OPENING NIGHT EVENT: Thursday November 2. 7.00pm. Ticketholders can head to the Cinema Nova foyer/ bar for a pre-film event to open the festival. Complimentary drink and live music included in the ticket price. Feature to begin at 8.45pm sharp followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with the cast and crew.

LAKELANDS takes place in a small town in the midlands – the sort of place where Gaelic football is a religion, where identity is defined by what one can do on the pitch. The film tells the story of Cian, a young Gaelic footballer who struggles to come to terms with a career-ending injury after a violent attack on a night out. At the same time, he begins a friendship with Grace, a nurse who is back in town from London. Cian tries to find meaning in other areas of life, but the pull from the team and pressure from the town is strong.

LAKELANDS has a small town heart, but Cian’s journey - the discovery that a person is not defined by what he does, but who you allow yourself to be - is universal.