After receiving a record 500 entries in 2014, the Celtic Media Festival’s Call for Entries for 2016 is now open, with film and programme makers, and digital media and radio producers, able to submit entries for the Torc Awards for Excellence.
Next year’s event takes place in Dungarvan in County Waterford and, with the addition of three new award categories in Comedy, Radio Comedy and Radio Magazine Show, a total of 24 Torc Awards will be presented at the 2016 Festival.
Over the years the Festival has celebrated the best in Celtic media, with BBC/Hartswood Films’ Sherlock, BBC/RTÉ/Artists Studio Ltd’s The Fall and BBC Cymru Wales’ Doctor Who just a few of the major productions to be nominated for Torc Awards for Excellence. Past winners include RTÉ One’s Love/Hate, Fiction Factory’s Y Gwyll/Hinterland and TG4/Magamedia’s Corp + Anam.
Catriona Logan, Festival Director said: “Each year the quality and quantity of productions submitted through the Call for Entries exceeds our expectations. It’s exciting to be bringing the 2016 festival to Dungarvan, a town that boasts a thriving arts scene and local media industry. I’m sure Dungarvan 2016 will be a festival to remember.”
The 37th Celtic Media Festival takes place over 20th – 22nd April 2016 and will see hundreds of delegates enjoy a packed festival programme in the Irish town. Supported by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Waterford City and County Council, TG4, BBC Scotland, RTÉ, MG ALBA, S4C, Northern Ireland Screen, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Cymru Wales, the festival consistently attracts international delegates wherever it is held and offers a programme that celebrates the influential media industry of the Celtic nations and regions, as well as providing networking opportunities for delegates and speakers alike.
Despite moving to a new location each year, the Celtic Media Festival maintains its unique atmosphere, one which evokes its nurturing, collaborative nature no matter where it calls home. And each year the Festival’s design concept draws on its chosen location – this year, Irish myths and legends have inspired the 2016 design, specifically the Salmon of Knowledge, thought to hold all the wisdom in the world in its flesh. The 2016 design is a nod to the world-renowned Waterford Crystal, and the lettering is evocative of traditional Celtic calligraphy found in tomes such as the Book of Kells.
Full information on the Call for Entries and award categories, plus the first look at the 2016 design, are available at www.celticmediafestival.co.uk. The deadline for entries is 30th October 2015.
The Celtic Media Festival 2016 will take place in Dungarvan in County Waterford, Ireland, from 20th – 22nd April 2016. The festival has been held in Ireland nine times previously.
