The 20th annual Belfast Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival for Young People takes place this November. The event will see more than 100 films from around the world - more than 20 of which are UK/Irish previews and premieres – screening alongside over 60 workshops, competitions, masterclasses and other film related events. Festival attendees will include Oscar winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park), director Mike Hodges (Get Carter) and actor Jason Flemyng (Snatch).
The celebratory themed Cinemagic Festival opens in Belfast on November 11th and will run for 16 days and nights until November 26th in various Belfast venues including Movie House Cinemas, ODEON, Strand Cinema and Queen’s Film Theatre. New venues for 2010 include the newly refurbished Crescent Arts Centre, Ulster Museum and the Lagan Legacy Barge.
Irish ‘Misfits’ actor, Robert Sheehan officially unveiled the programme last Friday. Cinemagic’s Chief Executive, Joan Burney Keatings stated at the launch that: “We are delighted to present our 20th Anniversary Cinemagic Festival, which offers more than 150 film and television events for young people, that are entertaining, educational and inspiring. With the support of our funders, and our title sponsor Coca-Cola, we have been able to increase the number of events taking place. The Festival has grown hugely over the years and is a major event on the cultural calendar in Northern Ireland and beyond.
“We will be welcoming a host of both international and local industry professionals to the festival such as Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, acclaimed director Mike Hodges, actor Jason Flemyng, award-winning film music composers Maggie Rodford (Music Supervisor, Eat Pray Love) and David Julyan (composer, The Prestige), and returning for a fifth consecutive year, highly acclaimed film critic and broadcaster Mark Kermode will be ‘in conversation’ with the Belfast audiences. We are also holding an international young jury competition, screening a special series of 20th Anniversary films, and holding a Gala Awards ceremony in Belfast City Hall, so it will certainly be a festival to remember!”
The festival will open on November 11th with a gala screening of Dominique Monfery’s feature animation, ‘Eleanor’s Secret’. The event will close on November 26th with a preview of Tom McGrath’s new animated superhero movie, ‘Megamind’ from DreamWorks Animation and Paramount Pictures.
The festival is also the setting of the UK premieres of several Irish features including Maurice Linnane’s ‘A Kiss for Jed Wood’, Ian Power’s ‘The Runway’ and Alicia Duffy’s ‘All Good Children’. A further fifteen previews from around the world will see work representing the likes of Denmark, England, Norway, France, New Zealand, Finland, Germany, Austria, Australia, Italy and Japan.
To mark the landmark year the festival organisers have also included a series of 20th Anniversary Screenings. Thus the Cinemobile will be screening ‘The Witches’, ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Edward Scissorhands’. The rest of the festival’s highlights includes ‘Aardman Animations - A Celebration’; documentary screenings; screenings of films deemed to be ‘Family Favourites’; Comic Book Capers screenings and a celebration of the workl from Japanese animation film sudio, Studio Ghibli along with Irish and international shorts that will screen thoughout the event. For a full line up of events visit www.cinemagic.org.uk