Fitzwilliam Square

The festival is particularly interested in contemporary Brazilian cinema and has given a platform to different voices, including women, indigenous communities, queer voices and Afro-Brazilian stories.

After tonight's opening, the festival moves to the Dot Theatre in Dublin 2 at 6A Pembroke Place, just off Pembroke Street, between Fitzwilliam Square and Leeson Street, with another film each day from Thursday through Sunday.

Do you have any idea what that used to be called, that premises, the Dot Theatre? No.

Did you know of the Focus Theatre? Oh, okay.

And when you actually delve into the arts and culture, you find nukes and crannies that you never thought existed.

There's a place on, I think it's on Fitzwilliam Street or Fitzwilliam Square near there, the Dot Theatre, which I'd never heard of until a couple of years ago.

It's completely hidden down at Back Alleyway and it is a beautiful space.

And it's run by a lovely couple who put on improv shows and do various different things.

Well, I'll give you a different, and I may have mentioned this on the podcast previously, so my apologies to listeners if I have.

But I remember one day that we were having a lunch with Clinton in Tony O'Reilly's house in Fitzwilliam Square, and when Clinton left, we were watching out the window, uh, as he went out, and he's, people started coming out of all the offices around, and he just plowed into the crowds.

Mm.

And the Secret Service were, "Oh my God, what's he doing?" And just, like, he came alive going around shaking hands, and suddenly-

Yeah

...

in Fitzwilliam Square like, like that.

Yeah.

And I invented this, by the way, called the Department with Responsibility for Making Arrangements for the Unification of Ireland.

And they operate out of this Georgian building in Fitzwilliam Square.

And behind this door, since 1958, they've been grappling with all of the issues involved in bringing the Republic and Ireland.

Northern Ireland together in the event of unification happening.

You know, there were bunkers, there were pills distributed, like we were future-proofing for that.

So I was kind of thinking, why wouldn't he have future-proofed for a United Ireland? So the idea behind this department, they actually work behind the cover of an Office of Public Works river rerouting department in Fitzwilliam Square in Dublin.

There's 10 or 12 civil servants in there.

Since 1958, they've essentially been beavering away, trying to figure out if Ireland is united one day, we need to be ready for this.

And it does work much better, I think, as a novel.

So the idea is there's a secret government department in Fitzwilliam Square.

And, you know, the plate on the outside on the wall says Office of Public Works River rerouting.

But that's not what really happens in the building.