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Decision Time for Cinema's Digital Future – 4th June 2008
Digital Cinema 2008 runs in September, and brings together the people who hold the key to accelerating the digital cinema project. The event will provide clear guidance on the next critical phase of development.
The roll-out of digital cinema hasn't taken off in Europe as quickly as anyone expected. With cost-sharing deals for installation at a stand-still, progress has been slow. However, it's not all doom and gloom and the signs are that the tide is turning. With XDC Cinema signing deals with four studios for the deployment of 8000 digital screens, things are starting to happen in D-Cinema.
Speakers already confirmed include:
Chair Mike Gubbins, Editor of Screen International;
John Fithian, President of the National Association of Theatre Owners;
Stewart Till, Chairman of the UK Film; Council
Peter Buckingham and many more.
From the VPF, 3D and alternative content to distribution, funding and technology concerns, Digital Cinema 2008 will bring together industry leaders to tackle the pivotal issues in moving forward.
The event will take place on 18th September in London. For full event details please email: screenconferences@emap.com
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Filmbase and Setanta Sports Launch Short Documentary Awards – 3rd June 2008
Filmbase and Setanta Sports have announced details of a new scheme aimed at uncovering and supporting new Irish filmmaking talent in the area of sports documentary. Sport Shorts will see three ten-minute documentary films made by new Irish filmmakers. The finished films will be broadcast as part of the new Sport Matters series due to air on Setanta from next January. Each film selected will receive €10,000 - €15,000 euros towards the production of their project.
Filmmakers can submit proposals suitable for the short documentary format on any one of five topics corresponding to topics that will be covered in the Sports Matters series. The topics are fox hunting, horse racing, ‘Charlton’s Children’, Munster Rugby and women’s participation in sport. The scheme welcomes a wide variety of approaches to the suggested topics and surprising or unusual treatments of the subject matter are encouraged.
Niall Cogley, CEO of Setanta Sports Ireland said: ‘We are delighted to be involved in this groundbreaking initiative for sports programming and are looking forward to viewing the submissions. This initiative proves Setanta’s commitment to broadcasting top-quality Irish sports and bringing new and exciting content to our viewers.’
Filmbase Managing Director, Alan Fitzpatrick, added: ‘Filmbase is always looking for opportunities to encourage and support new and emerging Irish filmmakers. This scheme, with genuine commitment from Setanta to discover new creative talent, greatly increases the opportunities available to new producers, directors and filmmakers. The challenge for filmmakers now is to create some exciting, fresh and dynamic work.’
Applicants are encouraged to be inventive with their approach and the deadline for entries is 5.00pm on Tuesday 15th July 2008. All projects must be fully completed and delivered to broadcast requirements by December 5th 2008. Post-production facilities will also be made available to the successful projects.
For more information on the Filmbase Setanta Sports Short Documentary Awards and for more detailed information on the suggested topics, go to www.filmbase.ie
Filmbase and Setanta are also organising an information session for filmmakers interested in applying for the scheme. The session will take place at Filmbase, Curved Street, Temple Bar on Tuesday 17th June 2008 at 1:30 pm.
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Stranger Than Fiction Calls for Entries – 3rd June 2008
The 7th Annual Stranger Than Fiction Documentary Film Festival takes place from the 25-28 September at the Irish Film Institute in Dublin. Stranger Than Fiction’s programme includes a diverse mix of the best Irish and International documentary work, from established filmmakers to new discoveries.
The festival coordinators are seeking documentary films completed on or after 1st July 2007 in the following categories;
* Irish Short (duration of 10 minutes and under)
* International Short (duration 10 minutes and under)
* Irish Mid Length (durations between 10 and 60 minutes)
* Irish Feature Length (durations of greater than 60 minutes)
Submission deadline for films: Friday 4th July
Entry forms and further details available at www.strangerthanfiction.ie
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Filmbase/RTÉ Short Film Award Winners Announced – 30th May 2008
Filmbase is delighted to announce the latest winners of the Filmbase/RTÉ Short Film Award scheme. Following a highly competitive round, with over 220 scripts received in January, three awards have been made.
The winning projects are: Crossword, Hugh Travers (writer), Vincent Gallagher (director) and Claire McCaughley (producer); Free Chips Forever, Claire Dix (writer/director) and Freya McKenzie (producer) and Star Struck, Emma Teck (writer/director) and Bryan O’Brien (co-producer).
Filmbase and RTÉ would like to congratulate the successful teams, who will each receive €10,000 in cash with matching equipment deals towards their productions.
The Filmbase/RTÉ Short Film Awards is the longest running short film scheme in Ireland. The awards aim to discover and support new Irish talent and to encourage a fresh approach to filmmaking. Over the past two decades numerous films have been made under the scheme, many of which have screened and won awards at film festivals both nationally and internationally. Recent successes from the scheme include The Sound of People which received additional print support from the Irish Film Board and is currently showing in cinemas along with the feature film Charlie Bartlett, and The Beekeeper’s Son, which screened at the prestigious Rotterdam Film Festival.
The closing date for the next round of the Filmbase/RTÉ Short Film Awards is 5 pm Friday 27th June 2008. Applications will be accepted from Friday 13th June. Please visit www.filmbase.ie/awards for the award guidelines and to download the application form.
For further information on any of the award schemes administered by Filmbase, please contact the Project and Administration Officer, Clare Creely, on 01 679 6716 or by email at admin@filmbase.ie
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RTÉ Launch Ireland On Screen Film Season – 30th May 2008
RTÉ has announced the launch of an Irish film season, Ireland On Screen, to celebrate Irish film culture and home-grown talent.
The season will consist of thirteen Irish films, eight of which are premieres and will run for five weeks. The films will be broadcast on RTÉ One and RTÉ Two during the month of June, giving viewers an alternative to Euro 2008 coverage. Goldfish Memory, Headrush, H3, Dead Long Enough, Dead Bodies, Trouble with Sex, Country and Love and Rage are all Irish Television premieres.
The catalogue of movies ranges from art-house niche projects like Adam & Paul to more broadly popular titles like Song for a Raggy Boy. From prisoners to dating and drug smuggling to child abuse, the films explore a diverse range of themes and topics. Famous on-screen faces to feature include Aidan Quinn, Anjelica Huston, Angeline Ball, Keith McErlean, Aidan Gillen and Jean Butler. The movies’ production dates span from 1997 to 2006, tracing almost a decade of the changing face of Irish society.
