Short Film | Film Ireland

November 10, 2016November 10, 2016

‘Maeve and the Moon’ Wraps

Filmed in Wicklow and Monaghan, new Irish short Maeve and the Moon just wrapped on a four-day shoot. Privately funded and sponsored in part by Teach Solais, this marks the debut short film by writer and director Elynia Betts.

Poppy Caraher, who made her brilliant debut as the lead in The Boring Diary of Frances Noone, stars as ten year old Maeve. When her father off handedly remarks that her mother is “asking for the moon,” imaginative and resilient Maeve decides to set off on her own to find the moon and bring it home. After sourcing a boat from a local fisherman, and inspiration from Yeats, Maeve finds herself among the moon’s Eight Phases–putting the success of her quest on an unusual path.

Emma Eliza Regan (Darkness on the Edge of Town, Get Up and Go), who just wrapped on Tom Collin’s new feature Penance: Aithri, also stars as Rhiannon–the Irish-speaking leader of the Phases. In another leading role is Seán McGillicuddy (Sineater) as the Fisherman, who is much more than what he appears to be. Maeve’s parents are played by Jeanne O’Connor (Éirí Amach Amú) and Declan Reynolds (Love/Hate). Other talent includes Sohaila Lindheim (Red Room) and Martina Babisova (Operation Liberland). The film was shot on a Blackmagic Cinema Camera by Limerick director of photography Niall Coley.

Combining Irish mythology with childhood whimsy, ‘Maeve and the Moon’ aims for the 2017 film festival run in Ireland and abroad.

November 7, 2016

Call For: Submissions for Irish Film Festa

The 10th edition of Irish Film Festa, which will take place in March 2017, is now open to submissions for short films from Ireland.

In order to be eligible for Irish Film Festa competition, films must be under 30 minutes in length and produced or co-produced in Ireland.

Accepted categories are Live Action, Documentary, Animation.

Entries must be submitted as an online screener link to submissions.IFF@gmail.com or as a DVD to

Associazione Culturale ARCHIMEDIA
via Segesta 16
00179 Roma (Italia)

Deadline is December 20th, 2016. No fee requested.

DVDs sent by post will not be returned.

Out of all the accepted entries, Irish Film Festawill select – at its sole and absolute discretion – a shortlist of films for the competition. Irish Film Festa will notify all the authors of selected films; not-selected applicants won’t be notified.
Within a week after admission, authors of selected film must provide:

a high-definition copy of the film (Digibeta/DCP/DVD/Blu-Ray)
a timecoded dialogue list
a high-resolution still from the film to be used for the festival catalogue

Please note that this is mandatory. If a timecoded dialogue list won’t be provided, the short film will be disqualified from the competition.

August 30, 2016August 30, 2016

‘Don’t Run’ Screens @ Underground Cinema Film Festival

Don’t Run is a 6-minute short film from Reckoner Productions telling the story of ‘The Architect’ played by Eoin Quinn (Fair City, Portrait of a Zombie, Limp, Mirror Image) who receives a strange call in the middle of the night from someone claiming to be him, giving only one simple message – “Don’t Run.” From here ‘The Architect’ is led to a discovery that will change his fate forever.

Shot on a zero budget, both Alan Dunne (Against The Wall, IDLE) and Eamonn Tutty (Anna, Mirror Image) wanted to create an unnerving story that plays on the mind and stays with you long after the credits.

“Don’t Run for me was such a great project to make. We had a small but incredibly talented cast and crew. We wanted to tell an original story that would stay with the audience long after the credits rolled. Creating the look and feel of the film was a challenge but amazingly it turned out better than we could have imagined. We were able to achieve this by working with our small crew and following strict rules we set for ourselves during the filmmaking process” says Alan Dunne.

“Securing budgets and raising funds is always a hard task, but the worst thing is getting complacent while waiting on news of development. It is important to keep active, hone your skills and practice. I felt this was a piece that could do just that, challenging Alan on a technical level for a vfx heavy piece, challenging ourselves with organising the shoot and getting the best team to push it to completion. Eoin did a fantastic job getting the subtleties and nuances right for the character. The whole team did a great job and you can see it on screen,” says Eamonn Tutty.

“Working on Don’t Run was quite an experience. Not just an acting challenge but also blocking was very important so that post-production would look perfect. It was great to be involved in such an original shoot that I feel will leave the audience scratching their heads” says Eoin Quinn.

The film was directed, edited cinematography by Alan Dunne and written by Alan Dunne and Eamonn Tutty, produced by Alan Dunne and Eamonn Tutty, starring Eoin Quinn, with Sound Op’s from Tadhg Collins & Tom Stafford, sfx mua Niamh O’Malley, music by SL – 88, sound mixing and& mastering by Luis Diaz, and colour grading by Sean Buffini.

Don’t Run will have its official premiere at the Underground Cinema Film Festival in Dun Laoghaire on Saturday September 10th at 3pm in the Royal Marine Hotel.

For tickets, click and follow the link below.

http://www.ucff.ie/

August 23, 2016September 26, 2017

Irish Short Film Review: Radha

Stephen Porzio takes a look at Nicolas Courdouan’s 22-minute drama with horror elements. The short recently had its world premiere at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Providence, RI (19 – 21 August ) and will go on to compete at the Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland, OR (7 – 9 October).

