Far from Hollywood
CORK film-making is very much to the fore at the 56th Corona Cork Film Festival, which runs from November 6-13. Three new feature films shot in Cork city and county are being screened. Director of the festival, Mick Hannigan, says that because of the quality of work submitted, the popular Made in Cork screenings of short films has been expanded from 16 shorts to 24.
“One of the things I find gratifying about the festival is that it’s a showcase for new work and new talent,” says Hannigan. “People are coming back to us with their third and fourth films, indicating a sustained level of production in the city. There are now so many film makers in the Cork region that they have grouped themselves into an organisation called Cork Screen Professionals. This consists of directors, producers and technicians. The group was formed on the back of the Cork Screen Commission, which will be launched during the festival by arts minister, Jimmy Deenihan.” The aim of the commission is to attract productions to Cork and to give support to films being made in the Cork area.
Among the Cork feature films is Steamin’ + Dreaming 2: Cashback, directed by Conor Stanley. It’s a follow up to Stanley’s spoof rap documentary that was screened at the festival two years ago.
Another film of local interest is a documentary of comedian Tommy Tiernan’s Crooked Man tour. In collaboration with Richard Ayoade (writer and director of Submarine and star of The IT Crowd), Tiernan returned to a Cork venue that has played a big part in his career, City Limits “This is the first comedy show in decades to be filmed rather than video-taped.”
The opening gala night at the Cork Opera House will see the screening of American film, Like Crazy, directed by Drake Doremus. It’s about first love, hopefulness and heartbreak. “A warm hearted story” is how Hannigan describes this film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Once again, the festival will host a Slow Food night gala which always goes down a treat, combining the tasting of locally produced food and a film related to the grassroots Slow Food Movement. “It’s one of the first things to sell out. We’ll be showing the film, 18 Meals, and local cheese and meats and wine will be served at the screening in the Gate Cinema.”
The strong documentary programme includes Bernadette: Notes on a Political Journey, directed by Lelia Doolan, who will introduce the screening. This documentary, made over a nine year period, charts the story of Bernadette Devlin McAliskey’s political journey. The republican activist was an MP at Westminster from 1969 to 1974. “There’s some great archival footage in this documentary, as well as a very revealing interview with Bernadette,” says Hannigan.
The festival will also screen The Road to Moneygall. “While this charming documentary has been broadcast on RTÉ, I think it deserves a second screening.” Directed by Ed Godsell, it’s the chronicle of three years of life in Moneygall, Co Offaly, which experienced unexpected fame in 2008 when it was discovered it was the birth place of Barack Obama’s five times great grandfather. At the heart of the film is Obama’s long lost cousin, Henry Healy, and his efforts to bring the American president ‘home.’
From the whimsical to the uncovering of a grim scenario, The Whistleblower is a film that is inspired by actual events. Kathryn Bolkovac is an American police officer who takes a job working as a peace-keeper in post-war Bosnia. Her expectation of helping to rebuild a devastated country is dashed when she uncovers corruption, cover-up and intrigue amid a world of private contractors and multinational diplomatic double-talk. Rachel Weisz heads up the cast, which includes Vanessa Redgrave.
This film is based on a book by Bolkovac, who will sign copies of it as well as introduce the film.
The festival will launch the Japanese Film Festival which will subsequently play around Ireland. It will comprise features, documentaries and animation throughout the week. There will also be a focus on Romania. “The Romanian film scene is very vibrant. We’ll be showing shorts from that country. We’re also showing the Romanian feature film, Best Intentions, directed by Adrian Sitaru.” It’s a comedy drama focusing on the problems arising from a parent struck by serious illness.
Music is a feature of this year’s festival. “At Triskel Christchurch, there will be a range of screenings that incorporate music performances as well. We’ll be using Cork DJs and VJs. One of the Triskel events is People Like Us (the stage name of London DJ and multimedia artist, Vicki Bennett) with a new show. Bennett has made a collage of images and will be presenting an audio-visual performance.”
The festival has long been a supporter of artists working in film and this year it will honour the work of acclaimed Irish artist, Jesse Jones. In her films and videos, Jones explores the gesture of the revolutionary action. The Irish and European premiere of her latest film, The Struggle Against Ourselves, will be screened in the National Sculpture Factory (NSF) in collaboration with the Cork Film Festival. Jones will also give a workshop with renowned director and artist, Chi-wang Yang.
While the Cork Film Festival is hugely varied in its presentation of different genres within film, Hannigan says that its reputation outside of Cork is for short films. There will be an opportunity to see the best of what is happening in the short film-making world with a 95 minute Great Shorts programme at the Cork Opera House on the festival’s final day. As well as the Cork Opera House, Triskel Christchurch, the NSF and the Gate Cinema, there will be screenings in the old FÁS building, the Firkin Crane, the Guesthouse and the Pavilion.
“What we want to achieve in the future is for Cork to become the distribution point for young film makers in Ireland, particularly makers of short films. There will be a film maker development programme comprising workshops and master classes for young film makers at the festival.”
The reason why young people are making such strides in film “is because cameras have come way down in price. Digital cameras allow people to make wonderful looking films. But the downside concerns the distribution of films. The cost of releasing a film is expensive and as a result, a lot of films worth seeing never go into distribution. The function of a film festival is to give people access to films they wouldn’t otherwise see.”
Clearly, both the film industry and the all important audience are being catered for in this exciting film festival — one of the cultural highlights of Cork city.
* www.corkfilmfest.org
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