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In the emerald shadows of Ireland’s postcolonial landscape, a revolution is brewing—not in the streets, but in the songs. CELTIC UTOPIA (ÚTÓIPE CHEILTEACH), the striking new documentary from Stockholm-based filmmakers Dennis Harvey and Lars Lovén, captures something extraordinary happening in Irish folk music today: a generation of artists wielding traditional melodies like weapons against complacency, creating music designed, in their own words, “to scare priests and politicians.”
World premiering in Locarno’s Critics’ Week, this isn’t your grandmother’s Celtic music. The film follows an audacious collection of musicians—The Mary Wallopers, Young Spencer, Negro Impacto, Chi-chi Enyoazu, The Deadlians, Jinx Lennon, Poor Creature, Naoise Mac Cathmhaoil, Rising Damp, Susan Hughes, and Post Punk Podge—who are reimagining what it means to be Irish in the 21st century. These artists carry both the weight of historical oppression and the electric possibility of transformation, their songs serving as both archaeological dig and battle cry.
What makes CELTIC UTOPIA particularly compelling is its refusal to romanticize Irish identity. Instead, Harvey and Lovén present a society still wrestling with its colonial wounds, where folk traditions become vessels for radical healing. The musicians featured don’t just perform; they excavate, using ancient forms to process contemporary realities and challenge existing policies with calls for more liberal attitudes.
The film’s most powerful moment might come through Young Spencer, a loyalist rapper whose complex identity embodies Ireland’s evolving sense of self. Harvey describes watching Spencer—wearing a Union Jack and Protestant regalia—touch his heart while looking at a mural of Bobby Sands, the famous hunger striker who died protesting Margaret Thatcher’s policies. “He’s a fucking legend,” Spencer says, and in that moment, the documentary captures something profound about how identity boundaries are dissolving and reforming across the island.
This isn’t nostalgia masquerading as progress. Harvey’s generation, he notes, has endured “humiliation” under the weight of postcolonial heritage, and these musicians are responding with unflinching honesty. They’re telling stories and singing songs not to preserve the past unchanged, but to understand it fully enough to transcend it. Their ballads carry the DNA of centuries-old traditions while pulsing with urgent contemporary energy.
CELTIC UTOPIA reveals how folk music has become a space for processing trauma and imagining futures. In a society where the old certainties—religious authority, political deference, cultural homogeneity—are crumbling, these artists are creating new mythologies. Their rebellion isn’t just aesthetic; it’s existential, challenging audiences to reconsider what Irish identity can become when freed from both external oppression and internal limitations.
The documentary serves as both cultural document and manifesto, proving that the most vital folk music has always been revolutionary. These artists aren’t preserving tradition; they’re liberating it, creating a soundtrack for a new Ireland that refuses to be defined by either its colonial past or its postcolonial present. In their hands, ancient melodies become vehicles for radical imagination, and the very concept of “Celtic” expands to encompass all who call this island home.
The awards season darling you`ve been hearing about is finally streaming.
Chloé Zhao`s HAMNET—the haunting exploration of grief, love, and the creation of Shakespeare`s HAMLET—brings together Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley in performances that have kept both firmly in the Oscar conversation.
If you missed it theatrically, now`s your chance to see what the buzz is about before Oscar night. This is the kind of film that reminds you why cinema matters.
More HAMNET at irishfilmtv.com.
Taylor Swift just dropped the OPALITE music video and it`s giving major Irish vibes ☘️✨
The nearly 6-minute visual sees Domhnall Gleeson starring as Taylor`s love interest, playing two lonely souls who find each other. But here`s where it gets even better: eagle-eyed Swifties spotted cameos from Cillian Murphy and Graham Norton, making this a full-on Irish affair.
Want the full breakdown of this transatlantic collaboration? Head to our blog for all the details on how this stunning video came together. Link in bio! 🔗
The creator of DERRY GIRLS just dropped a murder mystery set at an Irish wake, and honestly? It`s the genre mashup we didn`t know we needed 🕵️♀️
Lisa McGee is back with HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN FROM BELFAST on Netflix, and if you loved how she found humor in the Troubles (Protestants! Toasters! Cupboards!), you`re going to eat this up.
Three friends reunite for their childhood bestie`s funeral, only to realize her death isn`t what it seems. Cue an eerie adventure across Ireland that`s equal parts creepy and hilarious.
More at irishfilmtv.com.
British Vogue just put Jessie Buckley on their February cover and it`s not just a magazine shoot—it`s a coronation.
Shot by Jack Davison on the windswept Norfolk coast near her home, these images are pure cinema. Sky, sea, and a woman at the exact moment her entire life is about to change.
She`s the frontrunner for Best Actress. HAMNET is destroying audiences. She`s a new mother standing at the edge of the kind of fame that alters everything.
And Vogue captured it all—the grit, the greatness, the quiet mastery that got her here.
More Jessie at irishfilmtv.com.
Caitriona Balfe has just landed her next major role in THE HOUSEKEEPER.
Set in a grand historic manor against Cornwall`s dramatic landscape, Balfe plays Danni, a housekeeper who falls into a forbidden affair with none other than writer Daphne du Maurier (played by Mackenzi Laird).
While we`re counting down to OUTLANDER`s final season premiere on Mar 6th, Balfe is already proving she`s so much more than Claire Fraser. 🔥
More Caitriona at irishfilmtv.com.
After over 20 years of mesmerizing us on screen, Saoirse Ronan is ready to call the shots—literally.
The four-time Oscar nominee is making her directorial debut with PAPER PLANE, an Irish short film she`s also writing, and honestly, this feels like the natural next chapter for someone who`s been acting since she was nine years old.
Details about PAPER PLANE are still under wraps, but with Ronan`s track record, expectations are sky-high. What are you most excited to see from her behind the camera? 🎬
More Saoirse at irishfilmtv.com.
Louis Paxton`s Sundance 2026 debut THE INCOMER stars Domhnall Gleeson, Gayle Rankin, and Grant O`Rourke in a trio that`s equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking.
Think fish-out-of-water meets generational grief, wrapped in the warmth of fireside hot chocolate. Sometimes the scariest thing isn`t a legendary Fin Man—it`s letting go of the past.
Have you ever held onto something because changing felt like betrayal?
More Domhnall at irishfilmtv.com.
🎸 THE BEATLES ARE COMING BACK TO CINEMAS.
Four films. Four perspectives. One legendary band.
Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney. Harris Dickinson as John Lennon. Joseph Quinn as George Harrison. Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.
The first look just dropped via postcards hidden around Liverpool`s performing arts campus and honestly?
The hype is REAL. 🔥
Sam Mendes is directing all four films, each told from a different Beatle`s POV, and they`re ALL releasing on the same day—April 7, 2028.
Which Beatle`s story are you most excited to see? 👇
Irish talent is absolutely dominating the 2026 BAFTA nominations! 🇮🇪✨
Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal both scored major noms for HAMNET, with Buckley up for Leading Actress as Agnes and Mescal recognized for Supporting Actor as William Shakespeare. The film has basically swept the nominations, breaking records left and right.
But that`s just the beginning. Andrew Scott landed on the longlist for BLUE MOON, Robbie Ryan got recognized for his stunning cinematography on BUGONIA, and even Cillian Murphy appears as a producer on the STEVE longlist.
From performers to cinematographers to production companies like Element Pictures and Wild Atlantic Pictures, Irish voices are everywhere in this year`s race.
The ceremony hits London on February 22nd. The world is watching Irish cinema right now, and what a moment to witness. 🎬🔥
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