Three graduation films from students of the National Film School at IADT have been selected for the Student Etudes Competition at the 2020 edition of Energa CAMERIMAGE International Film Festival, while director David Freyne (Dating Amber) and cinematographer Kate McCullough (Arracht) have been nominated in the directors’ debut and cinematographers’ debut competition, respectively.
Referred to as the “academy awards” of the cinematography world, Camerimage is said to be “the greatest and most recognised festival dedicated to the art of cinematography”.
The selection of three films from one school is all the more impressive, as each of the shorts were completed during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The student films selected for competition included Post Love; directed by Max Barry and shot by Tiernan O’Rourke, Sisters; directed by Étáin Nash and shot by Andrew Khew, and SOS; directed by Daragh Goan and shot by Ronan Cooper, will screen in the Student Etudes Panorama.
Recently listed as one of Variety magazine’s “Top International Film Schools” these selections further cement IADT’s place as a world-class centre for the education of cinematography competing against some of the best and oldest schools such as the UK National Film & Television School, FAMU in Prague, and the American Film Institute.
In addition to the student work selected, two Irish feature films have been selected Dating Amber and Arracht shot by IADT graduates Ruairí O’Brien and Kate McCullough, respectively.
In 2017, Camerimage recognised the National Film School by showcasing a retrospective of IADT’s work featuring a seminar delivered by IADT lecturer, Matt Skinner.