Stranger Than Fiction 2010

The Documentary Film Festival, Stranger than Fiction, kicks off today in the IFI in Dublin, with the première of Pyjama Girls directed by Maya Derrington. The film was produced by Maya and Nicky Gogan for Still Films, who will both be in attendance for a Q&A session afterwards.

Filmbase is hosting a free panel session "The Honest Truth: Ethics in Documentary" in Cinema 3 at 11am Friday 16th April, about how documentary filmmakers deal with the conflicting responsibilities to their subjects, their viewers and their own artistic visions.

Alan Maher, IFB Production Executive will chair this panel which will include Maya Derrington (Pyjama Girls), Dr. Harvey O'Brien (UCD), Ciarín Scott (Waiting for the Light) and Ken O'Shea (RTÉ). The session is a free, ticketed event, and tickets can be collected from the IFI box office.

The discussion is the first of a day-long series of free panel events taking place as part of the festival.

The following two days will features screenings of Irish and International documentaries.

UK Film Council Plans

Northern Ireland Screen reports that the UK Film Council published its three year plan and launched its new £15m Film Fund.

In developing the final plan, the UK Film Council spent three months consulting on the proposals, engaging with hundreds of people from across the film sector, facilitating more than a dozen consultation sessions and attracting almost 1,000 responses. The plan specifically:

• opens up for business a £15m-a-year Film Fund (topped up further by film recoupment) for emerging, experimental and world class filmmakers;
• ring-fences money for development;
• confirms production companies will for the first time automatically receive a significant share of the UK Film Council’s recoupment from all feature film investments they are involved in, following State Aid approval of the measure by the European Commission;
• sets up a think tank chaired by Tim Bevan to identify new policy initiatives to grow independent UK film companies of scale;
• proposes a national web-based talent showcase, to be launched in Autumn 2010, to unearth fresh talent and to broaden the diversity, reach and the opportunities available to all filmmakers who are keen to engage with one another in a national filmmaking community;
• confirms £5m is allocated to the new Innovation Fund, which will launch in Autumn 2010 (more details to follow);
• provides £500,000 for film exports for each year of the plan;
• confirms that 100% of recoupment from the Prints & Advertising Fund - which widens and supports the distribution of selected specialised films and British films - will, like the Film Fund, top up that fund’s budget.

Alongside this plan, the DCMS have been leading merger discussions between the UK Film Council and the BFI. These discussions have been underway since August 2009 and continue.

Launching UK Film: Digital innovation and creative excellence, Tim Bevan CBE, Chairman of the UK Film Council, said, “We’ve set out a renewed mission, a new set of priorities, and a new way of working. With the right level of support, a successful British film industry can continue to help get the UK out of recession, drive innovation and create more highly-skilled jobs. Further tough choices probably lie ahead, but having reduced our overheads by 20% and positively responded to the needs of British filmmakers we’re now in the best place we can be to support and promote UK film in the years ahead.”

John Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council, announced that the new £15m-a-year Film Fund had opened its doors for business. Managed by a new team of experienced senior production and development executives, the fund has introduced a brand new online application process in which applicants will set out their creative and strategic visions for their film.

Woodward commented: “The new Film Fund’s primary focus is creative excellence. Tanya and her team will support filmmakers who want to put British filmmaking at the centre of our national culture and on the international map. The aim is for the Film Fund to attract the best talent, encourage creative risk taking, and deliver great films to audiences.

“Joining Tanya in the search for creative excellence will be a team of three Senior Production and Development Executives with an impressive and broad range of film industry expertise. Natascha Wharton, Lizzie Francke, and Chris Collins each have big production successes under their belts – together, it’s a team that will provide a wide range of expertise and tastes as well as a supportive, energetic and ambitious home for British filmmaking talent.

“The team will all work across the full range of projects in production and development, but individually they will also have specific responsibilities.”

• Natascha Wharton (starting 4 May 2010) will focus on development;
• Lizzie Francke will focus on experimental feature length films, national engagement and showcasing new talent;
• Chris Collins will focus on ideas for future film practices for both emerging and established filmmakers, from micro/low budget features and shorts, through to 3D blockbusters.

