IFB-BACKED FILMS SCOOP MAJOR INTERNATIONAL PRIZES
Four Bord Scannan na hEireann/the Irish Film Board-backed productions have recently won the top prizes at major film festivals around the world.
SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY and GOLDFISH MEMORY scored the top prizes at the Cherbourg Irish and British Film Festival in France, which came to a close today.
Aisling Walsh’s SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY, which opens nationwide in Ireland on October 17th, won the Audience Award for Best Film and also scooped the Best Actor award for John Travers, who plays Liam in the film, one of the young boys at St Jude's Reformatory School.
Liz Gill’s GOLDFISH MEMORY, which is still on release in Ireland, won the Jury prize for Best Feature.
On the other side of the world, THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED continued its haul of major awards by winning the Silver Hugo for best documentary feature at the Chicago International Film Festival, which ends October 16th. This feature documentary was named ‘Best Television Program in the World’ at the prestigious BANFF Awards earlier this year and is presently on theatrical release in the US ahead of its HBO premiere.
Also in the documentary sector, NED KELLY directed by Barrie Dowdall was named Best Irish Documentary at the recent ‘Stranger than Fiction’ festival, which took place in the Irish Film Institute at the beginning of October.
“It’s wonderful to see Irish films getting the critical and audience recognition they so richly deserve”, said BSE/IFB CEO Mark Woods. “Congratulations to each of the filmmaking teams concerned”.