Major Focus on Screenwriting at Give Me Direction Conference
Over 170 delegates attended the Give Me Direction screenwriting conference on Friday 5th June which provided an opportunity for writers to voice their opinion on various industry issues and was hosted by the Irish Film Board in partnership with the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.
During the course of a number of panel based discussions, the journey of writing for the screen was discussed and interrogated with input from International and Irish filmmakers and Industry professionals including Eran Kolirin, Tony Marchant, Tanya Seghatchian, Paul Fraser, Conor McPherson, Jim Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan, Damien O'Donnell, John Moore, Mark O'Rowe, Charlotte Kelly, Pat McCabe, Rob Walpole, Lance Daly and Roddy Doyle. In addition the conference provided a platform for showcasing new Irish writing with the performance of a rehearsed read through of Memorabilia by Kevin Barry and John Butler.
The panel discussions highlighted a wide range of topics, from the blurring distinction between commercial and arthouse cinema, the realities of writing for and engaging with the business of filmmaking, how to negotiate the terrain of effective creative collaborations and the material differences between writing for the screen and other mediums.
The day concluded in The Light House Cinema for a special preview screening of The Eclipse written by Conor McPherson and Billy Roche and directed by Conor McPherson. Aptly set during a literary festival in Cobh, the film tells the story of Michael (Ciarán Hinds) who has been adjusting to his new role as the sole caretaker of his two young kids. When he volunteers as a handler at the festival, chance finds him driving supernatural-fiction writer Lena (Iben Hjejle). He becomes drawn to her but finds himself competing for her attentions with internationally acclaimed author Nicholas (Aidan Quinn), also in town to plug his latest best seller and reclaim the girl he can't get out of his head.