‘It's Natural to be Afraid’ won the top prize at the Kerry Film Festival (KFF) on Saturday night. Adjudicated by Academy Award winning director Paul Greengrass, the grand prize of Best Overall Short was awarded to director Justin Doherty and writer Neil Fox at the awards, hosted by Dave Fanning,
The Audience Award of €1000, sponsored by Irish filmmaker John Moore, was won by ‘Neitzsche No.5’, directed by Shaun O'Connor.
‘The Scent of Strawberries’ won the award for best documentary. Directed by Guy Natanel, adjudicator Geoffrey Smith commented on the “very honest and engaging central character who brings us face to face with a range of universal themes and emotions.” In the animation section, the award went to Anna Fitzsimmons for ‘The Life, Death, Suffer Story’.
The KFF Maureen O'Hara Award for women who have excelled in film was presented, by the woman herself, to the actress Fionnula Flanagan who most recently appeared in the box office hit ‘The Guard’.
Brian Dunsten, director of ‘The Centre of the Universe’ won the newly introduced section celebrating the work of student filmmakers. Adjudicator Grainne Humphreys was “hugely impressed with the standard of submissions.” but said that Dunsten's film stood out, “combining a smart story with expert technical accomplishment.”
‘Bulldog’, directed by Steve Earles, was the winner of the Irish Shorts section. ”Bulldog is a beautiful and evocative short film,” said adjudicator Cillian Murphy, “It's a wonderful meditation on boyhood achieved through sensitive direction, gorgeous cinematography, imaginative use of sound design, and great performances from the young cast.”
The ceremony also saw four creative students from County Kerry schools recognised with awards for artwork which they produced while attending Kerry Film Festival's film appreciation workshops, with Sean Og O Morain, Jack Nolan, Gabriela Dabrowska, and Darragh Goulding were presented with certificates.
