‘Runners’, a short directed by Dubliners Ronan and Rob Burke and David Freyne’s ‘Passing’ have been selected for the Canadian Nickel Film Festival.
The IFTA award winning short ‘Runners’ follows 18 year old Derek (Mark Butler) as he tries to juggle a life of drug-dealing with his family and relationships. ‘Runners’ is produced by Black Sheep Productions and co-stars Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones). It has previously won awards including Best International short at Malibu International Film Festival (2010), Best Irish Short at last years Kerry Film Festival and Best Short Film at the 2010 IFTAs.
The other Irish short selected for the Canadian Festival is David Freyne’s ‘Passing’ which follows an elderly women’s final journey with her dead husband as she returns his body to their home. ‘Passing’ was funded through the Galway Film Centre and RTE short Film Scheme and was produced by Rachael O’Kane and Rory Dungan of Titled Pictures. Starring Mick Lally (‘Snap’) and Maura Hastings, ‘Passing’ won Best Overall Short at last year’s Kerry Film Festival.
’Runners’ and ‘Passing’ picked up the Best Irish Short and Best Overall Short awards at the Kerry Film Festival last autumn. Directors Ronan and Rob Burke commented on the Canadian selection saying: “We’re delighted that ‘Runners’ has been selected for the Nickel Film Festival. It’s amazing to get such a good reaction from as far away as Canada and it just shows how a relatively small festival like Kerry Film Festival can spark international interest in your work.”
The Nickel Film Festival takes place in Newfoundland, Canada and runs from June 21st to June 25th and will see the screening of 55 films over five days. For more information please log onto www.nickelfestival.com
