Cléa van der Grijn film screening: Elisa in Wonderland (with Q+A)

Saturday 13th March, 2pm

Dir: Cléa van der Grijn, Ireland, 2025, 105 mins, 18+

Following a period of rehabilitation, Elisa (Nora Ní Anluain Fay) returns to her ancestral stately home, Stradbally, where she is haunted by acute anxiety, mental illness, and struggles with addiction. Despite the tender ministrations of Mary (Hilary Bowen-Walsh), the devoted housekeeper, she finds herself unravelling as reality and imagination blur and the paintings in her room come to life to pull her into their surreal narratives.

Inspired by “The Raven” and other works by Edgar Allan Poe, this powerful and unsettling cinematic journey delves into the depths of the human psyche to explore themes of loss, madness, and the shadowy forces within.

This second feature from internationally acclaimed visual artist Clea Van der Grijn, was the 2023 recipient of the Arts Council Authored Works Award which is presented in partnership with IFI.

Text - Sunniva O'Flynn

Cléa van der Grijn is a visual artist who transitioned seamlessly into art filmmaking, bringing a deep-rooted understanding of the visual experience into every frame. While her painting and film practices are independent, they remain conceptually and emotionally intertwined — each probing the fragilities and complexities of the human psyche. Her films are crafted with the same visual sensitivity and compositional rigour as her paintings, where each frame is treated as a work of art in its own right.

Tickets: Free, booking advised