Join us at the Rio Theatre on Sunday, March 17 for a St. Patrick's Day Double Bill featuring a pair of beloved Irish classics that we can all raise a pint to while feeling all those nostalgic feels - John Ford's THE QUIET MAN, and Jim Sheridan's MY LEFT FOOT.

Presented in partnership with our friends at Celticfest Vancouver.

Doors open at 12:30 pm with plenty 'o time for ye to grab a pint at the bar before the first film's start time 'o 1:00 pm.

Is there a movie that celebrates and captures the lush beauty of Ireland as memorably as THE QUIET MAN? Filmmaker John Ford and frequent star John Wayne had already made seven features together prior to the 1952 release of THE QUIET MAN, a romantic and funny departure from the (mostly) Westerns of which they were so well known. Ford took home a Best Director Oscar for the film, which follows an American boxer named Sean (Wayne) who seeks peace and a fresh start to life on the family homestead in his native Ireland after accidentally killing an opponent in the ring. In doing so, he runs afoul of a local, Will, who has long coveted the property. Spitefully, Will objects when his fiery sister, Mary Kate (Maureen O'Hara), begins a romance with Sean, and refuses to hand over her dowry. Mary Kate refuses to consummate the marriage until Sean retrieves the money.

THE QUIET MAN (John Ford, 1952 / 129 mins / PG) A retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union.

There'll be a brief intermission with time to visit the jacks and grab ano'r pint before the second film starts around 4:00 pm.

Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan was already an established playwright and theatre director when his feature film debut, MY LEFT FOOT, was released in 1989. The film is an adaptation of Christy Brown's autobiography "Down All The Days," which chronicles his remarkable life despite being born with debilitating cerebral palsy into a working-class Irish family. Little was expected of young Christy (whose condition rendered him a quadriplegic and essentially paralyzed), until a miraculous event occurs at the age of 5, when he demonstrated control of his left foot by using chalk to scrawl a word on the floor. With the help of his steely mother - and no shortage of grit and determination - he overcomes his infirmity to become a painter, poet and author. Never downbeat, Sheridan's deft touch instead imbues the film with an endless charm, vacillating between sweet and poignant as it follows his life's arc. Featuring Oscar-winning turns from Daniel Day Lewis and Brenda Fricker.

MY LEFT FOOT (Jim Sheridan, 1989 / 103 mins / PG ) Christy Brown, born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.