HomeThank You!
After 6 wonderful days of Irish films the 11th Chicago Irish Film Festival closed with its much-anticipated Shorts & Shots Night. The voting was quite intense as people lobbied for their favorite film. Just kidding, it was by secret ballot, although blinders may be in order for next year.
The winners of this year’s Audience Awards are:
1st Place:
The Crush, directed by Michael Creagh
2nd Place:
Rearview, directed by Jake McKone
3rd Place:
Out of the Blue, directed by Michael LaVelle
Honorable Mention went to Len Collins for The Covies: Episode1 (www.thecovies.com), Ireland’s first online soap opera. The faint glow that lit up the theater at the end of the program was testament that numerous audience members where checking out the next episodes, so well done Len and the good people of County Mayo, Chicago is hooked!
The winners of this year’s Festival Awards are:
1st Place:
It’s All About George, directed by Don Field and Roy Lecane
2nd Place:
A Film From My Parish – 6 Farms, directed by Tony Donoghue
3rd Place:
Scenes from the Great Recession, directed by Dereck O’Connor and Ian Whelan
Honorable Mention went to Ian Powers for Dental Breakdown.
Congratulations are in order for all the filmmakers who screened at the festival this year, what stellar achievements in storylines, cinematography and animation. We applaud your talents and wish you great success across the festival circuit, where we are sure you will continue to gather much-deserved awards.
Documentaries were especially brilliant this year beginning with the intimate glimpse into the Dublin neighborhood of The Liberties by Shane Hogan and Tom Burke which opened the festival, and garnering unending applause for producer Anna Rodgers after the U.S. Premier screening of Alan Gilsenan’s The Yellow Bittern: The Life and Times of Liam Clancy (www.ctlfilms.com). The Q & A that followed found that Chicago is filled with people who saw Liam and the Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem perform live and Anna’s stories of traveling with Liam had them enthralled.
Sridher Jagath, vice president of the Midwest Cricket Conference (www.midwestcricket.org), also had an attentive audience as he explained the nuances and rules of cricket following the screening of Breaking Boundaries: 2007 World Cricket Cup. Many thanks to Edwina Forkin, at Zanzibar films, for her continued support of the festival, it is truly appreciated. Thanks also to Paul Davey, the director, it was a fascinating story filled with sticky wickets.
Filmgoers were delighted to meet Joseph Delond, writer and director of Bitterness, after its U.S. Premier. No one doubts that he has a bright future in film and the festival wishes him the best of luck and was delighted his was able to attend.
This year the festival’s Classic Sunday program was truly honored to have Tim Reilly, vice consul of Ireland and Mary Ann Ryan, Irish Studies Scholar, present a program on immigration after the screening of the 1938 film Gateway. It was interesting to note that preconceptions and misconceptions are as prevalent today as they were 75 years ago, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the emotion the subject stirs.
No festival can exist, especially these days, without sponsors so THANK YOU to AT&T, Heineken and Miller Beers, Hayes Distributing and YELP.com and to all the other sponsors that made the festival a success.