The Blockbuster - FAS Screen Training Ireland

FAS Screen Training Ireland, supported by Bord Scannan na hEireann/Irish Film Board, is seeking participants for THE BLOCKBUSTER, Visual Story Development for Animation and Live Action

Dates: 11-15 Dec (Script Analysis); 16-18 Dec (Visual Structure)
Location: Dublin, TBC
Duration: 8 days (5 days Script Analysis; 3 days Visual Structure)
Fee: 500 euro (350 euro for Script Analysis only; 225 euro for Visual Structure only)

Participant Profile
For industry professionals in animation and live action seeking to enhance their understanding of creative story and visual structure.

Course Profile
The aim of this course is to provide a creative overview of animation and live action project development from a story and visual perspective. Through two separate sessions, Script Consultant Bobette Buster and Visual Consultant Bruce Block will present a comprehensive analysis of story structure and visual structure. Over five days of Script Analysis, Bobette Buster will explore the craft of emotional storytelling, followed by Bruce Block offering his unique and structured approach to Visual Storytelling. The course will culminate in a joint visual and story analysis of a film from the Block Buster tutors.

The course will cover the following:
* Recognising and using the basic visual components: space, structure, line, shape, colour, tone, movement and rhythm
* Applying these components to story structure
* Emotionally connecting to your audience
* Analysing story structure

Applicants can choose to attend just the Script Analysis or Visual Structure elements of this course, or, at a reduced cost, both.

Tutor Profile
Bobette Buster has been a USC professor for the past eight years and is on the visiting faculty of La Femis in Paris, DFFB in Berlin and also guest lectures at film schools throughout the world. Bobette has worked in feature film development with Columbia Pictures, Steel Magnolias Producer, Ray Stark and Director of Crimson Tide, Tony Scott, and in Script Analysis with Pixar Studios.

Bruce Block is Visual/Creative Consultant, Producer, Professor USC and Guest Lecturer UCLA. Besides teaching at USC and guest lecturing at UCLA, Bruce Block regularly delivers training to employees of Pixar, Dreamworks, Disney, Warner Bros and Sony Pictures. Bruce produced Something's Gotta Give and has also worked as a Visual Consultant on As Good As It Gets and with director and animation teams on A Bug's Life and Toy Story.

Application
Please apply online for The BlockBuster, Script Analysis only, or Visual Structure only at www.screentrainingireland.ie. For further details contact Sorcha Loughnane at FAS Screen Training Ireland.
Ph: (01) 6077468.
Email: sorcha.loughnane@fas.ie
Deadline for applications: Friday 4th December 2009.

KFF Announces Winning Films 2009

The Kerry Film Festival, today announced the winning films from the 2009 edition of the festival. Dave Fanning was MC at the Awards Ceremony, which took place at 4:00 pm in Fels Point Hotel in Tralee on Saturday, November 7th.

The Award Ceremony was the culmination of a week of films at Kerry Film Festival, which began on Saturday, October 31st. The winning films were selected by KFF's adjudication panel which included Jeremy Irons, Michael Fassbender, Simon Brown and James Christopher and by the audience at the festival.

The adjudicators and audience had the unenviable task of selecting the best films from the festival. Close to five hundred films were submitted to the 2009 Kerry Film Festival, up significantly on the total number of films submitted in 2008 and more than double the number of films submitted in previous years. 72 short films screened in total at the 2009 Kerry Film Festival.

"This was the best edition of short films I've ever seen let alone had to judge," said James Christopher. "It was fiendishly tough to choose a single winner."

The Best Animated Short Film, as adjudicated by Simon Brown, was Sally Pearce's ELEPHANTS.

"Its creativity and joyfulness both surprised and captivated me," said Simon Brown. "ELEPHANTS had a unique and individual vision, which I appreciated. Its exploration of imagination felt very personal yet familiar. It was fun to explore and to be a part of this world. Close runners up for me were GRANNY O GRIMM'S SLEEPING BEAUTY and SPACE TRAVEL ACCORDING TO JOHN."

The Best International Short, as chosen by James Christopher, was MOTHER MINE, by Susan Everett.

"The film I'd like to nominate for the Best International Short is MOTHER MINE by Susan Everett," said James Christopher. "It's a macabre gem that manipulates your expectations quite brilliantly. What makes it remarkable is the raw and ghastly emotions it cleverly pricks.

The awkward tension between a grown-up daughter, desperately seeking some sort of elemental connection, and the woman who gave her away at birth is just exquisite. It's also, of course, appalling and, at some depraved level, even humorous. There's a cheeky touch when the deranged daughter, Alison, is lying submerged in her bath like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.

Indeed what's so appealing about Susan Everett's direction is how visually 'clean' her film is, despite the murky psychology. The simple act of putting a video tape in the post acquires an almost surreal momentum as we see the parcel tumbling through a metal sorting drum at the depot like a piece of laundry. It's the hallmark of a director who can put a truly original and unsettling spin on the familiar. And that's as rare as hen's teeth.

But even a film as ingeniously twisted as this couldn't work without some serious chemistry. Marvelous performances by Kelly Harrison as the daughter Alison, and Barbara Marten as the haunted mother, Margaret, do just that. The film was a joy and thrill to watch."

The best Documentary short from KFF 2009 as adjudicated by Michael Fassbender was A FILM FROM MY PARISH - 6 FARMS by Tony Donoghue.

Michael said, "A FILM FROM MY PARISH - 6 FARMS was brilliant. I liked the composition of the piece and the command of both computer and camera. I loved the exploration and seamless joining of colour and nature as well as the computer generated world. I was very impressed and found the film a very well structured and solid piece and left me wanting to see more."

