Eliza Lynch: Queen of Paraguay

Presented in association with Fairfield University and Irish Film Institute (IFI)

Thursday, October 23 | 7 pm

Directed by Alan Gilsenan
2013, 75 minutes

“The film’s emotional heart is provided by Maria Doyle Kennedy’s hypnotic interpretation of Lynch.” – The Irish Times

“Alan Gilsenan’s films since the late 1980s probably stand as the most substantial body of work documenting and exploring contemporary Irish society in an unashamedly cinematic language.” – The Irish Times

Eliza Lynch: Queen of Paraguay is an absorbing Irish documentary recounting the life of Eliza Lynch, the Cork-born beauty who is revered in Paraguay as a national heroine. Her relationship with President Francisco Solano Lopez is one of the most intriguing, yet one least known lives in modern history. An epic story of hunger, war, wealth, of family, love, tragedy and loss told through the eyes of Paraguay’s forgotten Queen.

Guided by Michael Lillis and Ronan Fanning—the authors of her meticulously researched biography—renowned Irish director Alan Gilsenan takes us on a unique, compassionate, and epic journey from famine-stricken Ireland to the battlefields of South America’s bloodiest war.

Join us after the film for a talk back with director Alan Gilsenan.

For ages 16 and up

Alan Gilsenan is a Dublin-based filmmaker, writer, and theater director whose work has appeared in the cinema and on the BBC TV, ITV, Channel 4, RTE, PBS, SBS Australia, and the History Channel, among other television venues. In 2009 he was appointed to the Board of Ireland’s state broadcaster RTÉ. He is also on the Board of Fighting Words, a creative writing centre for young people founded by Sean Love and novelist Roddy Doyle.

All films are presented in association with Irish Film Institute (IFI), Ireland’s national cultural institution for film. IFI International is funded by Culture Ireland. IFI is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.