Irish Short Films to have their US premiere alongside debut shorts directed by US actresses Kirsten Dunst and Kate Hudson
The Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, which opened this week, will feature a large selection of Irish short films funded by the Irish Film Board, including the multi-award winning films Frankie (Darren Thornton) and New Boy (Steph Green).The festival, which has grown into one of the largest short film showcases in North America, will feature twelve Irish short films which will screen alongside debut shorts directed by US actresses Kirsten Dunst and Kate Hudson.
The festival will premiere two films from up and coming director Michael Kinirons, Treeclimber and his new drama short Lowland Fell. Other films include Brian Durin's beautiful film Of Best Intentions, Shapes directed by Alan Brennan, the hilarious animated short Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty directed by Nicky Phelan and written and performed by Kathleen O'Rourke and The Basket Case directed by Owen O'Neil.
Festival film curator Kathleen McInnis, who programmed the Irish line-up commented "I got to go to the Galway Film Fleadh in July. One of the things that jumped out was how remarkable the Irish films were this year," she said. "The strongest component is the storytelling elements. Man, these guys know how to tell a story." "We have this creepy, creepy one called, Shapes that will just scare you to death," she said. She went on to say that she adores "Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty," an animated retooling of a classic. "It just made me hoot and howl when I saw it, so much fun," she said.
Other Irish shorts in the lineup include; Thomas Hefferon's The Confession Shane McCabe's The Lucky Escape, Conor Ferguson's The Wednesdays and Luke McManus' crime caper Danger High Voltage.
"Welcome," directed by Kirsten Dunst, is a psychological horror story starring Winona Ryder and Jason Clarke, while Kate Hudson's "Cutlass," starring Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart, Virginia Madsen, Kurt Russell and Chevy Chase, is an endearing family story.
Bill Pullman, (Independence Day) and starred in and produced the award-winning "The Virginian" in 2000, will serve on the short film jury and also teach a master class on acting.
More information on Irish films
The Basket Case
Ireland, 2007, 16 min.
Ambrose has 48 hours left to prepare for his wife's passing. The villagers have nothing but pity for the poor man, until he starts to buy an odd list of things on credit with a promise to "pay tomorrow." For one particularly anxious shopkeeper, Ambrose's intentions are about to cut sharply into his ... more
The Confession
Ireland, 2008, 4 min.
In 1970s Ireland, young Johnny Smith may be in the confession booth, but he's got a little more than salvation on his mind.... more
Danger High Voltage
Ireland, 2008, 11 min.
Two strangers pass on the dark sidewalk, lit only by the street lights. The moment awakens the young man's memory of one extraordinary night. Memory is fleeting for a reason, but is this one begging to be recaptured?... more
Frankie
Ireland, 2007, 12 min.
This engrossing tale -- a prizewinner at the Cork and Galway Film Festivals -- introduces us to a startlingly precocious teenager who wheels a baby carriage around town in preparation for what he hopes will be his upcoming union with a girl he's knocked up.... more
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
Ireland, 2008, 5 min.
Granny O'Grimm retells her version of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale to her granddaughter as a bedtime story. But Granny's version hits a little too close to home.... more
Lowland Fell
Ireland, 2008, 21 min.
Lowland is a young girl temporarily displaced to the middle-of-nowhere Ireland while her father is on an archaeological dig. When she happens across two young brothers cutting peat, a surprise discovery brings the three of them together for a night of exploration.... more
Lucky Escape
Ireland, 2007, 3 min.
A guy, nervously waiting for his girlfriend to arrive for a lunch at which he plans to pop the big question, finds himself the happy beneficiary of a delay in his window of opportunity.... more
New Boy
Ireland, 2007, 11 min.
Based on a short story by Roddy Doyle, this multiple award-winning short tells the story of a young African immigrant whose first day at a new school proves challenging as he faces a series of confrontations with the class bully.... more
Of Best Intentions
Ireland, 2008, 14 min.
A series of strangers' lives overlap through random twists of fate. Each of them has good intentions, but we are all imperfect human beings.... more
Shapes
Ireland, 2008, 5 min.
A husband desperate for some sleep; a wife convinced she hears a noise. The perfect set up for this classic tale of things that go bump in the night.... more
Treeclimber
Ireland, 2007, 4 min.
A young boy packs a lunch, gets on a train and heads out of the city for a little R&R.... more
The Wednesdays
Ireland, 2007, 14 min.
A delightfully amusing short story about an elderly couple who utilize an illicit substance to inject some zing back into their marriage, this charming film won the Best Short Award at the Galway Film Festival.... more