The Film Fund is open for applications from 1 April, but it will be presenting a more detailed strategy to the UK Film Council Board in the coming months. It has already been agreed that a portion of the £15m budget will be ring-fenced for development – although there will be no automatic assumption that projects developed will become films that the fund would then invest in at the production stage. The remaining budget will be safeguarded for the Film Fund’s own production investments. Further details will be announced in the coming months, in addition to details of the Film Fund’s non-London investment target and how the new online showcase will operate.

Reel Art Awards 2010

The Arts Council has announced the three recipients of this year's Reel Art Awards:

* "The Door Ajar", Director Patrick Jolley
* "Build Something Modern", Directors Nicky Gogan and Paul Rowley
* "An Ear to the Earth", Director Pat Collins.

Making the announcement, Fionnuala Sweeney, Head of Film and International Arts at the Arts Council, said: “The Reel Art scheme is a very important one for the Arts Council. It demonstrates clearly the Arts Council’s wish to provide film artists with the opportunity to realise their artistic ambition in the making of challenging and engaging documentary films on the arts. We are delighted to be able to support three teams of highly talented film artists and look forward to seeing their distinctive creative work brought to audiences at next year’s Jameson Dublin International Film Festival”.

Grainne Humphreys, Festival Director of JDIFF, added “Reel Art is a serious addition to the funding programmes available in Ireland. Without the need to satisfy narrow broadcast requirements the scheme can make the kind of bold choices that often leads to the most exciting cinema. That’s certainly what we are striving for in these awards, and JDIFF are very much looking forward to premiering the films to a wide audience at next year’s festival.”

The three films will receive their world premieres at next year’s JDIFF before an expected international run of film festivals and theatrical exhibition.

JDIFF Awards 2010

The documentary His & Hers, written and directed by Ken Wardop, scooped the Audience Award at this year's Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

The winners of the Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards were also announced:

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
Patrick O'Donnell
The Fading Light

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Tilda Swinton
I Am Love

BEST DOCUMENTARY
His and Hers
Written and directed by Ken Wardrop

BEST IRISH FILM
The Fading Light
Written and directed by Ivan Kavanagh

BEST DIRECTOR
Giorgos Lanthimos
Dogtooth

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Written by William M. Finkelstein and directed by Werner Herzog

BEST FILM
Samson and Delilah
Written and directed by Warwick Thornton

MICHAEL DWYER DISCOVERY
Kate McCullough

Fingal Writers Competition

Writers living in the Fingal area might be interested in a writing opportunity courtesy of the Arts Office of Fingal County Council.

Background

As part of an existing for art scheme project, artist Brian Duggan wishes to commission three short texts for a publication, to accompany / in parallel to his project O Machine, O Machine.

The Brief

This an open brief asking writers to respond to the theme Three Thousand and Nine , this projected view of the future can be taken from many perspectives, from the broad world view or an object, place, people, specific viewpoint, it leaves room for both a philosophical enquiry or a personal story. The brief extends to include fictional, imaginative, realist, crime, science fiction, drama, documentary and any other type of genre text.

The Opportunity

Three winning entries will be selected by an expert panel chaired by the artist and given a remuneration of €333 each.

The closing Date for entries is 17 March 2010, and further information on how to apply is available from the web site.

IFI Open Day

On Saturday, 6th of February the IFI is celebrating the refurbishment of its premises with a full day of free screenings.

Audiences will have the opportunity to check out the IFI's new and luxurious Cinema 3, the new look foyer, the brand new IFI Film Shop and our refurbished IFI Café Bar (not to mention the sparkling new bathrooms). All the free tickets are being released on the day at 11am and tickets are limited to four per person on a first come first served basis.

IFI Family, our monthly programme of quality family films, will be offering a first look at the hotly anticipated Ponyo; a wildly imaginative Japanese animation version of The Little Mermaid fairy tale from the Oscar-winning Studio Ghibli. Young people will also be catered for with a special IFI Teen Screen showing of Ghost World; a 2001 graphic-novel inspired cult favourite featuring a young Scarlett Johansson.

A preview of Crazy Heart includes an Oscar-tipped performance from Jeff Bridges; the subject of an extensive season at the IFI in February. Another heavyweight Oscar contender A Single Man, former-Gucci designer Tom Ford’s directorial debut featuring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore,will also be previewing on Open Day.

