KERRY FILM FESTIVAL’S CLASSIC SCREENINGS TO CONTINUE WITH ARSENIC & OLD LACE (1944)

An afternoon of classic cinema on a big screen and refreshments beforehand, all for two Euro? Where would you get it? At the monthly Kerry Film Festival Active Retired Screenings, that’s where.

Kerry Film Festival has delved deep into its archive to continue the series at Siamsa Tire on Wednesday 3^rd August at 2pm, with ARSENIC AND OLD LACE.

Starring Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE tells the story of drama critic who learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are actually homicidal maniacs and that insanity runs in the family. Although the film was released in 1944 it was actually filmed in 1941 making it seventy years old this September! Described as ‘good macabre fun’ in contemporary rewiews, Frank Capra’s hilarious production certainly stands the test of time.

Last month the KFF Active Retired screening featured Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Michael Curtiz’s, 1944 Oscar-winning masterpiece CASABLANCA. A must-see for all film lovers, the screening attracted a great number of afternoon film-goers leading to a wonderful atmosphere in Siamsa Tire.

Kerry Film Festival holds active retired screenings on the first Wednesday of each month in Siamsa Tire, Tralee. Aimed at the seasoned film enthusiast, admission to the screenings is just €2 for anyone over the age of sixty-five, and refreshments are provided free of charge by Kerry Film Festival. Recent screenings have included, NATIONAL VELVET starring a young Elizabeth Taylor, and the previously mentioned 1944 Oscar winner CASABLANCA.

“The selection of films for this year’s series of Active Retired Screenings has been truly outstanding, and they just seem to get better and better”, said KFF Coordinator Niall Burman-Roy. “In this age of computer generated special effects it is astonishing to see the innovative techniques which film-makers were employing long before the days of the micro-chip and the blue screen. While for many patrons the screenings offer a chance to take a walk down memory lane, for others it is a great opportunity to see true classics for the first time.”

Screenings will continue throughout the summer, taking place on the first Wednesday of each month, and all are welcome to attend.

Upcoming KFF Active Retired Screenings:

August 3^rd ARSENIC & OLD LACE (1944)

September 7^th ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953)

October 5^th GILDA (1946)

For more information on the Kerry Film Festival Active Retired Screenings contact 066 7129934 or email info@kerryfilmfestival.com

KERRY FILM FESTIVAL PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION CONTINUES COUNTY-WIDE TOUR IN KENMARE

Frank McGonigle, Mary O Reardon, Marie Leahy and Eileen O Connor, Bank of Ireland, at the opening of the Kerry Film Festival Photographic Exhibition in Kenmare.

It’s the turn of Kenmare to enjoy a feast of photography as top snaps from Kerry Film Festival’s Photography Competition go on display in Bank of Ireland’s branch in the town. Kerry Film Festival has teamed up with the Bank of Ireland in an initiative which will see the exhibition cropping up in branches across the county throughout the coming months.

The works on show are entries in a photography competition which was held to highlight the fundamental connection with film, in the run-up to the Kerry Film Festival in October.

The photographs on display follow two themes; Portrait and Action, and Landscape and Wildlife, and organisers are thrilled with the quantity and quality of submissions. “The photo competition was a huge success. The quality and variety of photographs received was simply astonishing.” said Mike Foley, Kerry Film Festival coordinator. “We were absolutely thrilled with the work submitted and pleasantly surprised that entries came in from all over Ireland and abroad”, he added.

There was such interest in the competition that selecting the pieces for the exhibition was no easy task, so Kerry Film Festival enlisted the skilful eye of top fine-art photographer Andre Corvin to help with the process. “We’ve worked with Andre in the past”, said Mike, “and always found him to be an amazing professional. His fine art photography is outstanding. Andre is known nationally and has wide critical acclaim.”

Due to unprecedented interest, the exhibition enjoyed an extended period on display at the Dingle branch of Bank of Ireland before being carefully dismantled and transported to the beautiful and much photographed town of Kenmare where it will remain on display for the next two weeks. The next stop on the exhibition’s tour of Kerry will be Bank of Ireland’s Killarney Branch.

For more information on the Kerry Film Festival please log onto www.kerryfilmfestival.com or call +353 66 712 9934.

For more information please on Andre Corvin please log onto www.andrecorvinphotography.com

KFF Issues Call for Entries for 12th Edition

Juliette Binoche pictured with Maureen O'Hara after receiving the Maureen O' Hara Award at last year's KFF

KFF offers thousands of Euro in cash prizes and a prestigious showcase for new film makers

Kerry Film Festival (KFF), the biggest little film festival in the world, has issued a call for entries for the 2011 edition of its prestigious festival. KFF will run from October 29th to November 5th, and is offering thousands of euro in cash prizes to up and coming film makers.

