Friday 11th – Sunday 13th November 2022
The Kingdom welcomes film director John Sayles as 82 films from 23 countries set to be shown across the weekend
Already lauded as a film festival not to be missed by Irish film stars Saoirse Ronan, Aidan Gillen and Pierce Brosnan, the brand-new Dingle Distillery International Film Festival will take place this weekend Friday 11th – Sunday 13th November.The festival will screen 82 films from 23 countries, making it a truly international event, with 30 incredible Irish films also showcasing the amazing homegrown talent here. The festival will host the best Masters talks and workshops in the country targeting both established and up-and-coming filmmakers, actors and anyone who has an interest in the film world.
Luminaries such as eminent director John Sayles (Lone Star, Men With Guns) will deliver an Acting Master Class, while another must-attend is a day-long session with Cinematographer Owen McPolin (Game of Thrones, Vikings, Penny Dreadful). Festival attendees can also join Casting Director Ros Hubbard, Talent Agent Lorraine Brennan, Talent Agent Josh Muldoon and Spotlight’s Claire McGinley as they present a workshop on the ‘nuts and bolts’ of acting as a career: getting an agent, self-taping, coping with rejection, dealing with fan mail and staying sane! All details of these workshops and more can be found at https://dinglefilmfest.com/masters-talks-and-workshops/.
As for the films themselves, cinema lovers are in for a treat over the weekend with feature length films, short films and documentaries all showing in An Díseart in Dingle and The Blasket Centre in nearby Dún Chaoin. For a full itinerary of events across the weekend and tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/o/dingle-distillery-international-film-festival-55735565903.
- In the Feature Zone, many films study the different, and often difficult experiences humans face through life, such as Klondike, a Ukrainian drama film written, directed, and edited by Maryna Er Gorbach which was awarded the Best Direction during this year’s Sundance Film Festival, centring around the MH17 plane crash and expectant parents Irka and Tolik who live in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, disputed territory in the early days of the Donbas war, and The Emigrants directed by Erik Poppe, the story of Kristina Nilsson, a mother who leaves a poverty-stricken Sweden with her family in the 1850s setting out on a long, dangerous journey, hoping to find a better life for herself and her children in America.
- In the Documentary Zone, audiences will meet extraordinary people from all walks of life, such as a baritone with a dodgy past and a love for both opera and heavy metal in The Rocking Baritone directed byBertrand Normand. In Little Palestine (Diary of a Siege), Abdallah Al-Khatib and his friends document the daily life of the besieged inhabitants of Yarmouk – the location of the biggest Palestinian refugee camp in the world from 1957 to 2018 – as they decide to face bombing, displacement and hunger with rallying, study, music, love and joy. An Buachaill Gealgháireach, directed by Alan Gilsenan will share the untold story of the Irish song, The Laughing Boy, written by Brendan Behan in memory of Michael Collins.
- The Shorts Zone is divided into two categories, national and international, with love stories, familial themes and social issues all emerging through these fantastic short films, including Not My Sister by Jessica Courtney Leen where a buried family secret begins to find its way to the surface, Don Vs Lightning by Johnny Burns and Pier van Tijn (Big Red Button), which follows an elderly Scottish grump who finds himself the victim of multiple lightning strikes and worries his quiet, orderly life may never be the same again, and Proxy by Kaz Ps which explores issues of infertility, sacrifice and motherhood in a unique way.
- Out of competition, some not to be missed screenings on Saturday in An Díseart include Saoirse Ronan’s See How They Run, the box-office record breaking An Cailín Ciúin and another charming Irish-language film Róise and Frank, about a widow who believes a stray dog is her husband reincarnated. There will also be children’s programming with comedy from The Netherlands Oink (with English subtitles) as 9-year-old Babs must save her little pig named Oink from her grandfather’s secret plan to take part in a sausage competition. In this puppet animation realised with a great attention to detail, lifestyles and generations collide!
A €5,000 prize generously donated by Dingle Distillery will be awarded to the winning international short film, while the festival’s jurors will bestow the Dovinia – its own version of the Palme D’Or, named in honour of a local goddess – to prize winners in all categories. As the backdrop to the Academy-award winning Ryan’s Daughter, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s Far And Away, and even the home of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Dingle and its surrounding scenery is a natural home for this contemporary film festival – an inspiring weekend awaits!
Festival Director Thom Palmen said: “This festival is the result of the work of many people, not least the board who has spent the last two years tirelessly preparing a smorgasbord of film – a feast for both young and old, offering something for everybody. Thanks to the programming team, The Gregory Peck Classic Film Society, and our partners without whom this event would never have been possible. As Rick in Casablanca says to Captain Renault: ‘I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship…’ The doors to the venues are open for all!”
For more information on the weekend, visit dinglefilmfest.com.