Mission Statement

Silk Road International Film Festival’s mission is to present an exclusive array of world cinema and cinema of the “Silk Road” thus connecting audiences and artists through a curated culturally diverse selection of films, and a unique shared cultural and cinematic experience.

The Festival

The Silk Road International Film Festival returns for its 12th edition between the 11th-15th November 2024 screening an exclusive array of world cinema showcasing a rich diversity of features, documentaries, shorts and student films.

SRIFF provides a framework on how intercultural understanding & collaboration can be forged even outside the realm of cinema. SRIFF aims to narrow distances between people & cultures, to break boundaries & foster cross-cultural collaboration & social change. SRIFF is also a place to learn. International guests, filmmakers, artists, and organizers alike share in the highly mutual act of learning about people, traditions & ideas that, seemingly distant, become quite familiar.

ABOUT

Founded in 2012, the Silk Road International Film Festival (SRIFF) is fast becoming an internationally acclaimed film festival which is held annually in Ireland. The festival also holds screenings, talks & events.

SRIFF celebrates world cinema where we discover new films and voices from around the world.

As well as screening international films there is a special selection of films from the “Silk Road”, countries part of the historical network of the Silk Road ancient trade routes. The selection called “BRFFA – Belt & Road International Film Festival Alliance” includes Asian, Arab, Middle Eastern, African, Mediterranean and European cinema.

SRIFF identifies emerging international talent and connects them with audiences and industry.

MISSION

Celebrate excellence in screen based storytelling.  Promote cinema of the world and Belt & Road. Facilitate international contacts between filmmakers. Narrow distances between people & cultures, break boundaries & foster cross-cultural collaboration & social change.

VISION

• SRIFF produce screenings, talks and events as a catalyst for a diverse community to discover, discuss and share the creativity and craft of storytelling on screen.
• SRIFF holds film screenings, premieres, masterclasses & chats with industry guests.
• SRIFF provides a platform for professional & student filmmakers to showcase their work internationally.
• SRIFF provides a platform for filmgoers to view and learn from the countries invited other cinematic influences.
• SRIFF bridges cultures and minds through the medium that is film.
• SRIFF facilitates international contacts between filmmakers, thus raising international dialogue, understanding and cultural integration.
• SRIFF encourages co-production opportunities and new film treaties
• SRIFF is a member of the “Belt & Road Film Festival Alliance” promoting and supporting Film Culture Exchange worldwide.

LOCATION

Ireland

CATEGORIES

FEATURE
DOCUMENTARY
ANIMATION
SHORT
STUDENT FILM
MASTERCLASSES

World renowned filmmakers attend each year to give masterclasses, previous guests have included Mahmoud Kalari, Vittorio Storaro & Béla Tarr.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Chats with industry guests, masterclasses and seminars.

BELT AND ROAD

Support & promote the multinational alliance under the Belt & Road International Film Festival Alliance.

SRIFF celebrates world cinema where we discover new films and voices from around the world.  

The Silk Road changed history, largely because the people who managed to travel along its routes planted their cultures like seeds of exotic species carried to distant lands.  Today, the Silk Road International Film Festival brings together filmmakers and creators from around the world to introduce their countries’ cultures and traditions through their films and carry out the Silk Road legacy of sharing and exchange.

Cinema is a reflection of society. Every country has stories to tell – about their past, their culture now and views of what the future will look like through their eyes. Film, therefore, holds a truly unique place in the story of our civilisation. It is an art, a language, a medium for education and collaboration.

The Silk Road International Film Festival brings an eclectic range of films to the audience – rich diversity of features, documentaries, animations, shorts and student films.  Apart from film screenings, the SRIFF features masterclasses & chats with industry guests.

Besides creating a platform for international filmmakers to network and promote their work, the Silk Road International Film Festival gives student filmmakers an opportunity to showcase their work on an international scale.

The Festival is a caravanserai where people from different backgrounds, speaking different languages, and having varied interests can nonetheless stop for a moment on their life’s journey, gather with others, trade and share their art, knowledge, and perspectives.

Audiences are able to engage with new traditions and cultures by finding parallels with their own. This is why we believe that the Festival can provide a framework for how intercultural understanding and collaboration can be forged even outside the realm of cinema. The festival directors hope to narrow distances between people and cultures, to break boundaries and foster cross-cultural collaboration and social change.

The Festival is also a place to learn. Visitors, filmmakers, artists, and organizers alike share in the highly mutual act of learning about people, traditions, and ideas that, seemingly distant, become quite familiar.

We hope that followers of the Silk Road International Film Festival will be inspired & learn from other countries cinema and culture.

Benefits of Silk Road International Film Festival:

Audiences are able to engage with new cultures.

Promotes intercultural cinema which in turn promotes dialog; bridges cultures, and bridges minds.

Enriches humanity, expands people’s horizons and brings together cultures and communities through exploring our differences

Encourages cross-disciplinary encounters, professional collaborations and cultural entrepreneurship.

Facilitates international contact between filmmakers

Art and cinema effortlessly cross geographical borders and could have the power to solve economic and political challenges by creating opportunities for co-productions and cross-region and cross-country collaborations.

SRIFF seeks the edge where the arts, cinema and business come together to spark new ways of looking at the world.

Facilitates tourism, enterprise, arts, cultural exchanges & social inclusion.

The Silk Road International Film Festival aspires to continue the Silk Road cultural heritage, which in its heyday sustained a multicultural collaboration that strung together diverse groups.

Today, more than two thousand years after it originated, we invite you to travel along the new Silk Road with us through the Silk Road International Film Festival.