Director hits out at film festival ‘snub’
Cork-based director Philip McCarthy, 38, spoke out yesterday after his hard-hitting, low-budget feature, The Vein Within starring Don Baker and Tommy O’Neill, was not selected to play at this year’s festival next month.
“I’m gutted to be snubbed in my own town,” he said.
“I put years of my life into getting this movie made. I thought it would have been a very good movie for the festival but I think there is a grudge against me. I don’t know why they rejected the film. Maybe they can’t handle the reality.”
The festival declined to explain why the film, which deals with issues of addiction and recovery, wasn’t selected.
“As is best and common festival management practice, the director and team of programmers never give feedback on individual films that have not been chosen to play in the festival,” said a spokesman.
A decade ago, Mr McCarthy was smoking heroin and cannabis and taking cocaine, but he turned his life around. Drug-free for several years, he now writes plays and directs movies to help spread an anti-drugs message. He won awards for his play, The Dark Room, which he later adapted as a short film. It was selected for the influential Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011.
Mr McCarthy said he can’t believe that while some of his work is considered good enough to be screened at Cannes, it is not suitable for screening in his home city.
He accepted that The Vein Within may not have the production values required for the Cork Film Festival. “I made it for €3,500. It’s a low-budget movie so what do they expect — a blockbuster?
“I put 13 years of my life into this and I worked with passionate actors and crew, and to be snubbed by this is gutting. And I haven’t been given an explanation by the film festival. It’s OK to snub someone, but tell me why it’s being refused. I have five scripts in development and, to be honest, this had turned me off making films in Cork again.”
He plans to submit the film to festivals in the US and Wales.
Cllr Mick Finn (Ind) also criticised his film’s omission from the festival.
“I haven’t seen the film but surely they could have found a slot for it,” he said. “To be snubbed by his own film festival is just not good enough,” he said.
“Coming from a guy who has come through the full range of experiences of drug use and recovery, I would have thought that this film would have resonated with audiences.”
The 58th Cork Film Festival runs from Nov 9 to 17.
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