Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland has announced the successful teams for the newest edition of its Focus Shorts short filmmaking scheme. Four short films have been chosen to progress, and will receive their World Premiere at the 2020 Galway Film Fleadh.
Focus Shorts aim to encourage strong, original storytelling, visual flair, and production values appropriate to the big screen, offering an opportunity for producers, directors and writers with at least one previous credit. Focus Shorts can be up to 10 minutes in length and receive a budget of up to €50K.
The successful short films are:
An Encounter, written by Mark O’Halloran, directed by Kelly Campbell and produced by Claire McCabe for Cowtown Pictures. Two reluctant companions, schoolmates on the mitch, roam through Dublin along the Royal Canal. An encounter with a stranger leaves one boy changed utterly. Loosely based on the James Joyce Dubliners short story.
If Neon Meets Argon, written and directed by James Doherty and produced by Nicky Gogan for Piranha Bar. A neon sign-maker has his solitude interrupted by an energetic young intruder. Can these men forge a kinship amidst the flickering of neon lights?
Stir, written and directed by Rory Bresnihan and produced by Eithne Fitzsimons for Tailored Films. After a car accident, a young woman finds herself held captive by an old man who has recently lost his wife.
The Warning, written and directed by Sinead Murphy and produced by Ciaran O’Connor for New Decade. A young woman battles her demons only to find something much more sinister.
