Exciting New Irish Short Films Highlight Filmmaking Talent at Upcoming Cork Film Festival
The new ‘Signatures' and ‘Reality Bites' shorts will be unveiled in a special premiere programme, consisting of the eight short films and documentaries at this year's 56th Corona Cork Film Festival which takes place from the 6th-13th November.
This latest series of shorts highlights the remarkable standard of new and established Irish film-makers with films by director Ross McDonnell and producer Morgan Bushe, whose documentary Colony garnered huge critical acclaim and picked up the First Appearance Award at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival; the multi-award winning team Darren Thornton and Colette Farrell whose short Frankie took the international festival circuit by storm and won the European Film Academy Award for Best Short Film; and director Michael Lavelle and cinematographer Kate McCullough who received the Excellence in Cinematography Award at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival for their work on His & Hers.
This is the fourth round of these two schemes to be unveiled at the festival in Cork. As Bord Scannán na hEireann/the Irish Film Board's flagship short film scheme, ‘Signatures' focuses on the making of live-action, fiction films that aim to encourage strong, original storytelling, visual flair and production values appropriate to the big screen and this year's shorts won't disappoint.
When a man from Lorna's past is released from prison, we see her emotions spiral out of control as she finds herself inextricably drawn back into a life and a love that's forbidden in TWO HEARTS. Written by Colin Thornton the short is directed by Darren Thornton and produced by Colette Farrell for Calipo Pictures.
Feathers are ruffled at the orphanage when a new arrival threatens to upset the pecking order in CLUCK written and directed by Michael Lavelle. It is produced by Rory Dungan for Tilted Pictures and photography is by Kate McCullough.
Lorcan Finnegan's FOXES tells the tale of a young couple trapped in a remote estate of empty houses and shrieking foxes are beckoned from their isolation into a twilight world, a world of the paranormal or perhaps insanity. It was written by Garret Shanley and produced by Brunella Cocchiglia for Lovely Productions. Lorcan previously directed the Virtual Cinema short Invention of the Lightbulb and the Short Short Changes.
THE HATCH written and directed by Team D.A.D.D.Y (Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman) takes place on-board a fishing trawler one stormy night when a fisherman and his son witness a glowing object fall to sea. As they battle the elements to get it on board, the boy loses his life. The grieving father is left alone to deal with the otherworldly object and its unexpected contents. Team D.A.D.D.Y. directed the successful musical short Mr Foley and were the recipients of the first Give Me Direction Untitled Screenwriting prize earlier this year for their comedy script Bogman King. THE HATCH was produced by Gary Moore for Red Rage Productions.
The IFB ‘Reality Bites' scheme encourages experimentation and the realization of a fresh approach to non-fiction filmmaking. This year's selection deals with four extremely different topics.
Ross McDonnell's REMEMBER ME, MY GHOST tells the harrowing but ultimately triumphant tale of one woman's life in the iconic Ballymun flats. It was produced by Morgan Bushe for Fastnet Films.
A visual celebration on the ancient art of cutting turf in Co. Kerry HOME TURF is directed by Ross Whitaker and produced by Aideen O'Sullivan for True Films. The pair previously co-directed and co-produced Bye, Bye Now, which has bagged a number of awards at prestigious festivals including Silverdocs and the Edinburgh International Film Festival
QUARANTINE co-directed by Tadhg O'Sullivan and Feargal Ward is an intimate portrait of one woman's solitary time in the Radioactive Iodine Suite in St Lukes hospital where she enters each Tuesday and is left until the end of the week. The short documentary was produced by Pat Collins for Harvest Films who most recently directed the critically acclaimed Gabriel Byrne-Stories from Home.
Finally, Tom Burke's THE FISHERMAN follows Pat Walker as he climbs the high hill of Bull na Mór, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean to honour his father Pake Walker's memory and to contemplate a life spent at sea. It was produced by Shane Hogan for Areaman Productions. Tom and Shane previously worked together on the feature documentary The Liberties.
Signatures and Reality Bites will screen in the Cork Opera House on Saturday 12th November at 4pm.