IFB Partners with IFI for Stranger than Fiction
Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB) is delighted to be the industry partner on this year's Stranger than Fiction festival organised by the Irish Film Institute from September 25th to 28th 2014.
This year Stranger than Fiction will showcase a really strong line up of Irish and international documentaries with stories ranging across strikers, remarkable personal stories and behind-the-scenes drama in Hollywood.
This year's Irish documentaries include Blood Fruit which was jointly awarded with the Best Feature Documentary prize at the Galway Film Fleadh. Directed by Sinead O'Brien, Blood Fruit examines the Dunnes Stores Strikers of the 1980s. The strike began in July 1984 and two years and nine months later, after gaining international coverage and both support and opposition. This thought-provoking documentary features contributions from the strikers and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who said of the film ahead of its premiere: "I am delighted that these extraordinary people seem to be finally getting the recognition they so richly deserve. You are part of the history of South Africa's struggle for freedom. Your stand was a beacon of hope during dark days in our history."
Meanwhile Des Doyle's film Showrunners is the first feature-length documentary to explore the fascinating world of the "showrunners", the people in charge of bringing hit TV shows to life, keeping them on track and overcoming the drama involved in such a position. Amongst the contributors to Showrunners are Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), JJ Abrams (Alias), Damon Lindelof (Lost), Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire), Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) and many others. Following its screening at the San Diego Comic Con event, the film recently secured an October US release in cinemas and VOD.
Ciarín Scott's documentary In A House That Ceased To Be will also screen at the festival, following the life and work of Irish humanitarian and children's rights activist Christina Noble. The film presents a complex portrait of Noble, a woman with great accomplishments yet who remains scarred by the events of her childhood which saw her separated from her siblings at a young age. While hundreds of thousands of people have benefitted from Noble's work, can she bring her own family back together after 53 years?
Other documentaries screening at the Stranger than Fiction festival include It Came From Connemara!!, which tells the story of B-movie producer Roger Corman's Connemara studio, We Are Many examining the impact of the anti-Iraq War protests of February 2003 and Life Itself, a film examining the life and death of renowned film critic Roger Ebert.
The Stranger Than Fiction festival will also feature a day of industry events and guests including leading figures in the documentary industry, including funders and distributors, details of which can be seen at http://www.ifi.ie/stf.
This year's Stranger than Fiction festival will take place at the IFI in Dublin's Temple Bar from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th September 2014.