"Sound + Vision: Celebrating Music in Film" at the Ballina Film Festival

Sound + Vision

From the Mayo Advertiser

The festival kicks off in style on Sunday July 1 with The Tango Lesson, and continues through to Wednesday evening with Topsy-Turvy, Mike Leigh’s comical look at the writing of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado. Sunday screenings also include Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, and Horslips: Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts, Maurice Linnane’s endearing documentary about one of the most important Irish groups in the history of music. The Horslips film will be made all the more special for fans of the band as original bassist Barry Devlin will introduce the screening.

More at link!

Ballina Arts Centre - Official Site

Barry Devlin at the Mid-Ulster Film Festival

Sun sets on 'Sundance' film fest at An Creagán

...A lot of directors and filmmakers at the festival, among whom were Dave Anderson and Heather Brunt, the director and producer of the short film 'Jacks.' They were thrilled their film was screened at the Mid-Ulster and loved the location, especially the 'homely' relaxed atmosphere and the on-site cottages. So much so that they say, "we've been inspired at this year's festival to make another movie. We hope to have it ready in time for next year."

The organisers hope that for next year they will have a budget to invite all the production teams who have submitted a film to their festival. They feel that this is not only important to the international development of the festival, but also is a wonderful way to promote the Omagh area as a tourist destination.

Other highlights included the world premiere of the digitally remastered Transformers - The Movie, Boletos Por Favor, Missing Jib, The Undertaker, Ahaarrr! and Victor and the machine. All in all the whole weekend was such a vibrant and brilliant event – here's looking forward to the fifth Mid-Ulster Film Festival.

Leaving the last word to Barry Devlin: "One more time... the Mid Ulster Film festival lived up to its billing as 'The Sundance of West Tyrone' bringing a fine roster of films (including a European premier of 'Proud') to a unique setting and a uniquely friendly and characterful festival. Proactive, educational, informative, entertaining, community based... The World's Most Dangerous Acronym ticks all the boxes.

"One more time, I was able to gain more from the people in my film-writing class than they got from me. One more time... Neil Jordan swears he's coming next year."

More at link. Festival website is here: www.midulsterfilmfestival.

Promoting the Next Project: Cinemagic Young Filmmaker Masterclasses

from Regional Film and Video:

Young filmmakers from across Northern Ireland will be sharing their talent with captive audiences at Cinemagic Young Filmmaker, in association with First Light which runs from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 November 2006.
Open to everyone, the weekend showcase of free screenings will take place at Queen’s Film Theatre (QFT), Belfast, and are divided into three separate age groups:
On Friday 24 November short listed films made by young people under the age of 15 will be shown between 5.30pm and 7.15pm. This will be followed by a question and answer session with First Light and Film Street.

Saturday 25th November is dedicated to 15 to 17 year olds. Short listed competition entrants and script writing enthusiasts will have the opportunity to participate in a ‘writing for film’ masterclass hosted by Barry Devlin (Not Afraid, Not Afraid, Ballykissangel, All Things Bright and Beautiful) from 10.00am to 4.00pm, before attending the QFT for the series of short film screenings at 5.00pm to 7.15pm.

More at the link and perhaps more at their site.

www.cinemagic.org.uk

And YES. It seems I'm back in the Blogging mode. I do owe TWO stories now. The Pogues concert of October and then my Night in Austin Texas at Kinky Friedman's political beer party. Long weekend ahead!

Barry Devlin spotted in the New York Times

FILM REVIEW; A Dublin Dreamer Confronts Reality

No writer was ever more urbane and sophisticated than Oscar Wilde, so it comes as a shock that Albert Finney has discovered Wilde's warm and fuzzy side. In "A Man of No Importance," Mr. Finney plays Alfie Byrne, a bus conductor in Dublin in the early 1960's. He wears Wilde's trademark green carnation while riding an emerald-green double-decker bus. He reads Wilde's plays and poetry aloud to his rapt passengers every morning, and he directs local productions of Wilde's plays at the parish hall. Mr. Carney, the rough-hewn butcher (Michael Gambon), usually plays the lead.

Alfie is almost as enamored of Wilde as he is of Robbie (Rufus Sewell), the handsome young driver of his bus, though he will admit this passion only to his own bedroom mirror. A repressed homosexual masquerading as one more Dublin bachelor, Alfie doesn't see why his little drama group shouldn't put on Wilde's "Salome," complete with the dance of the seven veils. He is one of the last true innocents.

This is an older article, but was sent to me. More at the link, and it did not appear to need subscription (as sometimes is the case).