Six decades young, the Cork Film Festival kicks off it's diamond anniversary celebrations today. Already the oldest film festival in Ireland (and the second oldest in both Britain and Ireland) it's obviously doing something right to have kept the punters happy down through the years.
This year there's plenty to entertain movie buffs over its nine day run, including the Irish Premiere of Steve Jobs, starring Michael Fassbener, a commemoration of blues rock great Rory Gallagher and an Oscar-hopeful short movie by Irish actor Hugh O’Connor.
Speaking about the exciting line-up, Cork Film Festival Creative Director James Mulligan said: “The Festival may be 60, but this is a year of firsts. There will be four new venues for the Festival: the Everyman Theatre, St Luke’s Church, the Pavilion and the Ballymaloe Grainstore."
Apart from the Steve Jobs premiere, for the first time in Cork, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra will perform the live score to David Lean’s romantic masterpiece, Brief Encounter, on the Cork Opera House stage.
Brief Encounter will screen with a live score by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra
The Cork Opera House will also host a special screening of What’s Going On: Taste Live at the Isle of Wright Festival 1970 to mark the 20th anniversary of rock legend Rory Gallagher’s passing. The documentary, made by Oscar winner Murray Lerner, will be followed by an extended fan Q&A session with Rory’s brother Donal.
Actor, director and author Simon Callow will give an extended introduction to Orson Welles’ classic F For Fake, marking the 100th anniversary of the film icon’s birth. Callow, who is best known for his role in Four Weddings and A Funeral, will also be on hand to sign the third volume of his book on Welles’ life, One Man Band.
The Festival will screen over 50 Irish Short Films, almost half of which were made in Cork. This year, the winners of the Grand Prix Irish presented by RTÉ Cork and, the winner of the Grand Prix International, will automatically progress to the Oscars longlist for consideration for the first time ever.
The festival will mark the 20th anniversary of Rory Gallager's passing
One of the special events of the Festival will be a discussion by Cork resident and human rights filmmaker Peadar King, at the Gate cinema ahead of a screening of his prison reform documentary Yo Cambio, about a self-governing prison in El Salvador.
Click on the video to see Laura Delaney's preview of the Festival from Cork.
The Cork Film Festival runs from Nov 6-15 and full details can be found on corkfilmfest.org