The films have received various prestigious accolades. Song for a Raggy Boy won the IFTA for Best Irish Film in 2004 and the Golden Swan award at the 2003 Copenhagen International Film Festival. Leonard Abrahamson won Best Film Director for Adam & Paul at the 2004 IFTAs. Dead Bodies scooped three IFTAS in 2003 for Best Actor, Best Editing and Best Sound. Spin the Bottle also triumphed at the 2003 IFTAs with three wins: Best Music in Film, Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction. In 2005 Renee Weldon walked away with the IFTA for Best Actress in a Feature Film for Trouble with Sex. Headrush won the Miramax Scriptwriting Award in 1999 and Country won Best Film at the Galway Film Festival in 2000 and Best European Film in Verona in 2001. Agnes Browne received the Youth Jury Award at the 1999 San Sebastian International Film Festival.
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Calling all Budding Film Enthusiasts – 28th May 2008
Cinemagic is recruiting 25 young film enthusiasts aged 10-18, from all over Northern Ireland to take on the role of film consultants and help select the films for this year’s festival. The Coca-Cola Cinemagic International Film & Television Festival for Young People will take place in Belfast and from 13-30 November 2008. The festival will host over one hundred film screenings including special premieres, international features, documentaries, shorts, foreign language films, industry masterclasses and competitions.
Over the course of a three-day workshop beginning on Monday 7th July the young consultants will work with the Cinemagic team to help steer the choice of films for the festival, as they watch and critique films from around the globe.
Applicants aged 10-18 with a keen interest in film and the enthusiasm to work within a group for an initial 3 days this July and then on a regular basis from July- December, should apply to be considered for a place by writing/emailing a letter telling Cinemagic why they would like to be a Cinemagic Young Film Consultant, and a review of their favourite film. This information, along with name, address, age, telephone number, email address and name of school should be sent to Claire Baxter, Cinemagic, 49 Botanic Avenue, Belfast, BT7 1JL or claire@cinemagic.org.uk.
All applications should be received no later than Friday 27th June 2008
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Straight 8 Festival to Premiere Irish Films – 28th May 2008
Straight 8, a London-based film festival, is set to host the premiere of Irish films Guns in the Sand, Till Every Motion, Pulse and Breath Be Over… and Sugar Free.
Guns in the Sand by Raymond Tierney and John Cleary (Galway) will be premiered at the Curzon in London's Mayfair on 28th July 2008. Sugar Free by Gawain Morrison (Belfast) & Till Every Motion, Pulse and Breath Be Over... by Alex Synge (Dublin) will premiere at Straight 8 ‘08 Art in London's Brick Lane area (date and venue TBC).
In Straight 8, directors create a 3-minute short film using only one Super 8 mm cartridge and no editing or post-production. Straight 8 shows the best of each year at the Cannes film festival and other screenings worldwide.
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Write Here, Write Now: International Screenwriting Award – 28th May 2008
The Dublin International Film Festival in association with Walt Disney Motion Pictures (Ireland) has announced Write Here, Write Now, a new International Screenwriting Award.
The award will acknowledge and support the creation of original and innovative scripts, through a combination of development funding, as well as extensive promotion within the film industry.
The competition is open to all Irish-born writers/ Irish citizens/Irish residents and will accept unproduced feature-length scripts only. Writers must be over the age of 18 and there is a limit 2 script per writer or writing team. Applicants must notify Dublin International Film Festival if their script becomes optioned or sold, while under consideration for the competition.
The judging panel will consists of Leonard Abrahamson, David Flynn - United Talent Agency, John Hurt, Trish Long – Walt Disney Motion Pictures, Ireland (Chair), Sue Bruce Smith – Film Four and author Irvine Welsh.
An entry fee of €100 per script submitted must accompany each application and the winning script will receive a cash prize of €7,500/$12,000. Submissions will be accepted between the 7th July–19th September 2008.
Application forms can be downloaded from www.dubliniff.com
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Lights Out! Presents Industrial Light and Magic Day – 28th May 2008
Lights Out! has announced plans to present an Industrial Light and Magic day for 14-18 year olds at the IFI, with special effects consultant Colum Slevin of Lucasfilm.
The one day workshop will take place at the Irish Film Institute, between 10.30 am–4 pm on 25th June, with Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), the Lucasfilm company responsible for the special effects in countless films including Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean and this summer's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The workshop is presented in association with the Irish Film Institute and the Irish Film Board.
Irish animator and special effects consultant Colum Slevin (head of Talent at Lucasfilm) will start the day with a screening of Master and Commander, the high seas adventure starring Russell Crowe as a brash British sea captain, Lucky Jack, chasing a French Warship around the South American coast during the Napoleonic wars.
After the screening, Colum will talk to participants about how the impressive range of special effects in Master and Commander were created by the team at ILM. This is a unique opportunity for young people to meet a film industry practitioner working in one of the most exciting and influential visual effects companies in the world.
Places are limited and early booking is essential to avoid disappointment. Tickets are €10 (which includes lunch) from IFI Education: Tel: +353 1 6793477
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Ireland on Sunday: The Adventures of Flannery at the IFI – 27th May 2008
The Irish Film Institute is set to host a screening of the Adventures of Flannery as part of Ireland on Sunday, a new strand of Irish film programming at the IFI.
Ireland on Sunday is a curated programme of recent Irish material which has not yet been released theatrically or seen outside the film festival circuit. In a regular Sunday slot, audiences will be given an opportunity to critically engage with directors and producers in post-screening discussions. The programme will be varied – including documentary and fictional material which has been made for cultural, theatrical and broadcast exhibition.
The series will be launched at 1 pm, on Sunday 15th June 2008, with a screening of Johnny Gogan's innovative art documentary The Adventures of Flannery: A Portrait of Cathal Coughlan.
The documentary examines the life and work of the Cork-born singer, songwriter and enfant terrible who created one of the highlights of Cork's Capital of Culture celebrations in 2005 with his musical-theatre presentation Flannery’s Mounted Head. There will be a post-screening Q&A with director Johnny Gogan and producer Gary Sheehan.
Confirmed for July’s Ireland on Sunday slot, Seaview, the documentary co-directed by Nicky Gogan and Paul Rowley which gives voice to residents of Mosney (formerly Butlins Holiday Camp) as they await results of their asylum claims.
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Liv Ullmann to Present Special Screening of Faithless – 27th May 2008
The IFI and the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland are set to present a special screening of Faithless followed by a discussion with director Liv Ullmann as part of this year’s AGM of the Federation of European Film and Television Directors (FERA) in Dublin.
Directed by Ullmann, though scripted by the late Ingmar Bergman, Faithless is a brutally honest study of the consequences of marital infidelity. Marianne (Lena Endre) is an actress who’s happily married and devoted to her young daughter. Marianne has an affair with family’s best friend David ( Krister Henriksson), a film director with a reckless attitude towards relationships.