A meditation on grief, as well as a nicely twisty and surprising horror, Nicholas Courdouan’s Radha is a rather effective short film. Sue Walsh stars as Saoirse, a woman trying to form a new life in the aftermath of a tragic event, who stumbles upon the enigmatic titular dancer (Kojii Helnwein).

The short benefits from some memorable, well-executed set-pieces. For example, Radha’s central dance would not be as compelling if it wasn’t so tightly edited. The camera lingers on her contorted body, not revealing her face. This is then juxtaposed with the gazes of her gaunt-looking viewers, who she claims she “helps”, creating a real sense of dread, even when the viewer is unaware of what exactly there is to fear.

The clothing and lighting contribute to this paranoid atmosphere. Through the dark moodiness of the room and the way Radha’s black hair and clothes hang off her body, the short evokes the feel of a J-Horror. At times, the titular character resembles Sadako from Ringu, particularly with the unnatural way she moves.

There are moments within the short where the dialogue does not ring true and is delivered rather stiltedly. However, this is easy to forgive when there is so much else to like. The final scene, taking place on a beach, is gorgeous looking, resembling the coastal scenes from the similarly Irish Calvary and The Eclipse. Also as it continues, Courdouan’s film interestingly plays with audience expectation. Radha is less the villain we expect and more a beacon to Saoirse of what the movie’s title translates to in Irish (vision, sight, aspect).

The short also builds an intriguing mystery. Who is Radha and where does she come from? This is something I would be curious to see explored to some degree should Courdouan expand this twenty-two minute short into a feature length.

August 17, 2016August 17, 2016

‘Falling In Love’ Premieres @ Montreal

Oisin Robbins and Ingrid Saker in Falling In Love

Falling In Love, a short film featuring emerging young Irish actor Oisin Robbins, will premiere at the prestigious ‘Focus on World Cinema’ section of the 40^th Montreal World Film Festival from 25^th August to 5^th September 2016.

An independent Irish production Falling In Love depicts the hopelessness the new generation of post Celtic Tiger cubs have grown up to face.

Playing loosely with the ancient Greek legend of Orpheus the film dramatically portrays the gritty reality of life on the margins of modern-day small town Ireland.

Directed by Finian Robbins the film is a sequel Railway, which explored similar themes in a humorous way.

Both films will be screened at the Underground Film Festival in Dun Laoghaire from 9^th to 11^th September.

Falling In Love was shot on location in Clara, County Offaly.

August 11, 2016

Film Board Shorts @ Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival, Bristol

The programme for the Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival will this year include six Irish Film Board supported shorts, including a mixture of live action and animation, documentary and fiction.

Two films have been selected from After ’16, a series of films commissioned by the Irish Film Board to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising. Set in 1970s Belfast, The Party was directed by Andrea Harkin and produced by Farah Abushwesha and Emmet Flemming. A Terrible Hullabaloo is an animated short directed by Ben O’Connor, written by Aoife Noonan and produced by Bob Gallagher.

Three films were selected from the Frameworks scheme, co-financed by the IFB and RTÉ. City of Roses reveals a true story of love, loss and hope. It was written and directed by Andrew Kavanagh and produced by Jackie Leonard. A Coat Made Dark has already travelled to a number of international festivals including Clermont-Ferrand and Sundance. Written and directed by Jack O’Shea, it was produced by Damien Byrne. Geist has screened at SXSW and picked up prizes at Fastnet, ADIFF and IFTA. Written, directed and edited by Sean Mullen, Ben Harper, Alex Sherwood, it was produced by Daniel Spencer.

Starring Eileen Walsh, How Was Your Day? was written and directed by Damien O’Donnell and produced by Emmaline Dowling. It picked up the Best Narrative Short prize at SXSW and was also a winner at Foyle Film Festival, an Academy Awards qualifier.

Encounters takes place in Bristol from September 20th – 25th 2016.

August 8, 2016August 8, 2016

Watch Short Film: ‘Heartburn’s A Killer’

Heartburn’s A Killer, a one minute action-comedy directed by Fergal Costello has just been completed. The film stars comedian Ross Browne and Peter McGann, dealing with a devastating effects heartburn can have on a gunfight.

Costello wrote, directed, edited and created the visual effects for the piece, which was shot by Paddy Jordan [The Young Offenders, Pentecost] and produced by Claire Gormley [Mute, Trampoline].

The piece was funded by commercial company DBC. www.drivenbycreatives.com

More of Costello’s work can be seen here: www.fergalcostello.com

July 26, 2016July 26, 2016

Short Film: Watch ‘Transitory’

Transitory, the new short film from writer/director Jason Branagan has been released online. The film was made as part of this year’s March on Film festival and premiered at the festival’s finals event in June, where it won Best Actor and Second Place, Best Film.

Transitory is a drama set over one day in Dublin. It tells the story of a Robin, a young man who lives in his car. After his car is stolen, Robin struggles to find a place to sleep.

Speaking to Film Ireland, director Jason Branagan said “the film came about because there had been so many news stories about families forced from their homes, many of which found themselves living out of their cars because they had no where else to go. This wave of ‘new-homeless’ were often people with financial trouble as a result of the crash so it made me think about how easy it could be to find yourself in that situation, and just how difficult that situation would really be. So the film started with that question of ‘what if’…”.

The film stars Danny Mahony (Shoebox Memories, The Devil’s Woods). It is written and directed by Jason Branagan, with Noel Greene serving as Director of Photography. Plain Sailing Films produced the film.