Filmmakers to turn festival screens green

More than 30 Irish films are lined up to feature at a Spanish festival.

An 'Irish day' dedicated to the work of short film makers is being held at Madrid’s Festival de Cine de Alcala de Henares (ALCINE).

The diverse event has emerged as one of Spain’s most important short film competitions and over its 36-year history has marked the work from other countries.

Documentaries from Latin American directors, animated films from China and short films from Brazil have previously been featured.

On Friday, the festival will put Irish short films on the international map.

The 'Irish day' screenings are divided into various sections including recent Irish shorts, short shorts, fantastic and horror genre, and also screens a full length film which will be Niall Heery’s acclaimed Small Engine Repair.

A music concert will be staged by Garrett Wall.

A number of Irish directors whose work will feature in the festival will jet out to the event, including Ken Wardrop, Jason Tammemagi, Niall Heery, Macdara Kelleher and Margaret Corkey.

The films have been supplied by Reel Ireland, the organisation which makes titles from the Irish Film Archive of The Irish Film Institute available to cultural exhibitors abroad.

“The festival at Alcine is a wonderful recognition of the value of short films,” said Karen Wall of Reel Ireland.

“Their importance is often overlooked when it comes to Irish cinema.

“They provide a challenging medium for filmmakers to experiment and develop their own style and technique while being pushed to tell their story in quite a limited time frame.

“Irish Day is a chance to gather together both the films and the filmmakers to view and celebrate these sometimes unrecognised treasures.”