New Ireland On Screen Film Season to be Launched on RTE
RTÉ is proud to launch an Irish film season entitled Ireland On Screen to celebrate our Irish film culture and home grown talent.
The season consisting of 13 Irish films, eight of which are premieres will run for five weeks. The films will be broadcast on RTÉ One and RTÉ Two during the month of June giving viewers an alternative to Euro 2008 coverage. Goldfish Memory, Headrush, H3, Dead Long Enough, Dead Bodies, Trouble with Sex, Country and Love and Rage are all Irish Television premieres.
The catalogue of movies ranges from art house niche projects like Adam & Paul to more broadly popular titles like Song for a Raggy Boy. From prisoners to dating and drug smuggling to child abuse the films explore a diverse range of themes and topics. Famous on screen faces who feature in Ireland On Screen include Aidan Quinn, Anjelica Huston, Angeline Ball, Keith McErlean, Aidan Gillen and Jean Butler. The movies’ production dates span from 1997 to 2006 – tracing almost a decade of the changing face of Irish society.
The films have received various prestigious accolades – Song for a Raggy Boy won the IFTA for Best Irish Film in 2004 and the Golden Swan award at the 2003 Copenhagen International Film Festival. Leonard Abrahamson won Best Film Director for Adam & Paul at the 2004 IFTAs. Dead Bodies scooped three IFTAS in 2003 for Best Actor, Best Editing and Best Sound. Spin the Bottle also triumphed at the 2003 IFTAs with three wins – Best Music in Film, Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction. In 2005 Renee Weldon walked away with the IFTA for Best Actress in a Feature Film for Trouble with Sex. Headrush won the Miramax Scriptwriting Award in 1999 and Country won Best Film at the Galway Film Festival in 2000 and Best European Film in Verona in 2001. Agnes Browne received the Youth Jury Award at the 1999 San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Jane Gogan, Commissioning Editor for Drama says: “We are delighted to offer our viewers the chance to see these films. It’s an opportunity for RTÉ to showcase some of the best of Irish talent in recent years. Many of these film industry professionals be they costume designers, lighting experts, directors or camera people often go on to share their high standards of big screen knowledge with small screen television productions. Such was the case with RTÉ television dramas like Prosperity and Single- handed. The high levels of professionalism and imagination of the individuals involved is always apparent and brings an extra sparkle to the production.”
Please find the line up for the films below. Times are subject to change. For full transmission details, photos and film summaries please check www.rte.ie/presspack
WEEK 23
RTÉ Two Crushproof (1997) Saturday May 31st 10:55pm
RTÉ One Goldfish Memory (2003) Friday June 6th 9:35pm
WEEK 24
RTÉ Two Headrush (2003) Saturday June 7th 10:05pm
RTÉ Two H3 (2001) Saturday June 7th 11:40pm
RTÉ One Dead Long Enough (2006) Friday June 13th 9:35pm
WEEK 25
RTÉ Two Adam & Paul (2004) Saturday June 14th 10:00pm
RTÉ Two Dead Bodies (2003) Saturday June 14th 12:00am
RTÉ One Song for a Raggy Boy (2003) Friday June 20th 9:30pm
WEEK 26
RTÉ Two Spin the Bottle (2003) To be confirmed
RTÉ Two Trouble With Sex (2005) To be confirmed
RTÉ One Agnes Browne (1999) To be confirmed
RTÉ One Country (2000) To be confirmed
WEEK 27
RTÉ Two Love and Rage (1998) To be confirmed