Irish Film Berlin was founded in 2023 by Berlin-based Denis Madden and Irish-based Gary Hoctor of OFFline Film Festival. Irish Film Berlin takes up the mantle from Shebeen Flicks after it ran successfully in Berlin for several years until 2018. May 2023 saw three days of screenings take place in ACUD Kino where Irish filmmakers showcased their screen talent to eager audiences.

Now in its fifteenth year, OFFline Film Festival has been led by Gary Hoctor since its inception – bringing cultural cinema to Irish audiences over five days every October. As well as delivering a programme of short and feature length documentaries, animation and live action screen creativity, OFFline also runs successful youth and education strands of screenings and workshops. In 2018 OFFline established an Animation Residency part-funded by Creative Ireland which has seen two IFTA wins for animations produced at the Residency. The Festival is a recipient of annual Festival Investment Scheme funding from the Arts Council of Ireland. Recently it has spearheaded the formation of the Birr Festivals Collective which works collaboratively to address strategic goals in artistic development, audience engagement, and strengthening Birr’s position as an attractive and accessible cultural
destination.