Unprecedented Number of IFB Funded Docs Selected for IDFA
An unprecedented six IFB funded documentaries have been officially selected for competition at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) next month. MEN AT LUNCH, THE RELUCTANT REVOLUTIONARY, ANTON CORBIJN: INSIDE OUT; SNAKE DANCE, MEA MAXIMA CULPA: SILENCE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD and the short document REMEMBER ME MY GHOST have all been selected for the prestigious festival which takes place from the 14th - 25th November.Following its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last month Sean O'Cualáin's documentary MEN AT LUNCH (LÓN SA SPÉIR) will screen in the Reflecting Images section of the festival. The film narrated by Fionnula Flanagan tells the remarkable story behind one of the most iconic images of the 20th century - Lunch Atop a Skyscraper which is said to feature two Irish emigrants from Galway.
Sean McAllister's gripping documentary THE RELUCTANT REVOLUTIONARY which was previously screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and Hot Docs in Canada is an intimate portrait of Yemen as the revolution unfolds. Told through the eyes of tour guide leader Kais, an intelligent commentator on the changing time of Yemen, it offers poignant moments of reflection, loss, anger and hope on the unknown road to revolution.
ANTON CORBIJN: INSIDE OUT which had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival is directed by Klaartje Quirijns and is an intimate and revelatory portrait of the influential Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn and follows him as he works with, amongst others, long time collaborators U2, Depeche Mode, Lou Reed and Metallica.
In MEA MAXIMA CULPA: SILENCE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD Academy Award®-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican. The film also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival last month and the BFI London Film Festival this week.
Two experienced storytellers, Manu Riche and Patrick Marnham join forces with SNAKE DANCE to tell the story of the invention of the atomic bomb and its unintended consequences in today's world. From booming New Mexico to war-stricken Congo and earthquake-devastated Japan, Snake Dance offers a compelling refelction on the Promethean dimension of nuclear power and the A bomb.
Finally Ross McDonnell's short documentary REMEMBER ME, MY GHOST tells the harrowing but ultimately triumphant tale of one woman's life in the iconic Ballymun flats in Dublin. It was produced by Morgan Bushe for Fastnet Films under the IFB Reality Bites scheme.
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) takes place from 14th - 25th November in the Netherlands.
More about MEN AT LUNCH
Featuring the narrative talents of Fionnula Flanagan the film tells the story behind the famous photograph depicting 11 construction workers eating their lunch while balancing on a beam of a skyscraper on the 69th floor, 850ft above Manhattan. The image, taken in 1932 during construction of the GE Building, centre-piece of the Rockerfeller Centre, is said to feature two emigrants from Shanaglish, near Gort, Co Galway.
The film was produced by Éamonn Ó Cualáin for Sónta with finance from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board, BAI and TG4.
More about THE RELUCTANT REVOLUTIONARY
Produced by Rachel Lysaght and Elhum Shakerifar for Underground Films with funding from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB) and BBC Storyville, the documentary was filmed over the course of a year with exceptional access to a country where no other camera crews or journalists were allowed to remain.
More about ANTON CORBIJN: INSIDE OUT
Anton Corbijn: Inside Out is the product of more than two years filming by director Klaartje Quirijns, whose close personal relationship with Anton allowed her unprecedented asses to both the man and his work. The film is a co-production between Fastnet Films, LEV Pictures and Savage Film with finance coming from the IFB, the Dutch Film Fund, the CoBo Fund, the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF) and VPRO.
More about MEA MAXIMA CULPA: SILENCE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD
Irish US co-production with Jigsaw Productions in the US and Below The Radar in Ireland. Supported by Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board. Has recently screened at Toronto International Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival.
More about SNAKE DANCE
Produced by Manu Riche, Genevieve de Bauw, James Mitchell for Soho Moon Pictures and Thank You and Good Night Productions with funding from IFB, Flanders Audiovisula Fund, Dutch Film Fund, Centre du Cinema et Del Audiovisuel de la Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles, VOO.