Updated: September 24, 2012 6:25AM

The Irish film industry will never be as big as America’s Hollywood or even India’s Bollywood.

But for a country smaller than the state of Indiana — and with a lot less population — Ireland has a rich and thriving movie history.

Despite the Emerald Isle’s lagging economy after years of being known as the Celtic Tiger, Irish films are enjoying a higher international profile.

Only six or seven years ago, the Irish film industry employed about 1,000 people. Now it employs more than 6,000.

The Beverly Arts Center certainly has helped spark interest in the Chicago area, which trails only New York and Boston in the number of residents with Irish heritage.

Thanks to founder and director Judith Blackburn, the Chicago Irish Film Festival opens March 4 for its 12th year. The event runs through March 9.

“At first I had to hunt and request films to show,” Blackburn said. “Now Irish filmmakers come to us with submissions. We had more than 100 of them asking us to preview their films this year.”

Since the festival’s inception, 16 screened films have been nominated for Oscars. Three have gone on to win.

And if you go through the complete list of recent Academy Award-nominated film credits, Blackburn said, you will find most of them have at least some Irish connection, especially in the film animation category.

“For example, there are many Irish filmmakers involved at Pixar and Disney,” she said.

The Irish, of course, also know how to throw a party and the opening and closing film festival nights always show that.

March 4’s opening night, which begins at 7 p.m. before the 8 p.m. feature screening, usually is a sellout of 350 patrons. The fanfare also includes music, a buffet and open bar.

The featured opening night film is the Midwest premiere of “The Runway,” which won the Best of Fest Award at the 2011 Palm Springs International Festival. Special guests will include, directly from Ireland, director Ian Power and producer Macdara Kelleher.

March 5’s special event for the last three years has been devoted to sports-related films. This year’s feature is the U.S. premiere of “In Sunshine or Shadow,” a documentary on the legendary 1985 featherweight boxing bout between Barry McGuigan and Eusebio Pedroza. Special guests at the BAC will be director Andrew Gallimore and producer Morgan Bushe.

March 9’s closing night wraps with a new Chicago Irish Film Festival event: Irish Shots, an Irish whiskey tasting hosted by Jameson Distillery.

Short films are scattered throughout the festival’s six nights, but March 9’s closing night event is entirely devoted to the category. Shorts Night is a series of films running from five minutes to 40 minutes, and Irish short films usually receive international acclaim.

The 11 shorts to be screened that night include “The Shoe,” a 2011 Academy Award nominee.

You don’t have to be of Irish heritage to enjoy the festival, Blackburn said.

“I’m not exactly off the boat,” she joked. “I’m Irish by about five times removed.”

But she became involved as an offshoot of her year-round job as the BAC’s film programmer.

Her Irish Film Festival passion is strictly voluntary and unpaid, just as it is with all the other festival workers. Much of the proceeds help support other BAC activities.

“Where can you go in Chicago for almost a full week at such a price,” she said of the six-night $65 festival pass ($50 for BAC members) and $10 for individual screenings,” she said.

“And there’s even free parking. Where else in the city do you get free parking?”

THE SLATE OF MOVIES

Here is a look at what’s scheduled for the 12th Chicago Irish Film Festival.

MARCH 4

Cost: $30 ($35 for Beverly Arts Center members).

7 P.M. OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION: Music, food, beverages. Special guests include “The Runway” filmmaker Ian Power and producer Macdara Kelleher, of Fastnet Films.

8 P.M. FEATURE FILM “THE RUNWAY”: Young Paco Thomas learns Spanish hoping his long-departed father (supposedly a Spanish astronaut) will return. When Ernesto Sanchez, a charismatic Colombian pilot, crash-lands his cargo plane in a nearby field, Paco is called upon to interpret. Against all odds, Paco persuades the locals to repair the plane, build a runway and get Ernest and his cargo back home. The movie is based on real-life events.

Short films: “LAMENT” and “PENTECOST.”

MARCH 5

Cost: $10 ($8 for BAC members) per screening.

4 P.M. FEATURE FILM “32A”: In a time between being a child and becoming a woman, Maeve’s world revolves around getting her first bra and learning more about “growing up” from her more experienced friends, who already wear bras and kiss boys. Stars include Aidan Quinn. The director is Marian Quinn.

Short films: “TOG MISE LEAT” and “THE POOL.”

6 PM. FEATURE DOCUMENTARIES:

“THE REFEREE”:

Sweden’s highest ranked soccer referee dreaming of being a ref at the 2010 World Cup Finals. All seems to be going well until the playoff game between France and Ireland. The film won best feature at the 2010 Cork Film Festival.