There will also be a chance to see some classics back on the big screen including the great screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby with Katherine Hepburn, the definitive Herzog documentary Grizzly Man, Kubrick's masterful 2001: A Space Odyssey on 70mm, and there will be a very rare chance to see Leo McCarey’s exceptional Make Way for Tomorrow on 16mm from 1937. There will also be a chance to sample two themed selections of material from the IFI Irish Film Archive; Welcome to the Emerald Isle: A Selection of Travel Films and Colm O Laoghaire Shorts.

A special discount on IFI Membership will apply on the Open Day. It's a great way to keep up with the latest releases and seasons, as well as benefitting from free tickets, special free Members’ Previews, discounts throughout the IFI, and double IFI Loyalty points.

Tickets for all films will be available on the day from 11am - in person only - and will be restricted to 4 tickets per person. Arrive early as tickets for the full day are expected to go quickly.

JDIFF Programme Launched

Last night the programme for the 8th Jameson Dublin International Film Festival (18th – 28th February) was launched at Dublin's Tripod bar on Harcourt Street.

The festival will open with the European premiere of Neil Jordan's new film Ondine, starring Colin Farrell, a very special event with Jordan and Farrell attending the screening. Highlights in this year's festival include a season celebrating Kristin Scott Thomas' French film work, including the Irish premiere of her new film Partir; three films featuring Patricia Clarkson: Whatever Works, Shutter Island and Cairo Time, which Clarkson will attend; as well as the Closing Gala I Am Love with director Luca Guadagnino and actor Tilda Swinton attending. Other guests include Ciarán Hinds (Life During Wartime), and directors Kirk Jones (Everybody's Fine), Leslie Zemeckis (Behind the Burly Q), Samuel Maoz (Lebanon), Sally Potter (Orlando) and Academy Award winner Fernando Trueba (The Dancer and the Thief).

Commenting on the programme, Festival Director Gráinne Humphreys said:

"I'm delighted to unveil this years JDIFF programme, and I am proud of the wonderful line up of films and events which makes up this much anticipated event. I believe that we have put together a truly dazzling array of films from around the world. With special seasons from Russia and Korea, an increased focus on documentary and classic films, our Irish film season, a retrospective of Kenneth Anger, a celebration of the film music of Nino Rota, and new films from famed filmmakers such Werner Herzog, Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton and Woody Allen, I hope we have found something for everyone. We acknowledge our friend and colleage Michael Dwyer by dedicating this year's festival to his memory and by presenting a season of films to celebrate his life"

This year sees two major foreign language seasons, Russian and Korean. The Russian Season will challenge perception of Russian cinema, and includes screenings of Sundance award-winning Mermaid; spiritual parableThe Island, and the film that has been described as the Iron Curtain version of Hairspray, the colourful and lively Hipsters! The festival will also see a screening of the iconic film Russian Ark, a film shot in just one take in The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, screened in the National Gallery of Ireland. The Korean Season will include South Korea's Academy Award submission Mother; the original and quirky Castaway on the Moon and gangster film Breathless, considered by many to be one of the best Korean films in years.

The Irish Talent Spotlight, now in its third year and run in association with the Irish Film Board, will platform director Conor Horgan who will be showing two films at the festival, the word premiere of documentary The Beholder and the feature film One Hundred Mornings; IFTA nominated actor Darren Healy, whose film Savage will be screened at the festival and cinematographer Kate McCullough with Sundance acclaimed His & Hers. Conor, Darren and Kate will also participate in a panel discussion on representations of Ireland on screen, along with Sundance's Director of Programming Trevor Groth, amongst others.

Special events as part of the festival include a retrospective on iconic film artist Kenneth Anger; Retour de Flamme, a silent film event by the 'Indiana Jones of the moving image', Serge Bromberg, who collates a film from archive footage screened along to his live score; an Out of the Past season of films including Orlando, for which director Sally Potter will attend, and La Dolce Vita, which will whet audience's appetite for the DIT symphony Orchestra presentation of works by Nino Rota in the National Concert Hall.

Continuing a strong tradition for documentary screenings, the Real to Reel season will feature the Arts Council Reel Art Documentaries The Beholder by Conor Horgan; Outliving Dracula: Le Fanu's Carmilla by Fergus Daly and Katherine Waugh; and Jimmy Murakami: Non Alien by Sé Merry Doyle, as well as Doors' documentary When You're Strange, First Appearance Award winner at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam, Colony, and the stunning La Danse which follows the Paris Opera Ballet, amongst many others.