Liv Ullman is best known as a lead actress in nine of Bergman’s films including the iconic Scenes from a Marriage, Face to Face and The Emigrants. She is the winner of two BAFTAs and a Golden Globe and has been twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She successfully moved into directing in the early ‘90s, creating her best-known film Faithless in 2000. She is the current president of FERA.
The screening will take place on Friday 30th May at 7.30pm (running time 154 mins) in the IFI.
Tickets are available from IFI box office: Tel: +353 1 6793477 or book online at www.irishfilm.ie
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Cork City Council Arts Office Invites Applications for Grants and Awards – 27th May 2008
The Cork City Council Arts Office has announced its plans to invite applications for the Travel and Mobility Grant 2008 and the Individual Artists Bursary Award 2008.
The Travel and Mobility Grant provides funding to professional artists, coordinators, curators, administrators and managers who are developing or delivering arts projects. This award scheme supports the development of international opportunities for arts and cultural practitioners in the city. This may be towards any activity that promotes Cork's artistic and cultural profile abroad, develops international networking opportunities, develops partnership initiatives with counterparts abroad or brings an international learning perspective back to Cork city.
The Individual Artists Bursary Award provides funding to individual artists. Cork City Council will offer four bursaries of €5000, each year, in respect of the professional development of individual artists, arts administrators, and/ or arts and cultural theorists, practicing in any of the artistic disciplines outlined in our Arts Strategy.
Examples of professional development include, further educational or training opportunities, development opportunities in other countries, opportunities to be professionally mentored, opportunities to facilitate a significant shift in direction of work.
While new work may be produced during the period of the award, the bursaries are not awarded in respect of the production of work. Bursaries will be awarded on the basis of artistic or cultural merit over any other factors.
The deadline for receipt of applications is 5 pm, Friday 6th June.
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DIT Fine Art Graduate Exhibition 2008 – 27th May 2008
The DIT BA Fine Art Graduate Exhibition 2008 will be opened by Tessa Giblin (Curator of Visual Arts, Project Arts Centre) and features the work of 21 emerging artists, working in combinations of video, performance, photography, sound, installation, painting and drawing. The exhibition will take place in the former St Joseph’s Convent, Portland Row, from 9-14 June 2008.
The work on show is the result of a four-year interdisciplinary course where the students are encouraged to develop a self-directed studio practice and to allow their concept to guide the discipline employed. Some of the artists working with the students include Mark Garry, Anita Groener, Linda Quinlan, Anna Macleod, Robert McColgan, Patricia Hurl, Ronan McCrea and Patrick Graham.
The graduate class of 2008 have previously exhibited individually in the RDS Student Art Awards 2006 & 2007, the Rose Project 2007 and, most notably, Alan Burns's award-winning Rose Project 2006 at Dublin City Council's The Lab. Members of Cotillion have exhibited collectively at TULCA 2006 (All Shook Up), The Lab (What's Behind Your Eye?, September 2007) and at Broadstone XL (The Forest of the Fallen Moon, July 2007).
Two students, Kevin Gaffney and Alan Burns, have recently been awarded a film production grant from The European League of Institutes of the Art's E'3 Film competition, which is to be exhibited at the 22nd Prix Europa festival in Berlin in October 2008. Students have also exhibited at IMMA (Art & Possibility, March 2007) as part of the Arts in Context Placement Programme, collaborating with diverse communities and examining their art practice in relation to social, political and environmental concerns.
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Call for Short Films – 27th May 2008
Catalyst Arts invites filmmakers and artists to submit a short film made in the past year for a screening on Thursday, 5th June 2008.
Entertaining, engaging and thought-provoking films are called for, in any genre, from horror to comedy, experimental to animation. Submissions should be in DVD format and up to 15 minutes in length, including credits.
Please send your submission to: Catalyst Arts, 2nd Floor, 5 College Court, Belfast, BT1 6BS by Monday, 2nd of June. Those who wish their submission to be returned should enclose a SAE.
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RTÉ One-minute Film Opportunity for 16-20 Year-Olds – 26th May 2008
RTÉ Young People’s department is organizing a filmmaking workshop in mid July 2008. The aim is to enable the participants to tell their story on video for the RTÉ TTV schedule and/or TTV online. The five-day workshop will explore all elements of filmmaking and by the end of the week participants should have completed their own one-minute film. Subject, style and treatment are all open – from music videos to documentary, drama to animation. Previous prize-winners can be seen at www.theoneminutesjr.org/
Twelve to fifteen young people will take part in the workshop and RTÉ plans to show the films in autumn 2008 or early 2009. The films will also be entered into the One Minutes Jr Films international competition, of which several first prize-winners have been selected for screening in Beijing 2008.
Participants must be between the ages of 16 and 20 and available to take part in a workshop in RTÉ from 14-18 July. Those interested must fill out the application form and attach a 200-word description of their film idea and a 200 outline of location, props, number of actors required for the film, etc. Applicants should also attach 200 words on why their film should be made and why they should be selected for the workshop, along with their CV.
The closing date for completed entries is Monday 16th June 2008. For further information visit www.rte.ie/tv/ttv/oneminutejuniorfilms/
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Godard’s La Chinoise Screening to Mark 40th Anniversary of May 1968 – 26th May 2008
To mark the 40th Anniversary of the ‘Évènements’ of May 1968, Paris, Ranelagh’s Pint and a Picture Show Film Club will be screening the celebrated French feature film La Chinoise (1967).Written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, this innovative and prophetic film follows Parisian students from the haut-bourgeoisie playing at being Maoist revolutionaries, in an entertaining and often amusing story. Some commentators have remarked that the film presaged the real story behind much of the unrest in the French capital a few months later in the days of the soixante-huitards, soactive and vociferous at the time and so influential since.
To mark the occasion – and the fact that the Pint and a Picture Show Film Club will be exactly four months old on the night – a complimentary wine and cheese event (featuring produce of France only) will be an additional part of the screening.
This feature film will as usual be preceded by a number of Irish short films including the award-winning The Last Time (wri/dir Conor Horgan, 2002) and Cannon Fodder (wri/dir Stephen Crilly, 2005). The directors of both of these shorts will be attending the screening and will participate in an informal Q&A session after each of their films.
These Q&A after the short films slot have become a regular feature and in addition, on the 19th May, the writer/director of the Irish feature The Crooked Mile, Stephen Kane, gave a surprise Q&A on his debut feature film. Stephen will be returning for another Q&A at the screening of his second feature Starfish later this summer.
