News

August 3rd - 22nd

Long before Asian cinema took the world by storm, Hong Kong was one of the greatest film production hubs in the world, turning out hundreds of pictures annually. These films were largely defined by their vigorous, take-no-prisoners approach and audacious crowd-pleasing panache.

In recent decades, an array of unique Hong Kong talents, ranging from John Woo and Wong Kar-wai to, more recently, Johnnie To and Stephen Chow, have defined and redefined modern cinema. Now a new generation is poised to make its presence felt.

Bringing you up to speed is a bespoke Hong Kong Film Panorama from the IFI, with the support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels, combining the finest in contemporary Hong Kong cinema alongside some classics from the vault. The opening film Written By is soulful exploration of love and loss that sees director Wai Ka-Fai coax virtuoso performances to match his deeply metaphysical mood. Storm Warriors provides the obligatory martial arts extravaganza and Invisible Target injects a vivid physicality and tangible dynamic in to the action genre that is almost totally absent from the pap that Hollywood’s been churning out recently. The classic section of the season comprises the seminal Long Arm of the Law from 1984 and Running Out of Time a much-loved 1999 crime classic from Johnnie To, one of the world’s finest action directors.

For those looking to introduce the youngsters to a more gentle side of Honk Kong, IFI Family are presenting a fantastic comic animation McDull Kung Fu Ding Ding Dong.

Hong Kong Season Schedule
August 3rd 18.30 Written By
August 4th 13.30, 18.30 Running Out of Time
August 5th 13.10, 18.20 Long Arm of the Law
August 7th 13.50 Storm Warriors
August 8th 13.40 Night and Fog
August 14th 14.00 Invisible Target
August 22nd 11.00 McDull Kung Fu Ding Ding Dong

Tickets are available from the IFI Box Office, 01 679 3477 or online at www.ifi.ie.

Calling the Class of ’85! Calling any of you who ever wanted to take a day off with Ferris Bueller, break the rules with Bender or go to the Shermer high school prom with Andie and Duckie. The ultimate event in 80’s cinema nostalgia is coming your way.

The Screen is nearing the end of a phenomenally successful season of 80’s blockbusters but the best is yet to come! From August 6th - 12th they will be playing a week of John Hughes’ teen movies to honor his creative genius as well as his passing in the summer of last year.

John Hughes’ power as a writer/director lay in this ability to portray all manner of human struggles parceled in the fuchsia taffeta prom dress of a teen comedy! In The Breakfast Club he achieves the impossible, transforming the brain, the athlete, the basket case, the princess and the criminal into genuine and sympathetic characters. In Ferris Buller’s Day Off Hughes succeeded in simultaneously creating one of cinema’s most selfish, manipulative and spoilt characters as well as the most endearing. Pretty in Pink insightfully explores the power of attraction asserting that sometimes nice guys should finish last.

‘Many of us were heartbroken when John Hughes died so suddenly last year. Whether you saw his films in the cinema the first time ‘round when you were a teen of the 80’s or years later, people fell in love with his characters and his films because they connected with them. They saw the girl next door, the captain of the football team, the school nerd and the saw themselves. His films stand the test of time and we are so delighted to have the opportunity to be the first honor to him in Ireland’. Screen Cinema Programmer Anna Taylor

To get you in the mood before our screening of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on Saturday August 7th Dublin’s original 80’s nightclub, the home of the slow set, Club Nassau’s campervan will be in outside the Screen playing your favourite 80’s tunes and giving away some freebies. To continue the 80s celebration there will be an 80’s school disco themed after party in Club Nassau, Nassau Street with free entry for everyone with a Ferris Bueller ticket stub.

So call your old school friends, backcomb that hair, root out your old leopard-print waistcoat and get ready to Twist and Shout!!

The Breakfast Club – August 6th, 9th and 11th
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – August 7th
Pretty in Pink – August 8th, 10th and 12th

For further information please contact Anna at anna.taylor@screencinema.ie

Conor Horgan’s debut feature film One Hundred Mornings has continued in its international success with the announcement that it is the recipient of the WorkBook Project Discovery and Distributor Award in the U.S.

The WBP Award was selected out of over 100 submissions and facilitates a week long theatrical release of the film in L.A opening in the Downtown Independent Theater from 16th September as well as full social media, street team and media support.

One Hundred Mornings is set in a world upended by a complete breakdown of society, where two couples hide out in a lakeside cabin hoping to survive the crisis. As resources begin to run low and external threats increase, an unspoken animosity fills the air and everything begins to disintegrate. Finally, each of them faces a critical decision they never thought they’d have to make.

