Cork audiences will be the first to see it.

The European premiere of Cillian Murphy’s latest film Steve will take place at 3pm in The Arc Cinema, Cork on Saturday,  September 13th.

Part of the Sounds from a Safe Harbour (SFSH) film programme for 2025, the premiere will be followed by Q&A with Cillian Murphy, Max Porter and Tim Mielants in Cork Opera House and if you’re determined to be there, tickets for all films will go on sale at 12 noon on Tuesday, August 5th via the festival website.

Directed by Tim Mielants (Small Things Like These), this powerful drama, based on Max Porter’s acclaimed novel Shy, follows a headteacher battling the closure of his reform school alongside the inner turmoil of a young student (Jay Lycurgo).

Produced by Cillian Murphy and Alan Moloney (Big Things Films) and written by Porter, Steve sees its European premiere at SFSH, followed by select cinemas in September, and premieres on Netflix globally on October 3rd.

The film programme also features the premiere of Train Dreams, the moving portrait of Robert Grainier (Edgerton), whose life unfolds during an era of unprecedented change in early 20th-century America, and It’s Never Over, a revelatory documentary offering rare glimpses into the life and artistry of Jeff Buckley.

Train Dreams premieres in Cork this September.

Murphy ‘thrilled’ to bring premiere home to Cork 

“I am thrilled to be part of the inaugural film programme of SFSH 2025… there has always been such a natural crossover between cinema and music, and these delightfully diverse films very much speak to the philosophy and heart of what this festival is all about.” Murphy said.

“It is very meaningful for me to have the European premiere of Steve in my hometown of Cork city. Steve is a film that Max Porter wrote listening to 90’s Jungle and the film’s score is deeply influenced by the rhythms and patterns of drum and bass.

“The music documentaries in the programme are studies on some of my favourite artists of all time, Jeff Buckley, Broken Social Scene, Donal Lunny, Brian Eno and Conor Walsh. Each one elegiac and sensitive and revelatory in different ways.”