The intention of the film club is chiefly to select recent Irish full-length films for the main feature film slot. However, international features set in the same year worldwide will also be screened to maintain the theme begun with La Chinoise, including Medium Cool (Haskell Wexler, 1969). The theme’s working title is ‘Flicks about les flics’, but alternative suggestions are invited from members of the audience at any Monday-night audience, with a small prize going to the suggestion actually adopted.
The screenings are free and take place Mondays, 8pm, upstairs at Russell’s of Ranelagh. For further information please contact Howard Linnane at 086 3614787
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The Pictures’ Monthly Film Club for Over 55s and Friends – 23rd May 2008
The Pictures’ summer season will begin this month with a screening of the Oscar-winning family comedy Little Miss Sunshine (Monday 26th May, 2.30pm). The monthly film club for over 55s was launched in January 2008 by axis Ballymun and Dublin City Council’s Arts Office, in association with the Irish Film Institute and access>CINEMA. Since January, axis Ballymun have screened one film per month of all genres and this summer they will show a comedy, a romance, a thriller and even a surprise film.
The film club was developed by Dublin City Council Arts Office in association with axis. Anne Marie Lyons, the North West Area Arts Officer, has been working on establishing a film club for older people following the very successful response to the film screenings during the Bealtaine Festival and Ballymun Positive Ageing Week last year.
The Pictures film club currently has over 120 members with new members joining all the time. Due to popular demand, axis are extending seasonal membership to annual membership. Membership, which costs €2, entitles admission for €2 per film, with non-members paying €4 per film. The season continues with three other films: Casablanca on Monday, 30th June at 2.30pm; The Lives of Others on Monday, 28th July at 2.30pm and a surprise film on Monday, 25th August at 2.30pm. These films are subject to confirmation by the distributor and therefore may be subject to change. Members are also invited to the axis Café for lunch prior to the films to enjoy a cuppa or a bite to eat.
For further information please contact axis on 01 8832100 or Ann Marie Lyons, North West Area Arts Officer, Dublin City Council.Tel: (01) 222 7305 /email: annmarie.lyons@dublincity.ie
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21st Foyle Film Festival Call for Entries – 23rd May 2008
Now in its 21st year, the Foyle Film Festival (21–29 November, 2008) is the flagship project of the multimedia Nerve Centre. The festival offers filmmakers the opportunity to compete for the Light In Motion (LIM) Film Awards in five categories: Best Irish Short, Best International Short, Best Animation, Best Documentary, and Best Feature. Recipients of the LIM Award qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the Annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules. Previous winners and competitors, who have proceeded to win the Oscar®, include: Martin McDonagh (Six Shooter), Andrea Arnold (Wasp), Adam Elliot (Harvie Krumpet), and Eric Armstrong (Chubbchubbs).
From its earliest days Foyle Film Festival has pursued an integrated development strategy, linking together the different art forms – film, music, animation, new media – across the interlocking sectors of production, training, education and exhibition. The key elements of Foyle Film Festival are its thematic content, diverse programme strands and special industry events, which have been developed to meet the evolving interests of its audience. The ethos is to offer a range of contemporary, classic, cultural and new cinema to a local and visiting audience and to provide access to cultural cinema to the general cinema going public in this region.
In addition, the Festival offers a stand-alone education programme, targeting schools and colleges with a series of curriculum based feature films, documentaries, workshops, presentations and outreach screenings, which runs for five days of the event.
The Festival is also committed to showcasing indigenous work and providing opportunities for the local industry to meet and hear leading experts from the film industry in a masterclass and workshop situation. These have included workshops with special effects experts, composers, writers, cinematographers, actors and animators plus film historians and film journalists.
Independently funded British feature films (fiction and documentary) screening at Foyle Film Festival also automatically become qualified for the prestigious British Independent Film Awards and BIFA also consider foreign independent films for the Best Foreign Independent Film Category. In 2007, Control won five Awards at BIFA - including Best British Independent Film, Best Director (Anton Corbijn), Most Promising Newcomer (Sam Riley), Best Performance by a Supporting Actor (Toby Kebbell), and the Douglas Hickox Award (Anton Corbijn). Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten picked up the BIFA for Best British Documentary. For further details please visit www.bifa.org.uk
To submit for the LIM Film Awards please contact the festival website www.foylefilmfestival.org, or go directly to www.withoutabox.com
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Irish Recipient for Babelgum Award at Cannes – 23rd May 2008
A young Irish filmmaker and graduate of NUI Galway’s Huston School of Film & Digital Media is among the winners of the first Babelgum Online Film Festival. The winners were announced by Spike Lee at a ceremony during the Cannes Film Festival. The Babelgum Online Film Festival is the first of its kind, and provides a unique distribution opportunity for the newest filmmaking talent.
Brian Deane, originally from Cork, was awarded the Babelgum Social/Environment Award for his first movie, the short film Without Words. Along with winners from six other categories, Brian received a cheque for €20,000.
Over a thousand entries from 86 countries were uploaded for this, the first Babelgum Online Film Festival. Visitors to the Babelgum website decided the competition shortlist, which was then judged by the festival jury, led by renowned director Spike Lee. The other jurors consist of film experts from across the globe, including directors of established film festivals.
Commenting on Brian’s win, Rod Stoneman, Director of the Huston School of Film & Digital Media, NUI Galway, said, ‘Without Words is a marvellous example of an imaginative film based on an issue from Public Advocacy. With its memorable symmetrical form, it focuses on the tragedy of non-communication between two friends.’
Founded in 2003, the Huston School of Film & Digital Media offers a range of one-year postgraduate courses in Film Studies; Screenwriting; Production and Direction; Arts Policy and Practice; Public Advocacy and Activism; and Digital Media. In autumn of 2008, the first undergraduate course offered through the CAO system will come on stream, the BA with Film Studies. Brian Deane’s Without Words can be viewed on the school’s website www.filmschool.ie
For more information on the Bablegum Online Film Festival visit http://www.babelgum.com/
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Deadline for Galway Film Fair and The Real Deal – 23rd May 2008
The deadline for the Galway Film Fair (11th and 12th July, 2008) at the Galway Film Fleadh (8-13 July, 2008) is fast approaching. The fair co-ordinates pre-scheduled meetings between filmmakers with projects in development and film financiers, distributors and major producers. Last year, the Galway Film Fair organised 560 meetings over the course of two days where 80 Irish and European producers pitched their projects to the 63 financiers who attended the Fair. The deadline for the fair is Friday, 6th June.
