 The Faeries of Blackheath Wood |
The winners of the 51st Cork International Film Festival were announced at the closing ceremony in Cork last night. The award for Best Irish Short went to Ciarán Foy for his film ‘The Faeries of Blackheath Wood’.
‘The Faeries of Blackheath Wood’ is a fantasy/horror short written & directed Ciarán Foy. Starring Orla O’Rourke (The Front Line) and Katie Keogh (The Clinic), the jury described it as ‘a jewel in the programme, this film stood out for its original approach to what can sometimes be a saccharine subject. We were delighted by the contrast of the rich visual motif and dark fable-like tone of the story. We found the young actress’ performance exemplary.’ Special Mention in the Best Irish Short category went to ‘Imagine This’ from director John Callaghan.
Forthcoming festival screenings for ‘The Faeries of Blackheath Wood’ include the Kerry Film Festival, Screamfest LA and the Terror Film Festival PA (where it has been nominated for Best Fantasy Short, Best Cinematography, and Best Special Effects).
The Claire Lynch Award for Irish Shorts by First-Time Directors went to Sam Keogh for ‘Wednesday’. The jury described the film as “a personal and well-told visual poem of daily life, delivered in colourful but not flippant way.” A special mention went to ‘The 18th Electricity Plan’ from directors Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa.
The Gradam Gael Linn for the Best Short in the Irish language was presented to ‘Marion Agus An Banphrionsa (Marion And The Princess)’, by Melanie Clark Pullen, David O’Sullivan’s ‘Nun More Deadly’ picked up the Audience Award for Best Irish Short and young film-makers Michael Donnelly and Alex Gill won picked up the Outlook (Gay and Lesbian Audience) Award for their sixteen minute documentary 'Christy'.
International winners included ‘Eut-Elle Ete Criminelle…/Even If She Had Been A Criminal’ (Jean-Gabriel Periot, France) which won Best International Short Award and the Prix UIP Cork and Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards was won by ‘Adrig Som Forsta Gangen!/Never Like The First Time!’ from Swedish director Jonas Odell.
For full details see: www.corkfilmfest.org
