His & Hers, The Secret of Kells and Zonad Selected for Traverse Festival
Ken Wardrop's critically acclaimed His & Hers, Tomm Moore's award-winning The Secret of Kells and the cult classic Zonad, directed by John and Kieran Carney have been officially selected to screen at the Traverse City Film Festival, Michigan which was founded by Academy Award-winning Michael Moore.
His & Hers combines observation and charm in its exploration of women's relationships with the men in her life, following sequentially from little girls to old women across the Irish midlands as they discuss fathers and boyfriends, husbands and sons.
Speaking about the documentary Michael Moore described it as "One of the most moving and original films I've seen this year. No one has ever made a documentary like this one. In a summer of tired and stale movies from Hollywood, ‘His and Hers' is a breath of fresh air blowing in from the midlands of Ireland."
It has also featured prominently in the top ten of the Irish box office figures in the last number of weeks since it was released in cinemas last month.
Produced by Andrew Freedman for Venom Films and financed by the IFB, this intimate documentary has gone on to accomplish international success since it premiered at last year's Galway Film Fleadh, where it won the Best Feature Award. It picked up the Audience Award at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, Best Cinematography at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, Special Jury Prize in Non-Fiction Storytelling at RiverRun International Film Festival as well as screenings at the Hot Docs and Silver Docs festivals in the States.
Oscar-nominated The Secret of Kells contains action, adventure and danger for 12 year- old Brendan who must fight Vikings and a serpent god to find a crystal and complete the legendary Book of Kells. The animation features the voice talent of Brendan Gleeson and Mick Lally.
Co-directed by Nora Twomey and produced by Paul Young for Cartoon Saloon, the film has scooped a variety of awards including the Jury and Audience Awards in Kecskemet in Hungary, the Audience Award in Annecy, and Best European Feature at the British Animation Awards. It was also nominated for Best Feature Animation at both the prestigious Annie Awards and the Academy Awards® earlier this year.
The Secret of Kells was financed by the IFB, BAI, France 2 Cinema, Eurimages, Media programme, Canal+ Cine Cinema, Conseil General de la Charente, Piste Rouge, Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la Communauté Française de Belgique et des Télédistributeurs Wallons, Promimage and Wallimage.
Zonad, a light-hearted comedy starring Simon Delaney (Bachelor's Walk, Happy Ever Afters) as an escaped convict whose arrival in the small town of Ballymoran coincides with a rare comet sighting. As a result, the gullible local community hail him as an alien from another galaxy. Will his ruse be uncovered?
Produced by Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe and John McDonnell for Element Pictures, this humorous tale premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh last year where it was billed as a potential cult hit by critics at Variety magazine. It was officially selected to screen at the celebrated Tribeca Film Festival in New York City earlier this year. The film was co-financed by the IFB, RTÉ, Screen Scene and Element Pictures.
The Traverse City Film Festival has grown to become one of the largest and most respected film festivals in the U.S Midwest. Founded by Academy Award-winning Michael Moore, the festival brings films and filmmakers from around the world, with over 80,000 admissions to nearly 100 screenings; a special emphasis given to foreign films and films which have been overlooked but deserve the attention.
The 6th Traverse City Festival will take place in Michigan from 27th July - 1st August.