Also approaching is the deadline for Ireland’s only film financing seminar, The Real Deal on 10th July in the Radisson Hotel. This day-long event will give producers an opportunity to further enhance their knowledge of the film industry and investigate other potential European and International companies and agencies. The deadline for registration for The Real Deal is Friday, 20th June.
For further details visit www.galwayfilmfleadh.com
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Concern Film Collection (1968–1988) to Go to Irish Film Archive – 23rd May 2008
In a reception last evening, Thursday 22nd May, to celebrate media support for the international aid work of Concern Worldwide over 40 years, Mr. Jim Miley, CEO of Concern, entrusted an invaluable film collection to the Irish Film Archive for safekeeping. The opening presentation by Guest Speaker, Bob Geldof, on media and the developing world, provided a fitting context for the transfer of the Concern film collection. The material, which dates from 1968 to 1988, documents Concern's work over 40 years in providing humanitarian aid and provides a history of changing representations of the developing world.
Receiving the collection on behalf of the Irish Film Archive, Ms Sunniva O'Flynn (Curator, Irish Film Institute) remarks ‘The collection presents a sometimes harrowing record of poverty and suffering throughout the developing world but also of the heroic efforts of Irish aid workers to alleviate that suffering. The films were a crucial tool in conscientising Irish people and in generating funds for Concern's activities in crisis-stricken regions throughout the world. We are pleased to accept this collection for preservation within the Irish Film Archive so that this record will survive and be permanently accessible.’
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Super 8 Film in Blackrock Park – 19th May 2008
Aoife Desmond’s photographic slide and Super 8 film, entitled Wetland (Simultaneous presence of land and sea), commissioned by DLR Arts for the Concourse Offsite exhibition in Blackrock Park, will be shown in the cottage in the park over four special evenings on Thursday 29th, Friday 30th, Saturday 31st May and Sunday 1st June at 9pm. Wetland (Simultaneous presence of land and sea) is a site-specific artwork by Aoife Desmond for Blackrock Park and these four screenings are the only opportunity to see the film projected live within the environment that inspired it.
The film is a dual projection of photographic slides and Super 8 film shown within a temporary cinematic environment in Blackrock Park and accompanied by a limited edition research booklet. Aoife Desmond spent several months visiting and filming Blackrock Park between early January and April 2008 documenting the ever-changing environment and wildlife in the park during the different seasons.
Aoife Desmond is one of three contemporary Irish artists commissioned by DLR Arts to make site-specific new work for an exhibition, entitled Concourse Offsite, in Blackrock Park. Artworks by Mark Garry and Alan Phelan can be seen in Blackrock Park until the 1st June. Concourse Offsite is a new development of the Concourse series of installation art, which since 1999 has commissioned new work for County Hall in Dún Laoghaire.
The film includes a specially commissioned soundtrack by artist and musician Karl Burke and is projected and realised with the assistance of film maker/technician and distributor Pip Chodorov. The film is approximately 20 mins duration, admission to the screenings is free and entry is on a first-come first-served basis.
For more information please visit www.dlrcoco/arts.ie
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Take-2: Kerry’s First International Student Film Festival – 19th May 2008
Kerry’s First International Student Film Festival, the Take-2 Film Festival will take place this year form 3–7 November 2008. The Take-2 Festival will run in conjunction with the Kerry Film Festival which is scheduled for 1–10 November.
Take-2 hopes plans to bring short films and student filmmakers from around the globe to one of Ireland’s most beautiful locations. The main aspect of the festival is the short film competition which gives student filmmakers a medium to display their work.
Dún Laoghaire College, Ballyfermot College of Further Education, Limerick Institute of Technology, Tralee Institute of Technology and Cork Institute of Technology have already expressed an interest in the festival, as well as The Shortz Film Festival in Virginia, USA, and The Munich International Film Festival.
The Take-2 Festival will take place primarily at the Institute of Technology Tralee, and selected screenings will be shown, there will be student workshops, special guests and other entertainment. The festival has five award categories; Best Irish Short, Best International Short, Best Documentary, Best ás Gaeilge, and Best Animation.
The main objective of the festival is to create a prestigious International Student Film Festival, and to create a stronger cultural connection between The Institute of Technology Tralee and its friends around Ireland and abroad.
Further information available at www.t2ff.com
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Ranelagh’s ‘Pint and a Picture Show' Film Club – 19th May 2008
The Ranelagh's Pint and a Picture Show Film Club will be screening the Irish feature film The Crooked Mile today, 19th May at 8pm at Russells of Ranelagh. Described by Michael Dwyer of the Irish Times as ‘a breezy and quirky road movie that proves difficult to resist’, this was the debut feature film of Stephen Kane who went on to make Starfish (2004), his second feature, which the film club wil be screening later this summer.
The film was funded in part by the Irish Film Board who say of it: ‘This lyrical Irish road movie features the journey of two characters, Anna, a nine-year-old and Eliot, a twenty-something medical school drop-out. Fast tractors, flash cars, a goldfish with an odd name, and the search for a 50’s movie icon in Tramore’. One of the first Irish feature films to be made on digital, it was filmed during October 2000 in Jersey and in Ireland. It won the Tribeca Award at the Tribeca Film Center in New York in 2001, the first time a feature film from outside the US has done so.
The feature will be preceded by a number of Irish short films including:
- Stalking Colin Farrell (dir. Cora McNabb, Jamie O’Halleron)
- Living (dir. Mary Deely, Eamonn Dunne)
- Cactus (dir. Alessandro Molatore)
All of the directors of these three shorts will be attending the screening and have kindly agreed to participate in an informal Q&A session after each of their films is screened.
To mark the occasion and the fact that the Film Club will be four months old in a few days time, a complimentary glass of wine and snacks will be provided on the night.
Admission is free.
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Kevin Moriarty Guest Edits Film Ireland – 16th May 2008
The next issue of Film Ireland magazine, due out in July, will be guest edited by Kevin Moriarty. Involved in the film industry for over 30 years, Kevin Moriarty is currently Managing Director of Ardmore Studios, where he has worked in various capacities and has represented Ardmore at numerous markets in North America and Europe.
Over the years Kevin has worked with many of the key film organisations in Ireland. During the eighties he operated in freelance production and was Executive Producer for the Irish Film Board on Neil Jordan’s first film Angel and financial consultant on Jim Sheridan’s first film My Left Foot. He also acted as Chairperson of the Irish Film and Television Guild and Chairperson of Film Makers Ireland, the body which represents the interests of Irish Film Producers (now Screen Producers Ireland), and was a member of the Taoiseach’s special working group of the Film Production Industry in 1992. Other activities included his membership of the Strategic Review Group whose report on the film industry is now known as 'The Kilkenny Report'.
