Three Irish Films Screen at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in US
The Irish features AS IF I AM NOT THERE, THE RUNWAY and THE PIPE are all screening at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in the California this week.Juanita Wilson's directorial debut AS IF I AM NOT THERE tells the story of a young woman from Sarajevo whose life is shattered the day a young soldier walks into her apartment and tells her to pack her things. Rounded up with the other women from the village and imprisoned in a warehouse in a remote region of Bosnia, she quickly learns the rules of camp life.
Wilson, whose short film THE DOOR was nominated for a Best Short Film Oscar last year has been named as one of Variety's Ten Directors to Watch in 2011.AS IF I AM NOT THERE which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September has just nabbed six IFTA nominations this week including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best International Actress for its star Natasha Petrovic. The film was produced by Nathalie Lichtenthaler and James Flynn for Octagon Films.
Inspired by a true story, Ian Power's THE RUNWAY tells the tale of a South American pilot who crashed his plane in a field near an Irish town in 1983, and how the community came together to fix his plane and build a runway to get him home. It scooped the Best Irish Feature award at last year's Galway Film Fleadh.
Starring Demian Bichir (Che), Kerry Condon (This Must Be The Place, Rome) and James Cosmo (Outcast), this moving story was produced by Macdara Kelleher, Brendan McDonald and Bernard Michaux for Fastnet Films and Lucil Films and was funded by the IFB, Luxembourg Film Fund, Film I Vast, CIAV and Quickfire Films.
The award-winning documentary THE PIPE directed by Risteard Ó Domhnaill tells the compelling story of Rossport's struggle against the economic might of Shell and the tragic divisions that have split a once-peaceful and close knit community.
The passionate, brave and beautifully shot documentary, produced by Rachel Lysaght (Underground Films), for Scannáin Inbhear with funding from the IFB and TG4, is no stranger to festival success having already received an Honourable Mention from the IDFA Green Screen Jury and official selections for the London and Toronto International Film Festivals.