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More than fifty years on, Lorg na gCos – Súil Siar ar Mise Éire tells the story of Ireland’s most significant historical documentary film and the first wholly Irish language feature, Mise Éire, through the eyes of its director, George Morrison, key creative personnel behind the production and ordinary Irish people who experienced the film upon its theatrical release in 1960.

Tens of thousands of Irish people, including many who had participated in the Easter Rising, thronged cinemas across the country in the early 1960s to see the Gael Linn film which explored a period of intense political activity in Ireland from the 1890s to 1918. For many, it was the first time they had been presented with their own history in visual form. The film was a roaring success, breaking all previous Irish cinema box office records and becoming a key cultural moment in the history of the Irish State.

Directed by Colm Bairéad and produced by Cleona Ní Chrualaoi, Lorg na gCos follows the film’s director, George Morrison, as he retraces the steps he took in the creation of the film and visits many of the locations where the production took shape. Weaving a rich tapestry of archive and location footage with analysis from a wealth of contributors including the only two other surviving members of the Mise Éire production team, Louis Marcus and Catherine O’Brien; relatives of the Easter Rising leaders executed in 1916; and Gael Linn staff, Lorg na gCos paints a vivid social, cultural and psychological portrait of the country into which Mise Éire was released.

Ireland on Sunday is the IFI’s monthly showcase of new Irish film and includes opportunities to engage with filmmakers and producers. Following this premiere screening Colm Bairéad and George Morrison will take part in a post-screening Q&A.

http://www.ifi.ie/

Independent Irish Skateboarding Documentary Hill Street is to receive its world premiere at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012. The film tells the story of the evolution of skateboarding culture in Ireland from its early roots the 1980s.

The initial driving force behind the scene was a proprietor of a unique skate shop in North Dublin inner city – ‘Clive’s of Hill Street’. From here Clive Rowen progressed the scene through the building of primitive ramps at the shop before graduating to a temporary skate park in the Top Hat Ballroom in Dun Laoghaire, South Dublin. Clive even managed to convince a Powell Team, including the legendary Tony Hawk, to visit the park for a now historic demo.

Soon after his continuing efforts resulted in a leg of the European Skate Championships being held in the Point Depot in 1991. Skaters from Hill Street eventually opened their own full time private skate parks starting with ‘Simons Park’ on Sir John Roberson’s Quay in Dublin. This troubled park soon closed but not before a visit from the then ‘Deathbox’ Team (now Flip Skateboards) including cult skater Tom Penny.

The film follows the rise of skateboarding to the present day and features in depth interviews with Irish Skate forefathers and future hopes including: Clive Rowen, Mike Keane, Rich Gilligan & Keith Walsh and also features never before seen archive footage of icon Tony Hawk in Dun Laoghaire and legend Tom Penny skating a the south quays skate park in Dublin.

The film features a bespoke soundtrack from Dublin native Gareth Averil as ‘Great Lakes Mystery’ and includes tracks by Jogging and Redneck Manifesto.

Check out: http://hillstreetdoc.wordpress.com/

The Board of the IFI is seeking to appoint a new Director with the energy and acumen to sustain its success and develop the organisation in the continued implementation of its strategic vision through its core activities: Exhibit, Preserve and Educate.

Based in the IFI Centre in Dublin, this person will lead the organisation in delivering the extensive cultural programme and manage the day-to-day operations of the IFI.

Key Attributes:
• Proven experience and success in devising and implementing dynamic and engaging cultural programmes.
• A broad knowledge of contemporary culture and film.
• The ability to lead and motivate a large team of over 60 staff.
• Significant arts management experience including at least 3 years working at a senior level.
• Knowledge of the Irish Arts Sector.
• A natural capacity to facilitate productive relationships with external partners in the public and private sector.
• Sound financial acumen.

The Director Job Description is available for download from the IFI website www.ifi.ie/2012/01/ifi-seeks-a-new-director, and for further information and details of the application process, please contact John Deely at Pinpoint: Recruit@pinpoint.ie, (01) 642 5721.

Closing Date: Monday, 20th February 2012 at 12 noon.