At present, in addition to his position as MD of Ardmore Studios, he is Chairperson of Media Desk Ireland and a board member of The Film Institute of Ireland. He is also Chairperson of The Kerry Screen Commission, a member of the Wicklow Film Commission and is a member of the Irish Film Board having been appointed in January 2005.
The next issue of Film Ireland, guest edited by Kevin Moriarty, is due out at the start of July. The current issue, guest edited by award-winning director Declan Recks, is available in all major bookstores now.
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Big Bang Film Festival Seeking Submissions – 16th May 2008
The call for submissions is now open for the 2008 Big Bang Film Festival (BBFF). The festival will take place on the 1–5 October in Philadelphia, PA. BBFF is a celebration of exciting and inventive films in the action, adventure, suspense and Asian action cinema genres. BBFF also welcomes documentary submissions featuring extreme sports and athletic events, activities and competitions which have contributed some of the most entertaining video of death defying speed, skill and daring. Every submission is posted on the BBFF submissions page so that all of our filmmakers can link to their listing.
The festival is now calling for submissions. Visit their website for more information:
www.BigBangFilmFestival.com, www.myspace.com/bigbangfilmfestival
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Waterford Film Festival Now Open for Entries – 16th May 2008
The second annual Waterford Film Festival is now open for entries. The festival, which takes place from the 5–9 November 2008, is seeking submissions in five different award categories: Feature Film, Feature Documentary, Short Film, Short Documentary and Best First Short.
The five-day event is planning to screen an array of films, from feature films and documentaries, to short films and animation. The festival is a platform for local, national and international films and is open to any genre.
Applicants can apply online at www.waterfordfilmfestival.com
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Irish Films Announced for the Edinburgh International Film Festival – 16th May 2008
The Edinburgh Film Festival, which runs from 18th June–29th June 2008, has announced plans to host the premieres of six Irish films at this year’s event.
Irish feature films Eden (dir. Declan Recks), Fairytale of Kathmandu (dir. Neasa Ní Chianáin) and Helen (dir. Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor) will all screen at the event.
Irish short films set to screen include Blind Man’s Eye (dir. Matthew Talbot-Kelly), No Regrets in the West (dir. Colm Quinn) and Terminal Communication (dir. Michael Fortune).
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Irish Market Screenings Set for Cannes Film Festival – 15th May 2008
New Irish films including Buy Borrow Steal, Summer of the Flying Saucer, The Escapist and The Daisy Chain, are set to screen at the Market during this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which runs from the 14–25 May.
Ian Fitgibbon’s A Film with Me in It will also be hoping to sell, along with Declan Recks’ Eden and Dorothy Mills starring Irish actress Jenn Murray.
Northern Irish shot films set to be screened include Fifty Dead Men Walking, directed by Kari Skogland, Eric Styles’ Buy Borrow Steal starring Heather Graham, and Macdara Vallely’s Peacefire.
The Irish Pavilion at Cannes, a joint marketing initiative between the IFB/BSÉ and Northern Ireland Screen, will see over 200 members of the Irish film industry promote and sell new Irish cinema at Cannes. Irish Film Board and the Culture Ireland will host the Irish reception at the fest. Highlights include a performance by Irish singer/songwriter Declan O'Rourke.
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The Experimental Film Club Presents ‘Play and Destruction’ – 15th May 2008
The Experimental Film Club has announced its schedule for this month’s ‘Play and Destruction’ event. The EFC along with Irish underground director Vivienne Dick are set to host the event upstairs in the Ha’penny Bridge Inn, Wellington Quay on Sunday 18th May at 4pm.
The event’s programme of films looks at an aspect of experimental cinema that is not always brought to the fore. Particularly now that experimental film is seen as more and more connected to the fine art scene and its conceptual and formal concerns, the fact sometimes gets neglected that performance, fantasy, theatricality, genre – and, last but not least, fun – have all been important tools in avant-garde film.
The works of Adolfo Arrieta, Jack Smith and Vivienne Dick are set to be screened; each director an example of the aforementioned aspect of experimental cinema. In their work, each filmmaker draws on elements of genre and narrative that will be familiar to any viewer from commercial cinema.
Vivienne Dick’s She had her Gun all Ready
(1978, 16mm, color, 27mins., New York)
Adolfo Arrieta's La imitación del angel
(1966, 16mm, 20mins., Madrid)
Jack Smith’s Flaming Creatures
(1963, 16mm, b&w, 43 mins., New York)
Further information available at http://www.experimentalfilmclub.blogspot.com/
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The Wednesdays receives Audience Choice Award in New York – 15th May 2008
Conor Ferguson's short film, The Wednesdays (Park Films), has added another award to its impressive haul from Clermont-Ferrand, Aspen and the Chicago Irish Film Festival. This time it is the Audience Choice Award at the NYC Downtown Short Film Festival.
The film will also feature in a Best of the Festivals screening in New York, 19–21 June, and has been selected to screen at festivals in Russia, France, Mexico, South Korea and Canada over the coming months.
The Wednesdays was co-funded by Galway Film Centre, The Irish Film Board and RTÉ. Ferguson is currently completing a short commissioned by the Irish Film Board.
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SDGI Announces Fourth US Distribution Showcase for Irish Director – 14th May 2008
The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland, in association with the Directors Guild of America, has announced the Fourth Annual Directors Finders Series 2008.
The Fourth US Distribution showcase launches today, 14th May. The Directors Finders Series Award presents an Irish director with an opportunity to showcase their film in the state-of-the-art Director’s Guild of America Theatre, Sunset Boulevard, LA, to an audience of American distributors & industry personnel with a view to securing a US distribution deal. The Directors Finders Series spotlights works of fiction, documentary or drama submissions from Irish directors who have not secured US distribution for their films.
An international panel of experts will select the winning film. The film and the director will then travel to LA where an official screening will take place on 19th September 2008. This year, SDGI will launch the film on 4th September in The Morrison Hotel, Dublin, at a special awards ceremony hosted by internationally-acclaimed director Jim Sheridan, to precede the LA launch.
Last year, 15 Irish directors submitted their films and an esteemed panel of judges decided Kings, by Tom Collins to be the winner. Kings successfully went on to get a US distribution deal, was Ireland’s official nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards and won 5 IFTA’s earlier this year.
The Screen Directors Guild have coincided the dates of the IAESDO conference with the Awards Party, meaning that there will be representatives from the Directors Guilds of America, Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand attending on the night.
