‘That They May Face the Rising Sun’ is a meditative portrait of traditional, rural life in a changing Ireland

For the past several years, winning the “best film” award from the Irish Film & Television Academy has meant you’ve punched your ticket to America. From an Irish film industry that has grown dramatically over the past few decades, the features “Small Things Like These,” “The Banshees of Inisherin,” and “An Cailín Ciúin” (“The Quiet Girl”) have all brought Celtic charm to moviegoers stateside.

Now comes the IFTA’s 2024 best film winner, “That They May Face the Rising Sun.” Directed by Pat Collins, who has made a raft of documentaries and three features, the film captures the tail end of traditional rural life in Ireland in the 1980s, before the country belatedly modernized. It makes its premiere in the United States at the Dedham Community Theatre (as well as cinemas in New York City and Los Angeles) on April 11.

Read more at Boston Globe