The gripping film has garnered critical acclaim since its world premiere at the renowned Slamdance Film Festival in Utah in January where it received a Special Mention from the Grand Jury. It screened on home soil at the Galway Film Fleadh and the Dublin Jameson International Film Festival while Suzie Lavelle picked up an IFTA for her work as D.o.P. It has also been selected for numerous festivals across the globe with screenings at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival, the Indy Film Festival, Indianapolis and the Portland Maine International Film Festival in the U.S, and the Revelations Film Festival in Perth and the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Upcoming scheduled screenings include the Rhode Island Film Festival and the San Francisco Irish Film Festival in the US.

Produced by Katie Holly from Blinder Films, who was selected as one of 23 European ‘Producers On The Move’ at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, it was funded through the Catalyst Project, an initiative of Filmbase, the Irish Film Board, FAS Screen Training Ireland, the BCI/BAI, TV3 and the Arts Council.

Filmed over twenty days in County Wicklow, the film showcases the acting talents of Ciaran McMenamin (The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce), Alex Reid (The Descent) Rory Keenan (Intermission), and Kelly Campbell (Bachelors Walk).

One Hundred Mornings will begin its U.S cinema release in the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles from 16th September.

From July 14th until August 18th, every Wednesday at 5pm and 7pm Dundrum will host free Cinema in the Open! With an enchanting children’s movies at 5pm followed by an all time favourite at 7pm, ‘Cinema in the Open’ promises to be the perfect way to while away a Wednesday evening.The screenings will take place in Pembroke Square, beside Harvey Nichols Menswear. A selection of the 35 restaurants at Dundrum Town Centre will be promoting their own Movie Menu which, after being ordered and paid for can be taken out onto Pembroke Square to eat whilst enjoying the big screen action! The line up includes:

July 14th 5pm: Bee Movie & 7pm: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
July 21st 5pm: The Spongebob Squarepants Movie & 7pm: Mamma Mia
July 28th 5pm: Kung Fu Panda & 7pm: Breakfast at Tiffany’s
August 4th 5pm: Shrek 1 & 7pm: Indiana Jones Raiders
August 11th 5pm: Charlottes Web & 7pm: Stardust
August 18th 5pm: Madagascar & 7pm: Top Gun

Some of the movies menus on offer include:

KFC Dundrum – enjoy a take-out family feast for just €14.99 – perfect for families or friends while catching a movie!

The Counter – special take-out tasting menu on offer

Nandos – Tasty chicken burger and sideline for just €9.95

Brambles – Beef burger with organic lettuce and glass of wine just €10

Cortina’s -delicious mexican burrito, perfect for taking outdoors just €7.50

The critically acclaimed Irish documentary SAVIOURS, directed by Film Ireland commissioning editor Ross Whitaker and Liam Nolan, will be broadcast on RTE1 at 10:10pm on Tuesday 27th July.

SAVIOURS is a gripping documentary, focusing on the lives and dreams of three young boxers from the same inner city Dublin boxing club, who fight for a better life inside and outside the ring.

With some startlingly honest interviews, we follow the three athletes and their varying fortunes, under the guidance of their canny yet humorous coaches. A view of ‘old Dublin’ that we don’t see much of these days, whose attention to their athlete’s personal as well as professional lives shows a touching sense of caring and love.

This intimate portrayal has picked up awards including Best European Documentary at South Africa Film Festival and Best Feature Documentary at Waterford Film Festival since it premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh.

Produced by Whitaker and Nolan for Street Films in their debut feature, with funding from the Irish Film Board, SAVIOURS has received much critical acclaim since its theatrical release last year:

“Packs as much of a punch as Champ, Raging Bull and all the Rocky films put together”
Irish Times

“Saviours is the kind of film-making that bottles inspiration”
Sunday Tribune

“A brilliantly observed exploration… a film well worth seeing”
Sunday Business Post

“Saviours is a small miracle…. a perfectly formed drama”
Hot Press

“Saviours represents the best in bare-bones, small-scale filmmaking”
Chicago Tribune

“A wonderful film that, like any great documentary, offers a riveting slice of real life that’s both parochial and universal”
The Irish Examiner

Watch the official SAVIOURS trailer on our the IFB Media Hub at www.thisisirishfilm.ie/trailers/saviours

SAVIOURS can be viewed on RTE1 at 10:10pm on Tuesday 27th July.