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Darklight Festival Programme – 14th May 2008
This year's Darklight Festival, which takes place from 26–29 June at a series of Dublin venues including Filmbase, the Irish Film Institute and the Light House, is a four-day event celebrating cutting-edge film, animation, art and technology, offering an eclectic series of screenings, seminars, workshops and special events.
The Guest of Honour at this year's Darklight is legendary actor, writer and filmmaker Crispin Hellion Glover, who will be present to perform his Big Slide Show live alongside screenings of his stunning directorial outings It is Fine. Everything is Fine! and What is It?
Darklight '08 will also present a special focus on award-winning British filmmaking outfit Warp Films, as well as a retrospective of work to date by internationally-acclaimed Irish artist and filmmaker Paddy Jolley, who will be present for a Public Interview and the premiere of a brand new work on Temple Bar's Meeting House Square.
Over the course of the weekend, a troupe of brave filmmakers will endeavour to undertake the ultimate moviemaking challenge: to create Darklight's Closing Night presentation, an experimental documentary portrait of Dublin, in only 72 hours!
There is also the Straylight visual art trail, the debut of the Irish Film Board's Virtual Cinema shorts scheme and a series of events devoted to computer gaming past, present and future – including a very special screening of the 1982 cult classic Tron, along with a masterclass from Tron FX guru Ken Perlin.
Darklight ’08 is seeking volunteers to assist with all aspects of this year’s festival. If you are free over the period of 26-29 June then contact sinead@darklight.ie
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Award-winning Irish Short The Sound of People at Cinemas this Weekend – 14th May 2008
Award-winning Irish short film, The Sound of People, directed by Simon Fitzmaurice and produced by Noreen Donohoe, is set for cinema release across Ireland by Eclipse Pictures on 16th May.
The short will screen under general release with Charlie Bartlett, starring Robert Downey Jr, Anton Yelchin and Hope Davis.
The Sound of People tellsthe story of a moment in the life of an eighteen-year-old boy. In the time and space of a single moment, Stephen makes contact with his past and future and staring into the face of his own death, becomes aware that he is alive.
Martin McCann, the young Belfast actor, plays the lead part of Stephen. An internationally-acclaimed new talent, Martin is currently working with Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg in their widely anticipated epic television series Band of Brothers 2.
Shot on location in Dublin, Bray and Ardmore Studios, the film was commissioned by Filmbase RTÉ with print support from the Irish Film Board.
The Sound of People
*Official Selection International Dramatic Shorts, Sundance Film Festival 2008
*Winner Jameson Best Short Film Award, Belfast Film festival 2008
*Commendation Foyle Film Festival 2007
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Africa Day Film Festival – 14th May 2008
The IFI has announced a special one-day film festival, to take place on Africa Day, 25th May. Africa Day is the annual commemoration of the 1963 founding of The Organisation of African Unity.
The Africa Day Film Festival, hosted by the Irish Film Institute and Irish Aid, celebrates African diversity and success and highlights the creative potential that exists on this vast and varied continent.
The Africa Day Film Festival features a selection of world class filmmaking, which celebrates the creative potential that exists on such a vast and varied continent.
Screening Times:
Darrat (Dry Season) 12.00
Waiting for Happiness 12.00
Africa Unite 13.45
Bunny Chow 14.00
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Lights Out: National Film Festival for Young People – 13th May 2008
The Lights Out Film Festival, a new national film festival for young people, is set to take place on the 17–29 July 2008. The festival will be held at seven venues around the country, with hopes to double the amount of venues in 2009.
The Irish Film Institute, RTÉ and the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) are involved in the running of the festival.
Lights Out will offer a programme that gives young people the chance to sample the ‘exotic and unusual films’ of South America, Asia, Africa, Australasia, the US and greater Europe.
A panel of 18 young consultants has been assembled by the creators to aid the festival production. The panel ranges from the ages of 10 to 16 and hail from all areas of the country. Kathryn Mc Kiernan, presenter of The Den, has been appointed Honorary Patron of the festival.
Lights Out will host a special screening of the cartoons of Tex Avery, creator of Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd, on 31st May in the run up to the national film festival.
Further information available at www.lightsout.ie
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Best Human Rights Director Award for Alison O’Reilly – 13th May 2008
Alison O’Reilly, the Irish documentary maker, has been honoured with the Best Human Rights Director award at this year’s 2008 San Francisco Women’s Film Festival which took place in April. On receiving the award, O’Reilly said, ‘I’m absolutely delighted. It is a great honour and was totally unexpected.’
Midnight’s Lost Children, produced in 2005, was shot in Calcutta by Emmet Harte. O’Reilly was inspired by a news article to make her documentary exposing the extreme poverty and suffering faced by children in Calcutta every day. The film was made with the help of the Hope Foundation, a Cork-based charity which works with orphans in India.
The film was O’Reilly’s first documentary, and she has since gone on to direct two more, My Heroin Hell and My Way Back, Rachael’s Story part of the shortlist at last year's Boston Film Festival.
Her latest documentary, Who Will Love My Children?, is currently in production.
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Bette Davis Tour at the IFI – 13th May 2008
The IFI is to present the Bette Davis Tour, a month-long event that will screen some of the First Lady of Film’s renowned catalogue of work. Screenings will begin on the 1st of June with The Old Maid and continue until the 30th of June, concluding with a screening of All About Eve.
1st June The Old Maid
7th and 8th June Jezebel
7th and 8th June Dark Victory
14th and 15th June The Letter
14th and 15th June The Little Foxes
21st and 22nd June Now Voyager
21st June Mr. Skeffington
28th June Pocketful Of Miracles
28th and 29th June Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?
29th June The Whales Of August
30th June All About Eve
www.irishfilm.ie
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National Film School Sponsors To Be Unveiled – 9th May 2008
Stephen Rea, Jim Sheridan and John McColgan will unveil the Role of Honour of Production Industry Founding Sponsors of the National Film School in the Institute of Art, Design & Technology, IADT, Kill Avenue, Dun Laoghaire at 6.00pm on Monday 12th May, 2008.
In all, the names of over seventy sponsors, including both companies and film industry personalities, who collectively have donated a significant amount of money to the National Film School will be revealed at this event which will be attended by film production companies, film industry personnel, state and semi-state departments and companies and the Irish Film Board/Bord Scannán na hÉireann.
This event will mark the successful completion of the first phase of the fund raising initiative for the National Film School and the start of a second phase. In addition plans for the new, state of the art purpose built media and studios building due for completion in early 2010 will also be revealed.