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Acclaimed Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard will fly into Dublin this February to celebrate the programme launch and 10th anniversary of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival (JDIFF). The actor, known for his roles in Good Will Hunting and the recent hit The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo, will be joined at the 10th Birthday celebrations by Irish actress Amy Huberman (A Film With Me In It, Threesome), as well as members of the Irish cinema industry in a much anticipated event in the newly re-opened Light House Cinema.
Skarsgård will also be honoured earlier that day with a Volta, the festival Career Achievement Award at a reception attended by Irish filmmakers. The Festival presents the Volta awards annually to outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to the world of film, and Skarsgård is being honoured for his work in both Scandinavian and English language films. From his start in the Swedish TV series Bombi Bitt and collaborations with award-winning Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland, to his American breakthrough with Lars von Trier’s Breaking The Waves, Skarsgård has become a regular and face on cinema screens across the world. His roles in von Trier’s The Kingdom, Dogville and Melancholia, as well as in films such as Ronin, Irish filmed King Arthur, Juanita Wilson’s As If I Am Not There (which screened at the JDIFF in 2011) and the recent The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo have cemented his reputation as one of Scandinavia’s best exports.
http://www.jdiff.com/

Fergal Rock, a Dublin-based writer/director (Henry & Sunny, Tom Waits Made Me Cry) has been named a semi-finalist in Francis Ford Coppola’s 9th annual American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest with his screenplay Calvin & Skye. The finalists and semi-finalists, chosen from over 2,500 screenplays, were announced this morning (01/02/12) on the Zoetrope website.

http://www.zoetrope.com/contests/2011finalists.htm

In 2011, Calvin & Skye received the BlueCat Fellini International Screenwriting Award from screenwriter and BlueCat founder Gordy Hoffman (Love Liza). (http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/past-winners-finalists/)

Calvin & Skye charts the unlikely friendship between hypochondriac Calvin and terminally-ill teenager Skye. Comic and poignant, it is a feel good tale in the vein of Harold and Maude and Lars and the Real Girl.

Award-winning feature animation director and story artist, Brenda Chapman, has been confirmed as the second National Film School Visiting Fellow at IADT and she will be in residence on campus in Dún Laoghaire between the 17th and 27th February. Chapman will deliver a series of seminars, workshops and tutorials to the NFS Animation undergraduate programme as well as a masterclass for the Irish animation industry. Arrangements will be made for other Irish animation students to attend some sessions.

Brenda Chapman was the first woman to direct an animated feature from a major Hollywood studio, when she directed The Prince of Egypt in 1998. Brenda is also the original writer and director of Pixar’s upcoming feature, Brave. Her other animation credits include: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, WALL-E, and Up.

Speaking about the announcement The National Film School’s Creative Director, Donald Taylor Black, said; “We are absolutely delighted that Brenda will be working with our students on our highly successful BA (Hons) in Animation, which is unique in Ireland. She follows in the footsteps of the first NFS Visiting Fellow, Academy Award winner, John Canemaker, Professor of Animation at NYU. She will also deliver an NFS Lecture during her residency. Previous NFS Lecturers have included Oliver Stone, Stephen Frears, Mike Leigh, John Landis, Alan Parker, and John Sayles.”

The National Film School (NFS) at IADT was launched in November 2003. It is a centre of excellence for undergraduate and postgraduate studies in animation, film, television, and media. IADT is the only Irish full member of the Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision (CILECT), the International Association of Film and Television Schools, and the CILECT regional association, GEECT, the Groupement Européen des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision.

The NFS Visiting Fellowship is supported by Bord Scannán na hÉireann / The Irish Film Board, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Visiting Artists Program and Screen Training Ireland.

http://www.iadt.ie/en/

A fantastic repertory season this February at the IFI including a romantic re-release of Casablanca over Valentine’s Day, five-star favourite L’Atalante, and classic Woody with Hannah and her Sisters and Zelig

February at the IFI is packed full of repertory classics to keep your diary full of cinematic gems.

It is 70 years since Michael Curtiz’s wartime romance Casablanca (10th – 16th) starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman was first released and their characters Rick and Ilsa unexpectedly became one of the most iconic screen partnerships of film history. The dialogue is snappy, the performances are mesmerising and the soundtrack lingers long after the movie ends. Whether you’re bringing a special someone or just enjoying a night of romantic indulgence with a friend Casablanca is a fabulous way to mark Valentine’s Day.

The re-release of L’Atalante (3rd– 9th Feb) is rare chance to see the masterpiece of French director Jean Vigo’s tragically short career. Handsome Jean Dasté runs up and down the Seine in the eponymous L’Atalante barge with his restless wife Dita Parlo. Her desire to revel the bright lights of Paris leads to a separation that both quickly regret, but that is not easily undone. Vigo enters the very psyche of these two lovers searching to be reunited, combining poetic speculation and naturalistic drama to vivid and timeless effect.

