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The reward of previewing films for the festival - and we
currently receive over 2000 entries - is the promise of finding
new talent. From its arresting title, Undressing My Mother
provoked a frisson of wonder and excitement and the confirmation
that, yes, there is something new under the sun! And the realisation
that its Irish director had submitted five other equally imaginative
and well-crafted shorts was a delight. It was clear that we
should show these wonderful shorts in one programme.
It seems to us that Wardrop is a genuine filmmaker with a
wonderful cinematic sensibility and an instinctive feel for
what makes engaging cinema. His images are rich in visual
flair, often arresting, always beautifully shot and composed
- even in the documentary sequences. And his subjects are
fresh and intriguing, from the seemingly banal but quietly
humorous portrait of a 'not quite up to scratch' farmyard
dog (Useless Dog), to the rarely spoken of subject of male
circumcision - simply titled Ouch! - to the startling images
of the ample, elderly and cheerily naked
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woman, who is the subject of Undressing My Mother. And Wardrop
is especially good at documenting family, in this case an
Irish rural family.
While it is perhaps natural to foreground the director, attention
must also be drawn to his collaborator, editor and producer,
Andrew Freedman. Perhaps the rapport between the two is the
magic ingredient which transforms these short films into works
of cinematic art. The skilful editing of the images, the music
and other sound elements is perhaps most obvious in Dampened
Spirits, the film they have jointly directed, but it is a
vital element in all their work.
Wardrop and Freedman are certainly names to watch. In the
meantime we are pleased to present these examples of pure
cinematic pleasure.
-M Hannigan
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Love Is Like A Butterfly
Ken Wardrop
Ireland | 2003 | 4mins | Beta | Colour
A short tale inspired by the dreams we lose with adulthood.
The music of Dolly Parton accompanies this story of
bright lights, prostitutes and butterflies.
Ouch!
Ken Wardrop
Ireland | 2004 | 12mins | Beta | Colour and Black &
White
Three men talk candidly about their experiences of being
circumcised later in life. Ouch! is a funny and touching
examination of life on either side of the foreskin divide.
Dampened Spirits
Andrew Freedman, Ken Wardrop
Ireland | 2003 | 3mins | Beta | Colour
An abstract documentary experimenting with the effect
of sound on vision.
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Useless Dog
Ken Wardrop
Ireland | 2004 | 5mins | Beta | Colour
A farmer is experiencing problems with his sheepdog's
work.
Raving
Ken Wardrop
Ireland | 2004 | 4mins | Beta | Colour
A woman is not amused by her friend's persistent laughter.
A little dancing eventually loosens her stiff upper
lip.
Hen
Ken Wardrop
Ireland | 2004 | 5mins | Beta | Colour
A little girl makes an impossible demand.
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Ken Wardrop and Andrew Freedman will graduate next
month from the National Film School, IADT-DL. They formed
a working relationship when Andrew viewed some of Ken's
film rushes in 1st year and insisted on editing the
project. Since then they have worked on many student
films together. Their back-grounds could not be more
different. Ken is from a farming background in the midlands
and returned to college as a mature student. Andrew
is from a Dublin background, his family in the medical
profession.
Andrew has spent the last four years specialising in
production and editing and has produced over thirty
short films. Ken spent his final year specialising in
documentary direction and also camera operated on other
projects. Working together, they have been most successful,
developing a particular forte in documentary filmmaking.
They have won the O2 Student Film of the Year Award
for the last three years. Their films include the awarding
winning shorts: Hen, Love is Like a Butterfly and Dampened
Spirits, while Undressing My Mother and Useless Dog
have recently been receiving recog-nition and awards
at festivals around Europe. Recently they have formed
Venom Films, a production company which they hope will
take them from student to professional filmmaking.
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