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Irish Short for Edinburgh Festival – 9th May 2008
Colm Quinn's IFTA-nominated short film No Regrets in the West has been selected for the Edinburgh International Film Festival. A self-funded short with music by Giacomo Patella, the film explores themes of family, memory and cinema myth. Quinn profiles his father, who in turn remembers his own father; with regret in his home but with love in the imaginary landscape of the Western movie.
The short has already played at Galway, Cork and Waterford along with Colm's other work The Discreet Charms of the Refugee - produced as part of the Garage Studio at the Berlin International Film Festival 2007. It has picked up a commendation in Cork for Best First Time Irish Director and received special mentions at Waterford and the Chicago Irish Film Festival.
No Regrets in the West will screen on Thursday 26th and 27th of June 2008.
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Light House Cinema Launch – 8th May 2008
Dublin Light House Cinema reopened its doors in Smithfield on the evening of Thursday May 8th. During the evening over 600 well-wishers and loyal cinema-goers welcomed the return of the iconic cinema and were invited to view a film of their choice in one of the cinema's four cinema screens.
During the evening the co-directors of Light House Cinema, Neil Connolly and Maretta Dillon, commented, ‘We have a serious cultural agenda, which garnered the support from the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board. What drives our agenda and our ambitions is a belief in the power of cinema to make a difference to people's lives – a belief that cinema can act as a vehicle for exploring the world of the imagination and of dreams but also the real world, the social and political world in which we have the capacity to be a civilised and civilising influence.’ They stressed that the mandate of the cinema was still the same as that when the venue was previously located in Abbey Street. The Light House team remains committed to providing a wide range of cultural cinema including arthouse, independent, and quality mainstream releases along with films that will reflect Dublin's vibrant and ever-evolving multi-cultural society.
Light House Cinema is custom-built with investment from developers Fusano Properties Ltd and grants from the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and the Cultural Cinema Consortium (a joint initiative of the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board). Light House at Smithfield houses four screens, as well as a café/bar, which will be an integral part of the ambience of the venue. There is other ancillary space that will be used for community and outreach projects.
The cinema opens to the public on Friday, May 9th, when it will screen John Sayles’ Honeydripper and the highly acclaimed XXY, along with a welcome second chance for audiences to see The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, My Brother is an Only Child, Happy-Go-Lucky and the Academy award-winning Once, starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova and directed by John Carney.
Bookings and further information are available at www.lighthousecinema.ie
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IFI Announces New Head of Marketing & Communications– 7th May 2008
The IFI has announced that Ross Keane will join the IFI team as Head of Marketing & Communications.
Ross Keane has experience in marketing and communications, and has worked with a number of organisations both at home and abroad. He was the Director of Marketing and Development at the Dublin Theatre Festival since 2002, where he saw the festival's box office break the €1 million mark in 2007. Prior to his work at the festival, Ross established the sponsorship department within the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority in Australia, and was responsible for delivering marketing campaigns for numerous events in the City's free entertainment programme. Ross also launched the GAA Museum at Croke Park, and was the Sales and Marketing Manager for Croke Park's non-match day activities.
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Eugene O'Brien's Eden Wins Best Actress at Tribeca – 6th May 2008
Irish actress Eileen Walsh has won the Best Actress award at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York for her role in the Irish film Eden. The film, based on Eugene O'Brien's play of the same name and directed by Declan Recks, received its premiere at this year's Dublin International Film Festival.
It was broadcast on RTÉ One television on St Patrick's Night, where it drew over 420,000 viewers. Eden was partly financed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland Sound and Vision funding scheme.
Michael O'Keeffe, Chief Executive of the BCI, spoke of Eden's success saying: 'The BCI is delighted to be associated with the production of Eden as a result of funding from Sound and Vision. One of the key successes of this unique funding scheme has been the development of truly innovative programmes. The level of engagement with Sound and Vision over the past year has been overwhelmingly positive. It's reassuring for the scheme to have work that we funded to be winning awards on an international stage. Congratulations to all involved.'
Sound and Vision is a grant scheme designed to support the production of new television and radio programmes in Irish or English in the areas of Irish culture, heritage and experience and adult literacy. The scheme is the result of the Broadcasting (Funding) Act, 2003 and is funded by 5% of the television licence fee.
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'Cutaways' Photo Exhibition – 6th May 2008
Marc-Ivan O'Gorman, filmmaker and visual artist, presents an exhibition of images from Dublin and Delhi entitled 'Cutaways' at Filmbase, Curved Street, Temple Bar, 7–11 May (reception on Tuesday 6th May at 6 pm).
Marc-Ivan has recently divided his time between the Irish and Indian capitals and during this time he was struck by the commonality of the urban experience regardless of line of longitude; the traffic, the construction, the advertising, the mass transit, and various roadside phenomena. Though culturally very different, both countries share a British colonial past and spectacularly transformed economic present. Marc-Ivan's filmmaking background reflects in how he juxtaposes the imagery from both places, highlighting the similarities and contrasts in the two environments.
His previous work includes the award-winning experimental films Eye-con and Other and 35 mm feature film The Black Magic set in Los Angeles, California and Bangkok, Thailand. For examples of this work go to www.cleverality.com
'Cutaways' is a slightly abridged version of the 'Long Shots & Cutaways' event that exhibited in The Mint Gallery in New Delhi in February of this year. To see images from that exhibition please go to the gallery website: www.themint.in/exb.php
This project was made possible thanks to an Arts Council of Ireland travel and mobility bursary.
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Q&A with Director Morgan Spurlock in Cineworld – 6th May 2008
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, director of Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?, will be doing a Q&A this Saturday, 10th May, at 3.10pm in Cineworld, Dublin.
With no military experience, knowledge or expertise, he sets off to do what the CIA, FBI and countless bounty hunters have failed to do: find the world’s most wanted man. Why take on such a seemingly impossible mission? Simple – he wants to make the world safe for his soon to be born child. But before he finds Osama Bin Laden, he first needs to learn where he came from, what makes him tick, and most importantly, what exactly created bin Laden to begin with.
Following Bin Laden's trail through some of the most dangerous places in the world, Spurlock encounters both the rational and the radical faces of the Middle East.
He interviews many people who embrace him on the streets and welcome him into their homes, often gaining impressions that sharply contrast with the conventional media images of the region. Spurlock finds they're not that different from American families, sharing the same hopes and fears for their children that he has for his own.
In a world where we are constantly being told that we're on the verge of the ultimate showdown between good and evil, Spurlock risks life and limb to uncover the truth about Osama Bin Laden. But along the way, he discovers the lines that divide us aren't nearly as black and white as the heroes and villains we see in the Westerns.
Tickets are available from www.cineworld.ie and the cinema’s box office.
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