Visual feast as Fastnet Film Festival gets underway in West Cork

Petrina Shortt, Trish Shalloe, and Anne Murphy at the opening party for the Fastnet Film Festival. Picture: Johannes Eisele

There was a hint of Cannes in the air, but none of the formality and stuffiness, as the first films began rolling overlooking the ocean at one of Ireland’s top film festivals.

As the sun beamed down on yachts bobbing on sparkling azure seas, Oscar-winning actors and academy award-nominated directors mingled with film industry executives and film enthusiasts at the star-studded launch of the Fastnet Film Festival in Schull, West Cork — an event which prides itself on its casual approach yet sharp focus on the craft of film-making.