Three-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro for the Silk Road Film Festival, behind the scenes of this year’s JDIFF and more St Patrick’s Day events to be held in Kenya, London and Seattle.
Oscar winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro for Silk Road Film Festival
Three time Oscar winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (‘Apocalypse Now’, ‘Reds’ and ‘The Last Emperor’) is set to receive the Silk Road Film Festival Life Time Achievement Award at the Opening Gala of the 3rd Silk Road Film Festival in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle on Wednesday 18th.
Storaro will also hold a Masterclass during the festival which runs from the 18th to 22nd March across the city of Dublin. The masterclass is entitled "The Art of Cinematography" and will take place at the Edmund Burke Theatre, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin on Friday 20th 7.15pm-9.30pm in association with Screen Training Ireland.
Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC, was born in Rome in 1940 and began studying photography at a technical school at the age of 11 and subsequently enrolled at the Italian Cinemagraphic Training Centre. He continued his education at the Centro Sperimente di Cinemagrafia (the state film school). Storaro began his career as an assistant cameramen at the age of 20 and stepped up to the role of camera operator on his second film.
During a lull in production in Italy, Storaro dedicted several years to studying all forms of artistic expression, including literature, painting, sculpting and music. He returned to work as an assistant cameraman in 1966 on Before the Revolution, the first film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. Storaro earned his first cinematography credit two years later for Giovinezza, Giovinezza [‘Youthful, Youthful’]. His third film La Strategia del Ragno (The Spider Strategy)marked the beginning of his long collaboration with Bertolucci. In 1970, Bertolucci and Storaro collaborated on The Conformist, a seminal film in the history of contemporary cinematography.
Storaro's first mainstream studio film was ‘Apocalypse Now’, directed by Francis Ford Copolla in 1979. Storaro earned his first Oscar. He received his second Oscar in 1981 for ‘Reds’, directed by Warren Beatty, and the third one for ‘The Last Emperor’, in 1987, directed by Bertolucci. Storaro earned a fourth Oscar nomination for ‘Dick Tracy’ in 1990.
The Silk Road Film Festival runs from the 18th to 22nd March across the city of Dublin.
Behind The Scenes at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival
Recognising the importance of the Festival to the Irish filmmaking industry, a number of special events are programmed every year at JDIFF.
Featuring individuals who have worked on the films of Stanley Kubrick, including producer Jan Harlan amongst others, the Festival will welcome some very special guests including documentary filmmaker and programmer Mark Cousins, Casting Directors Margery Simkin (‘Top Gun’) and Leo Davis (‘Layer Cake’) and actors Robert Sheehan (‘The Road Within’), and Aidan Turner (‘The Hobbit’).
On Saturday March 14th as part of the Behind The Scenes strand of this year’s Festival they will be hosting a free outdoor event on Wolfe Tone Square.
In keeping with the Barry Lyndon 40th anniversary celebration JDIFF are going to film a fencing duel live on the square. The public are invited to come along and follow the action in terms of what goes into shooting an action sequence, and see first-hand the camera, the crew, the lights and of course the action. Presented in conjunction with Dublin City Council, Lovemovies.ie, and The Church.
Other events include the ‘Scene on the Square’ at 2pm, Saturday 14th March, Wolfe Tone Square. In association with LoveMovies.ie this free event will allow the public to see the behind the scenes of shooting a film.
Broadcasting: A Changing Landscape will be held 12pm, Friday 20th March, Wood Quay Venue and is the first of the Festival’s Screen Test series in association with BAI, with guests David Levine (General Manager, Disney Channels UK & Ireland) and Brian Furey of the BAI. This event will discuss how new and emerging platforms such as Netflix & VOD are impacting the content being produced for TV & radio.
Kubrick’s Cameras and The Cinematography of Barry Lyndon will be explored at 10.30am, Saturday 21st March at the Light House Cinema in association with the Irish Society of Cinematographers and will feature members of the crew from Barry Lyndon.
Producing with Jan Harlan (Barry Lyndon) will be held at 11am, Sunday 22nd March, Light House Cinema.
A discussion (entitled Perspective In Pictures) on the depiction of history on screen in the appropriately historic setting of Collins Barracks, with filmmakers Mary McGuckian and Se Merry Doyle will be held at 12pm, Sunday 22nd March.
Two time Oscar nominee Tomm Moore of Cartoon Saloon and animation producer Didier Brunner will be in attendance for the Animators in Conversation event, held at 1:30pm, Sunday 22nd March at the Light House Cinema.
The Art of Manipulation: Editing with Reka Lemhenyi will be held at 3pm, Monday 23rd March at the Teachers Club.
Expressing Emotion: Actors in Conversation featuring Robert Sheehan, Aidan Turner and Sarah Greene will be held at 3pm, Tuesday 24th March at the Teachers Club.
Other JDIFF events include:
- Write to Live, Live to Write: Managing your Writing Career
- Seeking the Truth: Mark Cousins in Conversation
- Conquering the Script
- First Rule of Book Club….
- It Begins with the Script: Casting Event
JDIFF will also feature the Dublin Film Critics Awards at 4:30pm, Saturday 28th March at The Church. Established in 2006, The Dublin Film Critics Circle offers the city’s full-time professional movie reviewers an opportunity to pool opinions. In this event you can join the panel which includes Daniel Anderson (Click), Brogen Hayes (Movies.ie), Nicola Timmons (Average Film Reviews), David O’Mahony (Access Cinema), Donald Clarke (Irish Times), Esther McCarthy (Sunday World) and Tara Brady (Irish Times) as they name their final selections for Best Film, Best Documentary and Best Performances from JDIFF 2015.
The 13th Jameson Dublin International Film Festival will take place from March 19th to 29th. The full programme is available to view: jdiff.com along with online booking. Tickets can also be booked in person at the Festival Box Ofiice on 13 Lower Ormond Quay or at Ticket Offices in Cineworld or the Light House from 14th March.
More St Patrick’s Day events planned in Kenya, London and Seattle
Kenya are set to host the first ever Irish Kenya Film Festival in Nairobi on Sunday, March 15.
The festival will offer the chance to catch Irish movies in Nairobi, as part of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, with Ken Loach’s The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Cartoon Saloon’s The Secret of Kells, and John Carney’s Once playing at the Louis Leakey Auditorium in the Nairobi National Museum.
In addition to the screenings the day will feature Irish musicians, who will play for a short time after the last film.
Five hours of free Irish film will be screened at London’s Prince Charles Cinema this Sunday (March 15th) under the umbrella of the Lord Mayor’s St. Patrick’s Festival and Parade.
In addition to three programmes of Irish short films, the St. Patrick’s Day Film Festival will also see the UK Premiere screening of Lisa Mulcahy’s The Legend of Longwood, with Miriam Margoyles.
The event will host a wide selection of shorts, including IFB-funded films The Tree starring Mark Doherty, Cutting Grass starring John Hannah, The Daisy Chain directed by Aisling Walsh, Somewhere Down the Line which won the Best Animation award at the Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival in February, Sophie at the Races directed by Alan Friel, Tea With the Dead with the voice of Frank Kelly and Roy Keane biopic Rockmount.
The St. Patrick’s Day Film Festival takes place at the Prince Charles Cinema near Leicester Square from 12.30 to 5.30pm.
Also on the event slate for St Patrick’s Day is The Irish Reels Film Festival in Seattle celebrating Irish film in The Armory at Seattle Center by offering Free screenings during Irish Week, Saturday, March 14th and Sunday March 15th. All screenings are in Loft Suite 3 and begins with the documentary ‘The Irish Pub’. More information can be found here.
