The programme for the 2016 IFI Documentary Festival which takes place this September, was recently announced.

One of the IFI’s flagship festivals, the annual IFI Documentary Festival, returns this September, running over 4 days from 22nd to 25th September. The festival will showcase the finest original international and Irish documentary films and provides a platform for Irish filmmakers to show their work with 13 feature length documentaries, 1 world premiere and 8 Irish premieres.

On its announcement, Head of Cinema Programming at the IFI, David O’Mahony said: “The festival acts as a barometer of where the art of documentary filmmaking is today – as well as being a snapshot of the best of contemporary documentary, the program also presents work that argues for new modes of expression in this important form of filmmaking. We’re delighted to be welcoming some of the best International and Irish documentaries to IFI Documentary Festival this year and to welcome filmmakers to discuss and contextualise their work with IFI audiences.”

This year highlights include:

Mattress Men following Michael Flynn’s journey as he reinvents himself as Mattress Mick in an attempt to save his struggling business. This Irish documentary will open the Festival on 22 September.

How To Defuse A Bomb: The Project Children Story. A 1970s scheme saw children from Northern Ireland offered the chance to spend their summers in suburban USA. With contributions from Bill Clinton, Martin McGuinness and the now-adult children this screening has its world premiere screening at the festival.

An intriguing look at Ireland through the eyes of journalist Peter Lennon who returned home to Ireland to find a country stagnating under the weight of its own history in Blindboy presents Rocky Road to Dublin – with a screening of this iconic 1968 film, followed by a discussion with the Rubberbandits’ Blindboy Boatclub.

This year’s Irish shorts programme features eight works capturing the pulse of the traditional documentary scene, drawing on new shorts from filmmakers living in Ireland.

An intriguing drama-documentary hybrid takes us on a cinematic odyssey into the heart of war-tormented Afghanistan in The Land of the Enlightened. Shot over seven years, director Pieter-Jan De Pue paints a whimsical yet haunting picture of the country at a time of flux.

The Festival also features a strong international programme with films from USA, UK, Netherlands and Israel. The full programme is available on the IFI website.

Tickets are now available and cost €10.50 (excluding opening film which includes post show reception (€15) and Blindboy presents The Rocky Road to Dublin (€12)). A special package is also available – 5 films for €40. Available in person at the IFI box office only.