The latest news on Irish shorts & film festivals.
Short film ‘Joy’ will make its TV premiere on RTÉ Two tonight (February 25) as part of the Short Screen series. The Filmbase/RTÉ short introduces 16 year-old Nicola, who is in hospital after giving birth. Nicola must introduce her newborn baby, who only survived for a short time, to best friend Tess.
The film was directed by Colm Quinn, with Neil Wallace and Emmet
Fleming producing for Venom Films. Aoife Duffin (Moone Boy) and Jane McGrath (Pure Mule) star, alongside Derbhle Crotty (Notes on a Scandal). Kate McCullough was the DoP.
‘Joy’ had its international premiere at the prestigious South by Southwest
Film Festival in Texas in 2012, before going on to gain a Special
Mention for Best Irish Short at the Galway Film Fleadh. It also screened as part of a Cork Film Festival compilation at the St Kilda Film Festival in Melbourne, and featured at the Worldwide Short Film Festival in Toronto and the Seattle International Film Festival among others.
RTÉ will show the film at 11.25pm tonight.
Short film ‘Barry’s Bespoke Bakery’ will screen at the Belfast Film Festival, the San Francisco Irish Film Festival and the BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, from next month onwards.
The film is set around the lavish wonderland of a refined cake shop, owned by pâtissier Barry. In Barry’s bakery, everything has its place, except for his talented employee Brian.
Denis McArdle directed the film with Ben Keenan producing. Michael Bates and Steve Gunn star in the short, which was funded by the Irish Film Board.
‘Barry’s Bespoke Bakery’ has also been picked up for distribution by Network Ireland Television, more details of which will be announced soon.
Northern Irish feature film ‘Good Vibrations’ will have its North American premiere at South by South West on March 11.
‘Good Vibrations’ |
The Terri Hooley biopic, directed by husband and wife duo Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa, is set in 1970’s Belfast, and depicts Hooley, played by Richard Dormer, as he opens the Good Vibrations record shop in Belfast during the Troubles.
The film has been selected to screen in the Narrative Spotlight section, which is for films receiving their world, North American, or US premieres.
David Holmes provided the score for the film, with Andrew Eaton and Chris Martin producing from Colin Craberry and Glenn Patterson’s script.
‘Good Vibrations’ was funded by NI Screen. It will be released theatrically in Ireland on March 29.
Documentary ‘Broken Song’ has been awarded the Michael Dwyer Discover Award at this year’s Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. The award, now in its third year, is named after the late journalist and film critic Michael Dwyer, who founded the Federation of Irish Film Societies, now known as Access>Cinema.
‘Broken Song’, directed by Claire Dix, follows a young soul singer and two rappers from the Ballymun and Finglas areas as they use music in a bid to escape their troubled pasts.
Nodlag Houlihan produced with Richard Kendrick shooting. The film was funded by the Reel Arts Scheme and screened at the IFI last week.
Jack Reynor in ‘What Richard Did’ |
‘What Richard Did’ will launch the fifth Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival in Schull in May, while director Lenny Abrahamson will take part in a Q&A.
The festival will run from May 22-26, with more than 200 films screening over the five days.
Multi IFTA-winning feature ‘What Richard Did’, which has recently been acquired by Tribeca Film for a North American release, will open the festival this year, with IFTA-winning director Abrahamson answering questions from industry professionals and members of the public following the screening.
The film, which stars newcomers Jack Reynor and Roisin Murphy, follows a group of friends during the last summer holidays before they start college. One drunk fuelled night at a party has consequences that could change the wealthy teens’ lives forever.
This full lineup for this year’s Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival will be announced on April 17.
