Ten Cork Films To Screen At Film Festival In France

Brian Harty in Rob Noonan’s A BAD DAY FOR TIM BLACK

Cinema is synonymous with France and young up-and-coming filmmakers from Cork have recently received some stunning news from that country, ten films from Cork-based students have been selected to screen as part of a prestigious film festival, the Rencontres Henri Langlois Festival International des Ecoles de Cinéma.

The students, who all attended the Department of Film in St. John’s Central College in Cork, had their work selected by the festival which is taking place in December in the Vienne region of France.

‘It’s a wonderful honor to represent St. John’s and Cork,’ said Linda Curtin, one of the filmmakers. Her short, Screen Man was her graduate film and was made in 2011 during her final year in college.

‘I’m really happy with the response to the film, it won Best Experimental Film at the Dare Underground Film Festival in Cork this summer and also screened in the Cork Film Festival. This will be it’s first screening outside Ireland and I’m looking forward to seeing how a French audience reacts to it.’

Fellow filmmaker, Rob Noonan, agrees, ‘It’s great to have your work seen anywhere but especially great to have a film seen in France, the home of cinema. It’s fantastic exposure for up-and-coming filmmakers. My film, A Bad Day for Tim Black , screened recently at the Kerry Film Festival but this is the first time it will screen abroad, so I’m looking forward to the screening and the audience reaction.’

‘There seems to be a groundswell of support for filmmaking in Cork at the moment; Catherine Murray and Ed Kadysewski do a wonderful job in St. John’s, training the film makers of the future,’ added Linda, ‘while Mick Hannigan and his team at the Corona Cork Film Festival have been strong supporters of independent film for years. I was lucky enough to volunteer at the festival this year and loved the variety of films which were selected and screened. And with the recent inception of the Cork Screen Commission, it seems like film in Cork is reaching critical mass. Lets hope it really blows up!’

WIth such accomplished films already under their belts both Linda and Rob are looking forward to working on more productions in Cork. The area has a myriad of magical landscapes which, coupled to its highly skilled workforce, makes it a filmmakers’ paradise and, with the next generation of film makers already beginning to bubble through, visiting productions will have an ample supply of enthusiastic young talent to complement the expert professionals working in the area.