The Birth of Cool

Fresh is an annual festival held in Limerick aimed at young filmmakers. Among former awardees in the Video Competition strand is Conor Macmahon, currently shooting his first feature and still in his early 20s. Tony Keily attended the 2003 Fresh Film Festival and came away stunned by the quality of what was on offer.

As a first time attendee at the Fresh (aimed at people under 18 years) I wasn't pleasantly surprised by what I saw. I was astonished. The range of filmmaking on evidence at this yearly event is huge. So is the range of quality. But what is present almost everywhere is excitement, experimentation, the sort of interaction with a medium that only comes about when you're desperate to learn and you're having to make do. In fact the energy and innovation to be found at Fresh is in complete contrast to anything currently generated at the more 'professional' levels of filmmaking. Not to always want to castigate Short Cuts, but certainly on those stakes any one of half a dozen of these Fresh films could leave the majority of recent state-sponsored hundred-grand efforts for dead.

The full article is printed in Film Ireland 93