Press Release…….Press Release
Immediate Publication
Cork Film Festival Announces Exciting Programme of Films
The final preparations are being made and the countdown is on to the 51st Cork Film Festival whose programme will be officially launched at 7pm on Thursday 28 September in Cork. The 51st Cork Film Festival which will run from 8-15 October, offers film lovers an exciting programme of events which include big budget films, world cinema, innovative independent films, international documentaries, an Irish showcase and short films from all over the world.
The Festival will open with the screening of the much anticipated film Death of A President which recently won the top FIPRESCI Critics Award at the Toronto Film Festival and uses the central premise of the assassination of George W. Bush to explore what might happen to America if such an event were to occur. The Cork Film Festival is proud to present the European premiere of a film that was described by Noah Cowan, the Co Director of the renowned Toronto Film Festival as “easily the most dangerous and breathtaking film I have encountered this year” The premiere will be attended by Ed Guiney, the Irish Producer of Death of A President who has long been a supporter of the Cork Film Festival having previously opened the Festival with the screening of Magdalene Sisters and Disco Pigs.
The Festival will screen feature films from all over the world and will include award winning films from Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. One to watch is Ten Canoes which is a wonderful film that tells the story of ten canoes, three wives and 150 spears and is unlike anything seen before. Lovers of horror films will enjoy The Host, a Korean monster Sci Fi film which since its release in Korea has smashed the country’s all time box office admissions record and is taking the world by storm.
The film Borat: Cultural Learning of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan which stars Sacha Baron Cohen, often better known as Ali G is very funny and will not disappoint. The Cork Film Festival has long been a passionate supporter of films which are produced in Ireland. This year sees the screening of Red Road a superb feature debut for Andrea Arnold and Irish Producer Carrie Comerford, both who will attend the Festival. The Festival closes with Marie Antoinette which portrays a world of richness and indulgent whims all beautifully realized through costume, set and a soundtrack of modern pop that curiously fits.
As the Cork Film Festival celebrates 51 years of flying the flag for cinema in Cork, its love affair with the short continues. This year, the number of short film entries submitted into the Cork Film Festival has exceeded that of all previous years with the festival receiving over 2300 entries. It is a wonderful indication of the talent of filmmakers all over the world that there has been no decline in the quality of entrants. The Festival will play host to over 40 Programmes of Shorts, ranging from Award Winning Shorts, 8 Great Shorts, Slow Food Shorts, Aardman Animation Shorts, Experimental Shorts to local talent in the Made in Cork Programme, Lesbian and Gay Shorts in the Outlook Programme and shorts from the four corners of the world in the International Programme.
The Cork Film Festival will pay tribute to Jens Jonsson, an award winning short film maker from Sweden. A collection of his unique films will be screened throughout the Festival and members of the public will gain a valuable insight into the work of this prolific filmmaker. The Festival will also present a retrospective of the work of Bill Morrison who is an award winning filmmaker and one of the foremost film artists working today. Jens Jonnson and Bill Morrison will attend the Festival.
This year the Cork Film Festival has a feast of fascinating documentaries on offer. On the spiritual side Into Great Silence is almost three hours of silence brought to you by the monks of Chartreuse in France, 37 Uses for A Dead Sheep gives a wonderful insight into the life the Pamir Kirghiz, a tribe of 2000 people from the Pamir region of Central Asia while Saint of 9/11 is an intriguing documentary about Fr Mychal Lynch, a gay Chaplain to the New York Fire station who came to the attention of the world when he was carried out by a team of rescue workers from the World Trade Centre on September 11. Music lovers should definitely watch Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris which profiles the life of the legendary jazz musician, Jackie Paris and the film Leonard Cohen I’m Your Man which features some wonderful performances of Cohen’s songs.
Drive-In Madness will once again take Cork city by storm as the Film Festival encourages the public to prepare to tune in their radio stations for the unique experience of watching the classic films Rocky, The Pink Panther and The Silence of the Lambs from the comfort of their cars. Refreshments will be available throughout the screenings and should not to be missed.
Meet the Filmmaker is a unique event which allows Irish audiences to meet prestigious directors and filmmakers from all over the world. From Monday 9 October, the Cork Film Festival will host a series of informal Q&A sessions on a regular basis with some of the national and international filmmakers who are attending the festival. These are open to members of the public and are free.
For the first time in the history of the Festival, tickets for all screenings and events can be purchased online on www.corkfilmfest.org. Tickets will also be available in the Festival Box Office which is located in Kelly’s Post Office, 15 Grand Parade Cork. Tickets go on sale on Saturday 30 September.
As the 51st Cork Film Festival Programme is so eclectic and varied, it is with great excitement that we count down the days to the 8th of October when we can finally say
“Let the screenings begin”.
For Further Information Contact,
Eimear O’Brien,
Press Officer 51st Cork Film Festival; Oct 8-15
Tel: 021 4271711/ 086 8900364
Email: press@corkfilmfest.org
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