Clones Film Festival has unveiled its 2012 programme, packed with new, nostalgic and native film screenings over four days.
The Monaghan-based festival will open on Friday October 25 with screenings of RTÉ Storyland winner ‘The Begrudgers’, which scooped the top prize last June.
All four episodes will screen, with director Philip Doherty, editor Finn Keenan and stars Shane Carroll and Ray Fitzsimons expected to attend.
‘Trouble Times Three’, a runner up in this year’s Storyland competition, will also screen all four episodes.
On hand to officially open the festival is ‘Love/Hate’ actress Aoibhinn McGinnity, who plays Trish in the hit RTÉ gangland drama.
Recently released and critically-acclaimed feature ‘What Richard Did’ from director Lenny Abrahamson (Garage) will screen, as will the award-winning ‘This Sporting Life’, starring Richard Harris as a rugby league player who wonders why his love life isn't as successful as his sporting life.
The film will screen in honour of the late Harris, who is considered one of Ireland’s finest actors, and is this year’s poster boy for the Clones Festival.
In recognition of the Clones Cycling Club, a cycling-themed day will be rounded off with a screening of ‘Road to Roubaix’ on Friday October 26. The film takes audiences along for the ride on the one-day, 112 year-old professional road race Paris-Roubaix, which features over 160 miles of the most difficult terrain the riders will encounter all season. It includes interviews with some of the biggest names in cycling such as Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara, Juan Antonio Flecha, Sean Kelly and Jean-Marie Leblanc.
On top of all this, a history afternoon will see two new documentaries, ‘Am An Ghátair, Times of Trouble - stories from the War of Independence’ and ‘Ballaí Dhoire’, screen on Saturday October 27, and the Francie awards held on Sunday night, where the winners of the 48-hour short film challenge will be announced.
Musical entertainment will also be supplied throughout the weekend in the form of local bands ‘The Shuckdodgers’, ‘The People’ and ‘Hacienda’, the festival troubadours.
The Clones Film festival runs from October 25-28 2012. For more information visit www.clonesfilmfestival.com.
