Irish Films 'Standby', 'Queen and Country' to Receive Irish Premieres at Cork Film Festival
Irish films Standby and Queen and Country will receive their Irish premieres at the 2014 Cork Film Festival in November. Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board is delighted to be working in partnership with the Cork Film Festival this year.
Standby stars Brian Gleeson (The Stag) and Jessica Paré (Mad Men) and is directed by Rob and Ronan Burke. Gleeson stars as Alan, a 28-year-old worker at Dublin Airport who bumps into a former lover, Alice (Paré) who is waiting on standby for a flight to the US. Both will tell lies about how well the last eight years have gone, but as the night goes on they gradually come to realize that perhaps they are more compatible than ever before.
Queen and Country is directed by John Boorman (Point Blank, Deliverance) and is the sequel to his 1987 Academy Award®-nominated feature Hope and Glory. Set in 1952, the film stars Caleb Landry Jones as an 18-year-old British man who joins the National Service and meets an amoral prankster who becomes his friend at the time of the Korean War. The film also stars Pat Shortt, Sinead Cusack, Callum Turner, David Thewlis and Richard E. Grant.
A number of Irish-produced shorts will also screen at the Cork Film Festival. These include:
· Analogue People In A Digital Age; a short documentary on eight men who fight to stay relevant on the day of the analogue to digital TV switchover.
· Céad Ghrá, about two best friends who set off on a quest in pursuit of their first crush.
· Cutting Grass; starring John Hannah, this tells the story of a young inner-city boy who, when trying his hand at cutting lawns for pocket money, has a change of luck when he meets Gerry.
· Rince; which offers a snapshot into the lives of a family of dancers.
· Rockmount; taking a look at the early years of a young Cork footballer named Roy Keane.
· Seventh Son; explores the concept that since ancient times the seventh son has been said to possess great magic and are gifted with healing powers, in tune with nature, animals, and all living things.
· Somewhere Down the Line; an animation which explores a man’s life, love and losses through the exchanges he has with the passengers in his car.
The Cork Film Festival takes place from 7-16 November 2014. Details of the lineup can be seen at www.corkfilmfest.org/