Otto Preminger’s Laura (from Feb 24th) provides one of the 1940s most sophisticated thrillers with Gene Tierney in flashbacks as the devastatingly lovely femme fatale and Dana Andrews as the investigating cop who investigates her murder. This mystery classic has now been beautifully restored.

Back by popular demand are two of Woody Allen’s finest films Zelig (17th-19th Feb) and Hannah and her Sisters (24th-26th Feb). Zelig sees Allen as a 1930s human chameleon blending in to archive footage (quite an achievement for the pre-digital age) and supplying a host of one-liners along the way. Hannah and her Sisters is vintage Allen, an engrossing warm-hearted saga of wives, lovers and friends whose social interaction never quite allows a release of their true feelings delivered by a superb ensemble case including Oscar-winning turns from Michael Caine and Diane Wiest.

Martin Scorsese has delivered some expert music documentaries on Dylan, The Rolling Stones and George Harrison in recent years so it is a pleasure to be able to revisit The Last Waltz (10th-12th Feb), his pioneering musical portrait of The Band. Robbie Robertson and cohorts started as Bob Dylan’s backing before becoming legends in their own right. Guest contributions from special guests include Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters and Van Morrison – an unmissable concert from a musical golden age.

February Repertory Season Schedule

L’Atalante - 3rd-9th Feb - 13.00

The Last Waltz - 10th-12th Feb - 13.20

Casablanca - 10th – 16th Feb - 16.20, 20.50

Zelig - 17th-19thFeb - Times vary

Hannah and her Sisters - 24th-26th Feb 13.10

Laura - Re-released from Feb 24th

Tickets are available now from the IFI Box Office on 01 679 3477 or online at http://www.ifi.ie

For more information and images please contact the Patrick Stewart at the IFI Press Office (pstewart@irishfilm.ie or 01 679 5744).

The IFI acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council.

Kavaleer Productions announced the appointment of Timothy Björklund as Director of their Dublin based studios. In a career that has spanned over two decades, Timothy has worked for some of Hollywood’s biggest and brightest names in animation and film production. Björklund, a native of San Francisco, began drawing cartoons the day he was given his first box of crayons. Commenting on why he decided to become a professional animator, Tim said:

‘I saw my first Betty Boop cartoon when I was 16 and thought it was the most fantastic thing my eyeballs had ever looked at. I knew I had to make cartoons after that.’

Read the rest on Film Ireland HERE>

The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland (SDGI) announced a new programme of public and exclusive events in 2012 that which will showcase the work of Irish directors in Ireland, Berlin, Annecy and Los Angeles.

The programme includes a variety of events including exclusive screenings and masterclasses with renowned Irish film and TV directors including Ciaran Donnelly (Camelot, Titanic: Blood & Steel), Lenny Abrahamson (Adam and Paul, Garage), Kirsten Sheridan (Disco Pigs, August Rush), Jason Tammemägi (Fluffy Gardens, Punky) and Kevin Godley (U2: The Best of 1990-2000, The Best of Blur).

Following last year’s successful partnership with the Irish Film Institute, the two organisations will keep working together in 2012 on a series of public events including family screenings and Skype conversations with international directors.

One of the highlights of the year is SDGI’s partnership with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival to pay special tribute to Irish animation at the world-renowned festival in Annecy, France. Irish animation features, short films and TV programs will be seen by the leading players in the animation industry at its annual festival and market in June.

Other international partnerships include the St. Patrick’s Festival in Berlin, which will feature a small programme of contemporary Irish films as part of its programme in March and the annual Directors Finders Series run in association with the Directors Guild of America. This event will present an Irish feature director a unique opportunity to screen his/her film in September in the prestigious DGA Theatre, Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles to key distributors & film industry representatives in an effort to gain a US distribution deal.

Ciaran Donnelly, Chairman says: ‘We are delighted to be launching an exciting programme of events for 2012 that present an opportunity for audiences and fellow directors to engage with directors and their work in a meaningful way.’

Established in 2000, the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland (SDGI) is the representative body for Directors involved in the Irish and international audiovisual industry. These include Directors of feature films, fiction, animation documentary, television drama, short films, video art and commercials. The ethos of the Guild is inclusive and proactive in encouraging a dynamic and supportive forum for directors to discuss their ideas or concerns and has grown to become a forum for very positive dialogue about making films.

For complete list of events see attachment or visit www.sdgi.ie