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.