The film festival in Cork has been pared back and has a new name Festival of Film Cork.
The razzmatazz is gone. So are the competitions and awards.
Now called Festival of Film Cork for seven days a range of feature films offer good value for cinema goers and Festival Director Robin O'Sullivan refutes any claims that we are witnessing the death of the film festival. He says that the success of the festival is dependent on the support it receives from the people of Cork. Advance bookings are good and there is optimism for a successful festival. Robin O'Sullivan acknowledges that there are financial challenges facing the event.
The big success of the week has been the screening of all of the episodes of 'The Year of the French', directed by Michael Garvey and based on the novel by Thomas Flanagan. The series was made jointly for television by RTÉ, FR3 and Channel 4.
Tiernan McBride of the Irish Film Theatre says the festival offers people an opportunity to see a lot of films that they wouldn't otherwise have an opportunity to see. He also pays tribute to 'The Year of the French' and says it has been enthusiastically received by audiences.
I've seen five films already this week and they've all been superb.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 11 November 1982. The reporter is Tom MacSweeney.