The Best Irish Narrative Short was selected by Jeremy Irons, who is one of today's most respected actors and has been honored for his work on stage, screen and television. He won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his chilling portrayal of Claus von Bulow in Reversal of Fortune and won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in Elizabeth I.

From roles in THE MISSION and David Cronenberg's DEAD RINGERS to roles in David Lynch's INLAND EMPIRE, Ridley Scott's KINGDOM OF HEAVEN and THE MERCHANT OF VENICE with Al Pacino, Irons has displayed a talent and acting range that has seldom, if ever, been matched.

Chris Hurley, from Cork Film Centre, announced the winner of the Best Irish Narrative Short Film, as adjudicated by Jeremy Irons. Conor Ferguson's THE WEDNESDAYS took the prize of 500 euro which was sponsored by The Cork Film Centre. The film's producer, Annemarie Naughton, was on hand to pick up the cheque.

Jeremy Irons also adjudicated the festival's top prize, Best Short, which went to director Rory Bresnihan for THE MAN INSIDE.

The Kerry Film Festival Audience also had its part to play at the Awards ceremony, with THE VALLEY OF KNOCKANURE, by Gerard Barrett, picking up the Audience Award, which came with a prize of 1,000 euro, sponsored by the John Moore foundation. There was also a Children's Audience Award which went to OUR WONDERFUL NATURE, by Tomer Eshed.

The Maureen O' Hara Award, which acknowledges women that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in their respective fields in film, was presented to Rebecca Miller at the ceremony. The Award was made by Newbridge Silverware.

Newbridge Silverware to Design Maureen O' Hara Award

The Kerry Film Festival, which is celebrating ten years of bringing film to Kerry, today announced that Newbridge Silverware, a brand that is synonymous with style and quality, will handcraft the Maureen O' Hara Award which will be presented to Rebecca Miller.

The award is named in honour of one of the most glamorous leading ladies of Hollywood's golden era, Maureen O' Hara.

"Newbridge Silverware is honoured to be associated with such a prestigious award," said William Doyle, CEO, Newbridge Silverware. "Maureen O' Hara is the absolute epitome of elegance and timeless style, both values which are core to our brand. Hence this is a very fitting association for Newbridge Silverware. We congratulate this year's recipient, Rebecca Miller, and wish her continued success and happiness."

"I'm thrilled that Newbridge Silverware is crafting the Award," said Jason O' Mahony, Director, Kerry Film Festival. "The unique history of Newbridge provides a wealth of tradition, craftsmanship and experience and items from Newbridge have been presented to personalities from Paul Newman to Bill Clinton, so it makes the event doubly special for us at Kerry Film Festival."

The Maureen O' Hara Award acknowledges women that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in their respective fields in film and Rebecca Miller is a most worthy recipient. The award giving will take place at the Kerry Film Festival Awards Ceremony at Fels Point Hotel in Tralee on Saturday, November 7th at 4:00 pm.

The Award Ceremony is the culmination of a week of films at Kerry Film Festival. The Awards ceremony will also feature the screening of award winning short films as adjudicated by Kerry Film Festival's panel of judges Jeremy Irons, Michael Fassbender, Simon Brown and James Christopher.

For more information on Newbridge Silverware please log onto www.newbridgesilverware.com

Dave Fanning to MC Award's Night

The Kerry Film Festival, which is celebrating ten years of bringing film to Kerry, today announced that Dave Fanning will MC the Awards Ceremony, which takes place at 4:00 pm in Fels Point Hotel in Tralee on November 7th.

"I'm delighted to be MC for this year's Kerry Film Festival Award Ceremony and am looking forward to seeing the winning short films, particularly those from Ireland," said Dave Fanning. "Short films are almost like an up-and-coming film director's calling card, and watching short films is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of what's happening in film. There are many young Irish directors who are dedicated to the craft of film making and their short films promise a vibrant future for Irish Filmmaking."

"We're delighted to have Dave Fanning on board to MC the Awards Ceremony," said Jason O' Mahony, Director of Kerry Film Festival. "His knowledge of music and film is so wide as to almost beggar belief!"

The Award Ceremony will see the screening of all the winning short films from this year's edition of the Festival and the wonderfully talented director, Rebecca Miller, will also be on hand to pick up the 2010 Kerry Film Festival Maureen O' Hara Award, which is named in honour of one of the most glamorous leading ladies of Hollywood's golden era. The award will specially handcrafted by Newbridge Silverware to commemorate the occasion.

"The Awards Ceremony is always the highlight of the festival and this year that's especially the case," added Jason. "To have someone of Dave Fanning's stature will raise the Awards Ceremony to new heights. It will also add to the thrill for all our winning filmmakers."

Dave Fanning's career in broadcasting began when he left University College Dublin in 1977 with a degree in English and Philosophy and a Higher Diploma in Education. He took over as editor of Ireland's only rock magazine 'Scene', in 1977, and began as a deejay on fledgling pirate music station Radio Dublin.

Ireland's first official national pop radio station (RTE 2FM) was launched in the Summer of '79. Dave Fanning took the midnight shift five days a week and by the early '80's he was seen by the industry and music fans everywhere as Ireland's answer to John Peel, the legendary BBC Radio One presenter.

Throughout the '90's he presented almost 400 editions of The Movie Show, crossing the globe for one-on-one interviews with nearly every major movie star on the planet including Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson and Pierce Brosnan.

The Kerry Film Festival Awards Ceremony takes place in Fels Point Hotel in Tralee on Saturday, November 7th at 4:00 pm.