Irish Projects Bag a Number of Awards at Celtic Media Festival
Ian Power's feature THE RUNWAY, Risteard O'Domhnall's documentary THE PIPE and Robert Quinn's drama series NA CLOIGNE were all successful at the Celtic Media Festival, which takes place this week from the 13th-15th April.
The Celtic Media Festival is an annual celebration of the best of film, television, radio and digital media from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany and the Isle of Man and promotes the richness of Celtic heritage, language and culture.
Inspired by a true story, THE RUNWAY tells the story 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. The film, which scooped the prize for Best Feature Length Drama, has also been selected as the Spotlight Screening film at the Newport Beach Film Festival later this month. It previously won Best Film at the Galway Film Festival as well as getting selected by the Directors Guild of America for its annual Director's Finder Series 2010.
The critically acclaimed THE PIPE is a compelling documentary 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 IFTA-winning film picked up Best Factual Single and has previously received an Honourable Mention from the IDFA Green Screen Jury and official selections for the Berlin, London, Toronto and Palm Springs International film festivals and has screened at a host of festivals all across the globe.
Contemporary Irish language supernatural thriller NA CLOIGNE features a young couple at the centre of an investigation into the violent and gruesome murders of two women. The series, which beat off stiff competition to win Best Drama Series, was originally broadcast as a three part series on TG4 early last year and a feature length film version was broadcast on TG4 over Halloween.
The IFB-funded documentaries Colony, which was co-directed by Ross McDonnell and Carter Gunn, Men of Arlington, directed by Enda Hughes, also screened during the festival.
About THE RUNWAY
THE RUNWAY tells the story of nine year old Paco, who has never met his father, although his mother tells him he was a Spanish sailor. Paco spends his days getting into trouble and his nights learning Spanish from an old linguaphone tape in case his father returns. Late one night a mysterious Columbian pilot crashes his plane on the outskirts of their small town and Paco, as the sole Spanish speaker, is called to translate and manages to convince the town to help his new friend. Inspired by true events, the film chronicles a communities healing, where divisions and prejudices are set aside while pursuing an act of pure altruism. Produced by Macdara Kelleher, Brendan McDonald and Bernard Michaux for Fastnet Films and Lucil Films the film was funded by BSÉ/IFB, Luxembourg Film Fund, Film I Vast, CIAV and Quickfire Films.
About THE PIPE
THE PIPE follows the village of Rossport and its struggle against Shell, in resisting their attempts to install a high-pressure pipeline to transport unprocessed gas from the massive new gas fields off the coast to an inland refinery. In June 2005, five local men were imprisoned for 94 days for defying a court order allowing Shell workers to enter their land. Years of protest have left bitter divisions in the community between moderate campaigners, those perceived to have 'sold out', and hardliners whose tactics have included direct action and a hunger strike. The documentary was produced by Rachel Lysaght for Scannáin Inbhear with funding from the BSÉ/IFB and TG4.
About NA CLOIGNE
Na Cloigne focuses on the discovery of the naked and decapitated bodies of two young women in the woods. Local artist Nuala and her adulterous boyfriend Seán find themselves at the heart of the brutal murder inquiry as jealousy, lust and insecurity drives their relationship to breaking point. The programme moves into paranormal territory when the mysterious Superintendent Ó Sé arrives on the scene and calls upon his supernatural intuition to try and unravel the murder mystery. The series boasts a host of renowned Irish acting talent including Dara Devaney, Siobhán O Kelly, Barry McGovern with well-known Irish language actors Mac dara Ó Fatharta, Joe Steve Ó Neachtain and Áine Ní Dhroighneáin among the supporting cast. Na Cloigne was produced by Ciarán Ó Cofaigh for the Connemara based company ROSG, with funding from BSÉ/IFB, BAI and Section 481.
About the Celtic Media Festival
The Celtic Media Festival exists to promote the cultures and languages of the Celtic countries in film, on television, radio and new media. Primarily this is achieved through the festival - the major annual activity of the organisation - and also through partnership events throughout the year. The Celtic Media Festival is also in a position to offer a distinctive view of the media industry to government consultations which may otherwise be underrepresented.