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.