Darklight has announced the details of this years movie making challenge, Sony Ericsson’s ‘Free Your Film’. Following on from the successes of Darklight’s previous film making challenges, ‘Dublin: The Movie’ and ‘Hotel Darklight’, this year’s will be the best yet.

Sony Ericsson are collaborating with Darklight to find 3 aspiring filmmakers. They’re offering a budget of €3000 to make your short film, which will then be premiered on the opening night of the Darklight Film Festival. The films will also be given additional exposure by Darklight and Sony Ericsson.

As many of you know, it’s not easy making a film, but help will be on hand. Darklight will provide invaluable support from their expert guest producer, Katie Holly from Blinder Films. Amongst other projects, she has produced The Savage Eye, 100 Mornings and Sensation.

Sony Ericsson will provide an HD video camera, which you get to keep. The HD video camera comes in the form of the new Sony Ericsson Vivaz, the world’s smallest HD video camera phone. It’s a great piece of technology that has many advantages over other HD cameras.

Visit http://www.darklight.ie/freeyourfilm/ for more info.

The deadline for the next round of project awards is 5.30pm on Thursday 2 September 2010.

The following awards will be available for activities taking place in 2011:

* Arts Participation Project Award
* Circus Project Award
* Dance Project Award
* Film Project Award
* Music Project Award
* Street Arts and Spectacle Project Award
* Theatre Project Award
* Visual Arts Project Award

Applications will only be accepted via the Arts Council’s online services website. You must be registered with the online services website to make an application. It may take up to five days for your registration to be confirmed so it is very important that you register as early as possible.

The window for making applications through the online services website will open from 29 July 2010.

The awards are open to individuals and organisations. Organisations in receipt of funding under any of the main Arts Council grant programmes (Regularly Funded Organisations, Annual Funding, Annual Programming Grant) will not be eligible to apply*.

*Visual arts studio groups that have received funding under Annual Funding and Annual Programming Grant for 2010 and who have been specifically advised in writing that they should in future apply to the workspace/studio grant scheme are an exception. These organisations will be eligible to apply to the Visual Arts Project Award.

For more info visit the Arts Council website at www.artscouncil.ie.

The 11th annual Kerry Film Festival is now accepting submissions of films. To apply, download the application form at www.kerryfilmfestival.com and send it, along with a preview copy of the film and the relevant paperwork to:

Kerry Film Festival
The Old Presbytery
20 Lower Castle Street
Tralee
Co. Kerry

Or alternatively films can be submitted via Withoutabox.

The 2010 festival will run from 30th October until Saturday, 6th November.

Nisi Masa, the European network of young cinema, is organising an online video contest about multilingualism. Filmmakers are asked to submit their short to win a place aboard Polyglot – on the way to Turku, an itinerant filmmaking event traveling across the archipelago of Turku, Finland.

They are looking for film submissions in two categories, Video Portraits (Documentaries on My multilingualism) and Video Poems (Fictions on The language I dream in), both must visually express original and creative ideas about language.

18 winners will be selected to attend an all-expenses-paid, 2-week ‘Cine-Boat’ itinerant filmmaking workshop in June 2011 in Turku and the Åland Islands in Finland. The filmmakers will then present their work during a Polyglot film festival, as the city of Turku celebrates its status as European Capital of Culture.

Contestants must be resident in a European country (EU or non-EU) and aged 18–35. Works of maximum 5 minutes length, produced since 1st January 2008 are eligible.

The submission deadline is 15th December 2010. For more information visit www.turku2011.fi

Alfred Hitchcock: pioneer, legend and master of suspense

The BFI National Archive looks after the UK’s film heritage. It is one of the largest and most important film and TV collections in the world.

Curators of the BFI National Archive have identified a collection of films in desperate need of restoration with nine of Alfred Hitchcock’s early silent films being the first to seek rescue through the Support the BFI campaign.

Hitchcock’s nine surviving silent films are among the most important in British cinema history. But decades of wear and tear have left them in urgent need of restoration.

Films:
The Pleasure Garden (1925)
The Lodger (1926)
The Ring (1927)
Downhill (1927)
Easy Virtue (1927)
The Farmers Wife (1927)
Champagne (1928)
The Manxman (1929)
Blackmail (1929)

The BFI is looking for donations to bring these cinematic masterpieces back to life. For more info visit www.bfi.org.uk/nationalarchive/hitchcock/