The main feature of Kerry Film Festival is a short film competition that focuses on young film makers and awards prizes in a number of different categories including Best Irish Film, Best International Film, Best Documentary Film and Best Animated Film. Winning films are selected by a world class panel of adjudicators, with KFF adjudicators including such leading lights as Jeremy Irons, Noel Pearson, Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne. KFF also presents the Maureen O' Hara award to a lady that has excelled in film, with Oscar winning actress Juliette Binoche picking up the award in 2010, which was presented by Maureen O' Hara herself.

KFF has, over the last four years, increased audience numbers from 1,500 in 2006 to close to 10,000 in 2010, making it one of the premiere film festivals in Ireland. KFF is celebrating its 12th birthday this year and will bring films and film makers to the most beautiful location. There has been particularly strong international interest in KFF over the past few years, with film makers from all over the globe submitting work. In fact entries for the 2011 edition have already come flooding in from as far away as Brazil and Korea and from as close to home as Ballina and Killarney. KFF director, Jason O' Mahony, is delighted with the response so far and is hopeful that 2011 will be another bumper year for entries. "Last year we received 548 entries, which was fantastic for us. We've had a wonderfully strong response so far this year with close to 200 movies already received and we're still months away from the deadline. I'd love to see an increase in the number of films submitted and would encourage all film makers to send in their work. KFF is a special little festival, we've screenings all over the Kingdom with films showing in Tralee, Killarney, Dingle, Listowel, Kenmare, Waterville and Caherciveen, which makes us one of the most geographically dispersed festivals, not only in Ireland, but in the whole world, but we're still an intimate little festival and all the filmmakers that come have a wonderful time."

The focus of Kerry Film Festival is, as always, on young, up-and-coming filmmakers, giving the KFF audience an opportunity to see and love the work of directors before they become widely known. "Because the film making process is such an expensive one, and because the money for film making is so tightly controlled, most directors cut their teeth on the short film format," said O' Mahony. "In 2009, for example we screened The Crush – it was the world premier of a film which went on to garner awards and accolades from festivals all over the globe – including being short listed for an Oscar. Our audience had a chance to see the film before anyone else and the response to the film was phenomenal."

While KFF is an intimate little festival, the quality of both the films and the panel of adjudicators consistently punch above the festival's weight. Having such well respected adjudicators view and select the winning films is a huge advantage to winning filmmakers. "It's one of the unique strengths of KFF," added O' Mahony, "We offer young filmmakers a chance to have their work seen by respected pros and, if their film is selected, then the kudos which goes along with having their film selected will hopefully help them take the next step in their careers."

KFF also has an extensive partnership with festivals around the globe with festivals in the US, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Finland and the UK all screening the winning shorts from Kerry. As winning film maker Declan Cassidy explains, "Kerry Film Festival is the film festival which just keeps on giving! It was a wonderfully warm experience. The staff and organisers are genuinely concerned about ensuring that we, the film makers, had a wonderful time."

"The award I won there has commanded a lot of respect in promoting the film to industry and other festivals. But it didn't stop there. Festival Director, Jason O' Mahony, has forged an extremely impressive network with other festivals and he worked tirelessly to promote my film to them. As a result my film played in a number of festivals it would not have otherwise reached and, to my surprise and delight, the film picked up another award at one of these in Italy. Kerry Film Festival is the kind of festival you want to go back to again and again."

For more information and to download an application form please click here. The closing date for submissions is August 1st.

Thoroughly civilised afternoon at the pictures enjoyed by seniors at Siamsa Tíre

Marie Duffy and Cathy Kelliher get ready to take their seats at Siamsa Tíre

When we get a bit older we're probably not too pushed about going to see a computer-generated vision of the apocalypse, or a teenage flesh-fest, or to take a three-dimensional trip to the intergalactic jungle home of extra-terrestrial smurf-like creatures. Our appetite for hot-dogs, nachos, titanic sized portions of popcorn and buckets of fizz will perhaps diminish somewhat as we advance in our years, and we may wish for a more elegant and demure way to enjoy a great movie on a big screen in the company of our peers.

If that does happen to me someday, I hope that Kerry Film Festival's active retired screenings are still being held at Siamsa Tire.

In spite of my tender years I was lucky enough to be present Wednesday afternoon’s screening of The Night of the Hunter, a classic dating back to 1955 starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters and Lillian Gish. There was a great atmosphere as film lovers gathered for tea, coffee and biscuits, chatting to friends and admiring some of the artwork on display around Siamsa Tire, prior to the film.

The monthly active retired screenings will continue at 2pm on June 1st with 1944 classic National Velvet starring Mickey Rooney and Elizabeth Taylor. All films cost just €2 to anyone over the age of sixty-five and refreshments are provided by Kerry Film Festival.

It’s a great social occasion as well as a unique opportunity for seasoned film enthusiasts to see some fantastic films on the big screen, and without a smurf in sight.

For more information, please call Kerry Film Festival on 066 712 9934.