New Showcase of IFB Short Films to Premiere at Galway Film Fleadh
A host of emerging talent will showcase at the 22nd Galway Film Fleadh next week as the newest slate of Short Shorts and Frameworks films premiere on Saturday 10th July.
Short Shorts aims to provide a platform to encourage new creative voices with a distinctive directorial skills and cinematic flair. A unique feature to the schemes is that films must conform to a particular genre or theme; the genre for this round being Films With No Dialogue. The filmmakers have each embraced this genre and come up with some exceptional and innovative films which should make for an affective premiere.
Shirley Weir's As The Light Leaks In is about a young girl who makes a cardboard television set to create a safe world away from the clutches of her violent father and was produced by Frank Reid for Stitch Films (2.5 Billion, Pump Action). Brian Williams' Dummy follows a shop window mannequin's bizarre journey from destruction to second life, which was produced by Susan Mullen for Parallel Films.
Flatbed, written and directed by Tom Merilion, is an unconventional love story, produced by Jonny Speers for Speers Films (Water Bodies). Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, directed by Gemma Faith and co-written by Gemma and Victoria McCollum explores female sexuality in the later stages of life. The short was produced by Victoria for Ego Trim Pictures and was shot by P.J Dillon, whose debut feature Rewind will also be premièring at the fleadh.
Patrick Semple's Headspace, is a touching animation about a boy who distances himself from reality to cope with abuse. It was produced by Barry O'Donoghue for Barley Films (Donkey, Charred & Feathered). Loft, written and directed by Gareth Chambers and produced by Steven Davenport for Underground Films tells of a man and his pigeons that live in fear of a boy and his football.
Terence White's The Night-Nurse is a thrilling short where a nurse on a psychiatric ward searches for a missing patient, produced by Ian Davis for DIG Productions. The Parting is a haunting tale written by Molly O'Driscoll and directed by Ivan McMahon, which depicts a woman struggling to come to terms with her son's death and was produced by Adrian Devane for Two Hungry Fish Productions.
Frameworks is a scheme for the production of animated short films which has been very successful in stimulating ground-breaking new work from Irish animators. The scheme is co-funded by the IFB, RTÉ and the Arts Council.
The Frameworks shorts premiering at the Fleadh include Ruairi Robinson's Blinky TM, produced by Nick Ryan for Image Now (The German, Uncle Bill's Barrell), about a robot who wants a friend but just isn't very good at making them, Paperman, directed by Richard Kelly and co-written by Richard and Sean Ryan which tells of a paper man's quest for love to find his paper girl and was produced by Jessica Kelly for Prickly Pear Productions and Bruce Ryder's The Meaning of Eggsistence, an unusual tale of a man who lays an egg after being attacked by a swan. It was produced by Stephen Rennicks for Freerange Films Limited.
The Short Shorts and Frameworks programme gets under way in the Town Hall Theatre, Galway at 3:00pm on Saturday 10th July.