Programme for Dingle Film Festival taking place 17th -20th March
Dingle Film Festival (DFF) has gained a reputation for bringing together diverse and creative minds to discuss and experience film. This year's event is no exception, opening on Paddy's Day with a world premier of the Festival's very own documentary We'll Always Have Dingle, made by Grammy award winning director Geoff Wonfor.
Running under the tagline of being here: DFF hopes to amalgamate the unique and inspirational environment of Dingle with the meeting of great directors, writers & producers to create energised spaces to amplify the thoughts and ideas of anyone willing to plug-in to this electrifying network.
The festival is focussing on ‘being here' in Dingle to absorb the creativity and drive of filmmakers and film experiences, that it is hoped continue to inspire long after the festival finishes.
DFF's Gregory Peck Award: For Excellence in the Art of Film continues to award higher achievers in the field of filmmaking, and celebrates the festival's friendship with The Gregory Peck Family. This year the award will be presented to Jean-Jacques Beineix in The Phoenix Cinema on Friday 18th March. The Award Ceremony will be followed with a special screening of the wonderful Betty Blue.
The opening night will be a special one with a World Premier of We'll Always have Dingle. Geoff Wonfor's clever approach to the DFF documentary We'll Always Have Dingle has been to recreate classic movie moments from films such as Casablanca, The Godfather and Cinema Paradiso, using Irish dialogue for that authentic Dingle feel, and acknowledging the area's rich film history and its long-time contribution to the industry.
Special guests include Jean-Jacques Beineix (Betty Blue), Lenny Abrahamson (Adam & Paul) and Sophie Fiennes (Over your City Grass Will Grow), who will take part in a discussion on ‘Creativity' & ‘being here' in the beautiful location of the chapel in An Díseart, surrounded by Harry Clarke Windows. This event is in partnership with MEDIA Desk Ireland.
Some of the best screenwriters in the business will be part of the Creative Screenwriting Panel. Panellists include Emmy Award and Writers' Guild Award winner Lisa Albert (producer and writer on Mad Men), Richard Scobie (66 Degrees North) winner of this year's The Producers Guild of America Awards and in talks with Cruise/Wagner Productions; Ireland's leading scriptwriter Mark O'Halloran (Adam & Paul, Garage); Emmy Award winner Marc Flanagan (The Tracy Ullman Show); and award winning producer Edwina Forkin (Headrush, Sugar). This event is in association with Fás: Screening Training Ireland.
For the first time the Festival is holding a shorts competition to promote writing for film in the Irish language, entitled Físín. Proposals will pitch live at the festival to Eamon de Buitléar, writer Louise Ní Fhiannachta, writer Marina Ní Dhubháin and director of Ealain Na Gaeltahta Micheál Ó Fearraigh.
Element Films is one of the most successful film companies in Ireland, producing Garage, Adam & Paul and Golden Lion winner The Magdalene Sisters. Michael Ryan (Fifty Dead Men Walking, Planet 51) will interview Ed Guiney & Andrew Lowe on how it all happened for Element Films, giving an insight into the success and business strategy of the company. The talk will be followed by their award winning film Essential Killings.
First showings of films and documentaries include Geoff Wonfor's We'll Always Have Dingle, A Turtle's Tail: Sammy's Adventures, A World Premiere; BBC Arena documentary Produced by George Martin; Element Films' Essential Killings; three documentaries on the 2011 Oscars shortlist: Enemies of the People, Client 9: The Rise & Fall of Eliot Spitzer and Gasland; French animation Eleanor's Secret (Dominique Monfery), Barry McGuigan documentary In Sunshine or in Shadow (Andrew Gallimore), Rob Epstein's Allen Ginsberg pic Howl (nominated for Sundance Grand Jury and Golden Berlin Bear), BIFA and Berlin winner Son of Babylon (Mohamed Al Daradji), Pat Collin's What We Leave in Our Wake, Sé Merry Doyle's ‘Non-Alien' , an extraordinary journey with Jimmy Murakami, Cuban animation Chico & Rita (Xavier Mariscal), LittleRock (Mike Otto) and Elzbieta Szoka's look at Irish seisiuns in New York: Beautiful People .
A special screening of Dreaming The Quiet Man will take place in The Phoenix Cinema on the Saturday night and will be introduced by its Director Sé Merry Doyle. The film will play in MOMA in May as part of Gabriel Byrne's curated programme Imaging Ireland, Gabriel also narrates the film. The film exclusively features Maureen O Hara and has contributions from Martin Scorsese and Jim Sheridan.
The Dingle Business Chamber will again offer a free family screening. Bookings will be through Grainne Kavanagh. The film is a feature animation Eleanor's Secret featuring the best of children's fairytales characters: Alice in Wonderland, Red Riding Hood and Peter Pan. The film will screen in The Phoenix on Sunday.
Also featured will be a visual arts programme based around the theme of Uisce in association with Cork Film Centre, where the work of eight artists will be exhibited on the wall of The Old Ice Plant.
Dingle Film Festival will close with Treacle Jr, its star Aidan Gillen and its director, Jamie Thraves, will be present for the screening.