In Pictures: Fastnet Film Festival launched as Paul Mescal confirmed for West Cork event

The Kildare actor will be reunited with some of his Normal People colleagues at the annual festival

Fri, 03 May, 2024 - 14:15

Des O’Driscoll

The programme for the Fastnet Film Festival was launched on Thursday night in Cork, and organisers also revealed the names of two more celebrity guests attending the event. Irish stars James Nesbitt and Paul Mescal have been added to the lineup of the annual festival that will run in the West Cork village from May 22 to 26.

For Mescal, who previously attended in 2022, the festival gives him a chance to catch up with some of his Normal People cohorts, including director Lenny Abrahamson and co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones.

Launched at the Crane Lane in Cork city, the festival has long been one that has punched above its weight in terms of guests, and the list for the 2024 gathering also includes such luminaries as producers Ed Guiney and David Puttnam; directors Paddy Breathnach and Emer Reynolds; and Ken Loach’s scriptwriter Paul Laverty.

Hilary McCarthy from Schull and Jean Van Sinderen of UCC at the launch of the Fastnet Film Festiva at the Crane Lane Theatre in Cork. Picture: Hilary McCarthy

Phil Lynott's former wife Caroline and his daughters Sarah and Cathleen will also be in attendance. The family trio will attend a Q&A after a screening of the Lynott biopic, Songs for While I’m Away, directed by Emer Reynolds.

As well as the workshops and discussions, the numerous screenings in the village without a cinema will also feature several horror films, including the classic Nosferatu, with live musicians playing a new score created by Cork sibling composers Irene and Linda Buckley.

Meanwhile, John McGahern adaptation That They May Face The Rising Sun has been getting rave reviews during its current cinema run, and the film’s Drimoleague-born director Pat Collins will introduce a screening on Sunday evening at the park in Schull.