Clare island Film Festival 18 - 20 Sept
2015 sees the festival working on developing the short film focus. There will be at least two feature length films over the course of the festival, but the remainder will be a feast of easily digestible shorts. The shorts screening slots will be about an hour long each, which will hopefully encourage people to hop on the ferry and catch a few films over the weekend!
Among the highlights will be a screening of the hauntingly beautiful ‘The Abandoning’, an experimental documentary that explores what is left behind in a building or a home when the people who inhabited the place have long since abandoned it. This film project is inspired by Paddy Jordan’s pinhole photography and the ghostly quality that he creates in his work.
Another gem is ‘The Sound of a Country’, by Myles O’Reilly. This is a beautifully captivating short film encapsulating the spirit of a musical journey through India, by the renowned Irish traditional fiddle and guitar duo Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill.
Each year the Clare Island Film Festival chairperson, Cora Keating, works on building links with other island film festivals. This year she was invited to attend as a guest of honour, at a truly unique festival in Cuba. Festival de Las Cavernas, takes place in a 90 million year old cave system in the sleepy fishing village of Gibara, on the North coast of Cuba. This is the same village that hosts the better known Cine Pobre film festival, which was set up by the late Cuban filmmaker Humberto Solás.
‘What a unique experience it was! The resourcefulness of the Cuban organisers was amazing to witness. The programme consisted of contemporary Cuban shorts and documentaries, which I have brought a selection of home to Clare Island. We will screen one of the winning shorts in our focus on Cuba section this year’ Cora Keating
Sunday’s events will have a distinct Cuban flavour with a screening of ‘I AM CUBA’, a visually stunning and technically accomplished film for its time. This study of Cuba, partially written by renowned poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, captures the island just before it made the transition to a post-revolutionary society. Particularly relevant as Cuba is in another much anticipated phase of transition right now. Completed in 1964, during the headiest days of the romance between the Soviet Union and Cuba, this Russian-Cuban co-production is a feverish mix of Eastern European soulfulness and Latin sensuality fused into an unwieldy but visually stunning burst of propaganda.
Raphaelle McCabe of Clare Island Heritage Centre is organising an exhibition ‘The Famine in Mayo - A Portrait from Documentary Sources’, which will run in the Community Centre as a part of the film festival weekend.
Events kick off on Culture Night Friday 18th September with the festival opening followed by a selection of contemporary Irish short films. There will be screenings all day Saturday and Sunday with feature length films in the evening slots.
Saturday night promises to be a night to remember with live music in the Sailors Bar from Hip Pocket Trio. Lining out as a powerhouse quintet on this trip to Clare Island, HPQ are exponents of jazz, soul, funk and blues delivered in a contemporary style with a nod to the past masters. Even if you can’t make it out for the whole weekend why not pop over to the island on a day trip and join us for a screening. There are still rooms available for Sunday night for people interested in the Cuban films. All events are free!
September 18th to 20th Ireland’s most intimate film festival! Save the dates…
For updates on our program keep an eye on our site www.clareislandfilmfestival.com and facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ClareIslandFilmFestival
Quotes about the festival:
‘We see the festival evolving organically and are delighted with our progress to date. With the lack of funding and continuous cuts to supports for the Arts in this country, we feel the future for smaller organisations and events is through collaboration and mutual support. We are open to working and collaborating with like-minded people and organisations.’ Cora Keating, festival chairperson
‘Last year we ran a filmmaking workshop for children. This workshop was designed for the island community in conjunction with the local primary school. It was hugely successful with most of the school kids on the island taking part. This year we will run a ‘Writing for the Screen’ workshop for young adults, which will be facilitated by the award winning writer and novelist Caroline Healy. This workshop will run later in the year.’ Cora Keating, festival chairperson
‘Like Bob Quinn coming here to make ground breaking films in the past we hope that through our festival and collaborations that we can play a small part in inspiring the next generation of island filmmakers’ Cora Keating, festival chairperson