The second Boyne Valley International Film Festival (BVIFF) took place from August 11-13, welcoming both filmmakers and audiences to Boyne Valley to celebrate film, filmmakers, and the Boyne region.
A key feature of the festival are the Awards, designed to celebrate and support filmmakers, with €1,000 going to the recipients of each category award. Gerard Anthony Gormley’s The Passenger won Best Short Filmed in the Boyne Valley (sponsored by the Clinch family), whilst Emma Foley won in the Best Narrative Irish Short category (sponsored by Love Drogheda BIDs) with her film Sound & Colour.
Other category awards at the festival include: Best International Short which went to Off Side (Hors Jeu) by Sophie Martin, Best Animated Short which went to Mum is Pouring Rain, by Hugo de Faucompret, and Best Documentary Short which went to Nothing to Declare by Garret Daly.
Fionnuala Gygax was the recipient of the 2023 Development Bursary to help realise her script for the short The Island. Other filmmakers shortlisted were Katie Murphy (The Queen of Puck), Tania Notaro (Men of Fighting Age) and Conor McCormick (Baby Bunker).
The festival was also delighted to welcome filmmakers Aaron Monaghan and Clare Monnelly to Drogheda to celebrate their work and explore their process as the 2023 Filmmakers in Focus.
BVIFF 2023 is produced in partnership with LOVE Drogheda BIDS, funded by the Arts Council, and Meath and Louth County Councils, and supported by Boann Distillery, The D Hotel, the Clinch Family, the Arc Cinema, and Anglo Printers.
For more info and booking see www.droichead.com
Winners at Boyne Valley International Film Festival 2023:
Best Short Film Made in the Boyne Valley
The Passenger (WINNER)
Writer/Producer: Gerard Anthony Gormley
Director: John Redmond
Best Irish Narrative Short Film:
Sound & Colour (WINNER)
Writer/Director: Emma Foley
Producer: Tamryn Reinecke
Headspace (HONORARY MENTION)
Writer/Director: Aisling Byrne
Producer: Killian Coyle
Best International Short Film:
Off Side/Hors Jeu (WINNER)
Writer/Director: Sophie Martin
Producers: Nicolas d’Autryve & Sandra Karim
Super Jesus (HONORARY MENTION)
Writer/Director: Vito Palumbo
Producer: Gaspare Rizzo
Best Animated Short Film:
Mum is Pouring Rain (WINNER)
Writers: Hugo de Faucompret & Lison D’Andréa
Director: Hugo de Faucompret
Producers: Antoine Liétout, Ivan Zuber & Emmanuèle Petry-Sirvin
Best Documentary Short Film:
Nothing to Declare (WINNER)
Writer/Director: Garret Daly
Producer: Martina McGlynn
Short Film Bursary Award:
Fionnuala Gygax, for The Island (WINNER)
Conor McCormick, for Bunker Baby (HONORARY MENTION)
Filmmakers in Focus
Clare Monnelly and Aaron Monaghan