“BLIND MAN WALKING”: The inspiring story of Mark Pollock, a handsome young athlete and academic who suddenly lost his sight at age 22. On the 10th anniversary of his blindness, he takes on the challenge of becoming the first blind man to race to the South Pole. The director is Ross Whittaker.

Short film: “LAST CALL.”

8 P.M. FEATURE DOCUMENTARY “IN SUNSHINE OR IN SHADOW”: This is the dramatic true story behind the 1985 epic world featherweight title match between Barry McGuigan and Eusebio Pedroza. Filmmakers Andrew Gallimore and producer Morgan Bushe will attend this screening.

Short films: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIMOTHY” and “THE MEANING OF LIFE GUARD.”

IRISH SHOTS: This Irish whiskey tasting hosted by Jameson Distillery will follow the screenings. Cost is $10 per person and includes tasting six Irish whiskeys, live music and a cash bar.

MARCH 6

Cost: $10 ($8 for BAC members) per screening.

2 P.M. FEATURE FILM “JACQUELINE”: When her father takes to drink and loses his job, young Jacqueline convinces a former boss to give her father a better job on a country farm. This 1956 movie is directed by Roy Baker.

Short films: “CAIRDEAS” and “BYE BYE NOW.”

4 P.M. FEATURE DOCUMENTARY” NEITH FISH NOR FOWL”: This is a quizzical look at Ireland’s vanished class, the Protestant Ascendancy. Filmmaker Fiona Murphy’s aunts and uncles strip bare their old assumptions about class, religion and ethnicity in an imaginative film with a relish for the absurd, and wounds that still show. Murphy will attend the screening.

Short films: “EVEN GODS” and “PASSING.”

MARCH 7

Cost: $10 ($8 for BAC members) per screening.

7:30 P.M. FEATURE FILM “BETWEEN THE CANALS”: Three small-time criminals in Dublin aspire to be somebody in a changing world.

Short film: “IN THE OPEN.”

MARCH 8

Cost: $10 ($8 for BAC members) per screening.

7:30 P.M. FEATURE DOCUMENTARY “BOOK SMUGGLERS”: An Irish-language poet reflects on the decline of his own language when he travels to Lithuania to tell the story of 19th century book smugglers who risked their lives to protect their country from being absorbed by Russian language and culture. Filmmaker Jeremiah Cullinane will attend.

Short films: “BLACK TAXI” and “THE STORY OF 99.”

MARCH 9

Cost; $20 ($15 for BAC members).

7:30 P.M. SHORTS NIGHT: This program of short films will be followed by the closing night reception. Selections include:

“JOE DRUMMER”: About one man’s passion. Director Mikael Thiery will attend.

“NOREEN”: Two policemen get more that they bargained for on a house call in Athmuck, County Offaly. The director is Domhnall Gleeson.

“COLD TURKEY”: The misadventures of a frustrated Foley artist, curious children and petrified poultry. The director is Gavin Keane. This movie was named best cinematography at the Amsterdam Film Festival.

“GUNS, BEES AND TADPOLE”: A summer day turns extraordinary for a normal Northern Ireland family in not-so-normal times. The director is John McCloskey. This movie won second place for best animation at the Galway Film Festival.

“SEPARATION AGENCY”: Rob wakes up one morning to find his girlfriend has dumped him, with the news being delivered in the strangest possible way. The director is Shane Martin.

“TICKET TO RIDE”: Some people will say anything for a free ride. The director is Kevin Glynn.

BLEEDING LOVE”: A shy guy tries to get a date with a nurse from a blood bank by donating everyday. The director is Ged Murray.

“GETTING AIR”: An urban basketball drama about three teenage friends struggling to connect with each other and the adults in their lives. Directed by Mark Noonan, this movie was an official selection at the Galway Film Festival 2010, the Cork International Film Festival 2010, the Kerry Film Festival 2010, the Waterford Film Festival 2010 and the New York International Children’s Film Festival 2011.

“BLUE RINSE”: Time may be a great healer, but a lousy beautician. Still, blond, brown, grey or even blue, your hair is your crowning glory no matter how old you are. The director is Matt Leigh.

“MISTER HEANY: A WEE PORTRAIT”: Nobel Prize-winning poet Mister Heaney speaks of brambles, poetry and hairdressing. This animated film is director by David Quin.

“SHOE”: Vince is going to throw himself off the bridge — just as soon as that homeless dude stops bothering him. The director is Nick Kelly.

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