry puts a plan in motion to make sure that the Widow Tweed never sees a penny of the inheritance he thinks is rightfully his. However, when Pauline’s guilt threatens to expose them, fear and distrust starts to seed within the trio, leading to a series of events that there is no coming back from for any of them.
Language: English with Italian subtitles
Paul Kennedy è un attore, sceneggiatore, produttore e regista. In teatro ha recitato praticamente ovunque sia in Gran Bretagna che in Irlanda. Fra i suoi ruoli televisivi spiccano House of the Dragon, The Fall, Game of Thrones, The Frankenstein Chronicles, Line of Duty e Ripper Street. Fra i tanti film interpretati Omagh (2008), Five Minutes of Heaven (2009), Saving the Titanic (2012), ‘71 (2014), e Nightride (2021, da lui anche prodotto) sono stati tutti presentati ad Irish Film Festa. Prima di Dead Man’s Money, Paul ha scritto e diretto Made in Belfast (Irish Film Festa 2014) e il corto Parting Gift (Irish Film Festa 2021).