Last Friday Night (11/12/98) - Four major awards were presented to members of the Irish Film Industry at the Guinness Film ball in aid of the Irish Film Archive which was held in the RDS. The Irish Film Archive acquires, preserves and makes accessible Ireland's film and audio-visual heritage providing a unique research resource for film-makers, broadcasters and students. The evening was hosted by MC Michael Dwyer, film critic of the Irish Times.
The Film Institute of Ireland presented two awards, designed by Waterford Crystal, for outstanding contribution to the Irish Film Industry, Tom Hickey presented Director Pat O'Connor with an award for his achievements with 'Dancing at Lughnasa'; 'Ballroom of Romance'; 'Circle of Friends' and many other films. Tom Hickey also presented the award to actor Tony Doyle in recognition of his outstanding body of work including 'Amongst Women'; 'Damage'; 'Ballykissangel' and 'Circle of Friends'.
This years Guinness award, a magnificent silver piece designed by Kevin Dwyer, was presented by Neil Jordan to Kirsten Sheridan for most promising newcomer to the industry. Daughter of director Jim Sheridan, 22 year old Kirsten has written, directed, produced and edited a number of short films and documentaries for which she has received a number of awards. Her short film 'Patterns' received awards at the Cork Film Festival, Galway Film Festival and The Jesuit Short Film Awards.
She knew in advance that she was to receive the best newcomer award. However she received a surprise when Neil Jordan announced that the script she co-wrote with Audrey O'Reilly 'Honor Bright' was the winner of the prestigious Miramax award. Miramax had received over 60 submissions for the best script by a young Irish writer and Kirsten Sheridan and Audrey O'Reilly as joint winners received a cheque for £10,000 between them. 'Honor Bright' is set in the early part of the century and tells the story of a prostitute in Dublin's red light district.
One of the highlights of the year, the ball is always well attended by members of the film industry and the Arts. As wellas the award winners, guests included Noel Pearson, Neil Jordan and Brenda Rawne, Steven Wolley, Aidan Dunbar, Patrick Bergin, Ronnie and Jo Wood, Shane McGowan, Liam Cunningham, Seamus Smith, Nik Powell, Morgan O'Sullivan, Dave and Ursula Fanning as well as representatives from The Irish Film Board, RTE, BBC, Channel 4, British Screen, Polygram, Warner Bros., Treasure Films and Parallel Films. And of course the IFTN staff were also in attendance.
Michael McMahon 15/12/98
