Dingle Film Festival Gets IFB Support

The Irish Film Board is backing this year's Dingle Film Festival, which has a special focus on comedy in film, bringing laughter to the proceedings with events and screenings dedicated to the funnier side of filmmaking from September 10 to 13.

Industry billed events for the festival include a special panel event entitled Don't Make Me Laugh, which will specifically explore the art of writing comedy for the screen and a special presentation of IFB award-winning comedy short films. This year, the festival promises to present a busy programme of new and archive films from Ireland and around the world as well as workshops, discussions and seminars over the duration of the weekend.

Don't Make Me Laugh will be chaired by IFB Development Executive Andrew Meehan and panelists will include Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Marc Flanagan; stage, radio, screen and TV writer Pearse Elliot (Man About Dog); and producer Ned Dowd. The seminar will explore the challenges of writing comedy for the screen, different ways of developing character, the role of TV in developing talent as well as looking at what makes comedy travel.

Marc Flanagan is a two-time Emmy award-winner, writer and producer of the very funny Tracy Ullman Show while Pearse Elliot wrote and directed the Irish comedy box office success Man About Dog as well as The Mighty Celt.

Ned Dowd is producer of a number of comedies including Shanghai Noon and The Wonderboys. The panel will take place in the Festival Marquee, Garden Cafe on September 10.

Following on the theme of comedies, there will be a special screening of award-winning Irish short comedies on September 13 at 11am in The Phoenix Cinema. The mix of animated and live action shorts include Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty, Whatever Turns You On and The Wednesdays.

The animated short Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty, directed by Nicky Phelan has received a number of international awards and screened at many festivals worldwide including the Palm Springs Festival and the Omaha Film Festival in the USA and the Heart of Gold Festival in Australia.

Other animated shorts to screen include Cathal Gaffney's Ding Dong Denny's History Of Ireland and Melina Padua's Agricultural Report.

Declan Cassidy's Whatever Turns You On has won numerous awards over the last year including the prestigious Best Short Short prize at the Aspen Shortfest, Colorado, as well as the Best Film accolade at both the Florence Film Festival and the Filmstock Film Festival in Britain.

The short comedy The Wednesdays, directed by Conor Ferguson picked up the Audience Award at the world renowned Clermont Ferrand short film festival last year as well as the Ellen Jury Special Recognition Prize at the Aspen Shortfest, Colorado.

Other comedies to screen include Teeth, directed by Ruairí O'Brien and John Kennedy, Stephen Burke's Boris, Michael McCuddens Maybe If You and No, No, No, directed by Stephen Bradley.

Right Now Ladies And Gentlemen directed by John Paul Murphy, The End Is Night, directed by James Cotter and Johnny O'Reilly's 3Minute 4Play will also screen.

The Dingle Film Festival will take place between September 10 and 13.

(KMcA/BMcc)