JAMES MULLIGHAN is in his second year as programme director of the Cork Film Festival, which runs until Sunday. Originally from South Australia, he has worked at Sony Classical and Columbia records, as well as helming the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Apart from the unsettled weather, there was a distinct Down Under feel to the first night of the 59th Cork Film Festival at Cork Opera House.

The management of Cork Film Festival is gearing up for its 60th anniversary in 2016, engaging with new partners and hopeful of securing a title sponsor, despite incurring extensive financial losses last year.

Bjork, Christy Moore, and Derek Jarman will all feature in this year’s Cork Film Festival in a typically eclectic programme of screenings that will appeal to movie buffs and mainstream audiences alike.

THE recent announcement of a laureate for Irish fiction, for which the recipient will be awarded €150,000 over three years, is welcome for writers and readers.

CORK Film Festival 2013 mixed old and new in this year’s programme, the first under new director James Mullighan. For fans of the big screen, it was a hectic nine days, and the event brought many surprises and rewards.

THE 58th Cork Film Festival catalogue will be launched at the Electric bar this evening. The festival is six weeks away, but its new creative director, James Mullighan — a former director of the Edinburgh Film Festival — says the lead-in will allow for as many tickets as possible to be sold.