OFFline Film Festival has unveiled its 2012 programme with a number of award-winning Irish and international features set to be screened.
The festival, which runs from October 10-14 in Birr, Co Offaly, was officially launched by Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan.
The event will open with Buster Keaton’s 1924 silent film ‘Sherlock Jr’, which will be complemented by a live musical accompaniment from Galway musician Morgan Cooke.
Irish productions screening at the festival include Lelia Doolan’s IFTA-winning documentary ‘Bernadette – Notes on a Political Journey’, which examines the political and personal life of Northern Irish politician Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, and Gerald Hurley’s 2011 drama ‘The Pier’, which sees an Irish emigrant return home upon hearing of his father’s illness.
International films showing include Wes Anderson’s ‘Moonrise Kingdom’, ‘Electrick Children’ by Rebecca Thomas, and French film ‘Tomboy’ by Céline Sciamma.
This year the festival has introduced a short film competition for the first time, with 12 selected films from over 250 entries screening over the five day festival.
Each short will screen ahead of a feature film throughout the five days, with audiences getting the opportunity to see all the shorts when they screen in The Chestnut Bar on Thursday, October 11.
Other events at the festival include a Q&A session with film researcher Matthew McAteer, who is a former recipient of The Radharc Trust Archive Scholarship and is a current PhD student in film.
Youth workshops will also be held to help develop young people’s filmmaking skills and encourage them to take an interest in the industry. These workshops will be held in association with the On Set youth initiative, which is funded by the Arts Council via its Young Ensemble Scheme.
Speaking at the launch yesterday, Minister Deenihan said the festival is a testament to Offaly’s filmmaking: “The OFFline Festival is a fine example of good work being done in the field of film making in County Offaly. I admire this type of local activity and it is something in which you should take great pride.
“Film and television production in Ireland provides for increased international investment in our Irish economy, increased employment and positive spin-off effects for promoting Ireland as a tourist destination. It lets us showcase the talented people that we have in our creative industries as well as the natural beauty of our scenery,” added Minister Deenihan.
Offaly Local Development Company, the Arts Council and Offaly County Council all support OFFline Film Festival.
For more details on the OFFline film festival see their profile page on IFTN.