The festival also offers viewers a special opportunity to get a First Look at some of the most exciting films of the forthcoming year, such as Drew Barrymore's first feature Whip It!, Atom Egoyan's new film Chloe, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland 3D and Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant, as well as offering the chance to see exciting new cinema with the Discovery season such as the multi award winning Revanche by Götz Spielmann and the rich and memorable Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story.

The festival will present a season of screenings as a tribute to the co-founder Michael Dwyer, who passed away in January. Michael truly celebrated cinema, and this selection of films including My Beautiful Laundrette and The Best of Youth, pays testament to his passion. The 2010 festival is dedicated to his memory.

Presenting over 100 films from over 30 countries, 7 of them world premieres, with archive and premiere screenings, special guests, discussions and unique events, all over an action packed 11 days.

2010 Writers Guild Award Nominees

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have announced their short-list of nominees for the 2010 Writers Guild Awards, which will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2010, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) Days of Summer, Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber; Fox Searchlight
Avatar, Written by James Cameron; 20th Century Fox
The Hangover, Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore; Warner Bros.
The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal; Summit Entertainment
A Serious Man, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Focus Features

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Crazy Heart, Screenplay by Scott Cooper; Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb; Fox Searchlight
Julie & Julia, Screenplay by Nora Ephron; Based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme; Sony Pictures
Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher; Based on the novel Push by Sapphire; Lionsgate
Star Trek, Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry; Paramount Pictures
Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner; Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Against the Tide, Screenplay by Richard Trank & Rabbi Marvin Hier; Moriah Films
Capitalism: A Love Story, Written by Michael Moore; Overture Films
The Cove, Written by Mark Monroe; Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions
Earth Days, Written by Robert Stone; Zeitgeist Films
Good Hair, Written by Chris Rock & Jeff Stilson and Lance Crouther and Chuck Sklar; Roadside Attractions
Soundtrack for a Revolution, Written by Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman; Freedom Song Productions and Louverture Films

Archive at Lunchtime

A new series of lunchtime screenings of short films from the IFI Irish Film Archive started this week.

The programme will provide new access to the vast collection of its shorter films - professional and amateur, educational and informational, travelogues, sports films and dramas - all of which provide a unique insight into Ireland's social, cultural and film history.

All programmes are free, and under half an hour, so it's a perfect way to spend a lunch hour. January's films were made by members of the Guinness Film Society with producer Mike Lawlor and each offers a fascinating portrait of Dublin life in the '70s.

Information about the dates and times of the screenings are on the web site.

Cork Festival Talks Industry

The 54th Corona Cork Film Festival takes place from November 1-8, and will offer a splendid array of premières, documentaries, film tributes, special guests, exhibitions, short films, animations, workshops, and courses.

In association with MEDIA Desk Ireland the festival will be coordinating a discussion about film production at the University College Cork, on Friday, November 6th from 2.30pm to 5pm.

"Having been impressed by the cultural and economic enquiry of the recent Global Irish Economic Forum, we invite those active in the Irish film, television and new media sector to attend the Cork forum to engage in reflection and debate," says Festival Director, Mick Hannigan.

"In the European Year of Creativity and Innovation, we are delighted to partner with the MEDIA supported Cork Film Festival in this creative forum which will allow for blue sky thinking," Siobhan O'Donoghue, CEO of MEDIA Desk Ireland continues.

Screen Producers Ireland will host a networking reception for the event’s participants. For further information contact MEDIA Desk Ireland.

Preservation Assistant Needed

The Radharc Trust - an independent charitable organisation working to promote Christian and positive human values in the media - manages the Radharc Archive of 400 documentaries produced by the Radharc production team between 1961 to 1997.

The Radharc Trust needs a preservation assistant to undertake a preservation assessment and documentation project for the Radharc Collection at the Irish Film Archive resulting in a detailed collections management report.

The Preservation Assistant will be employed on a 12-month contract by the Radharc Trust and will work under the day-to-day direction of the Head of the Irish Film Archive at the Irish Film Institute.

A full job description can be found at the IFI web site.

Applications (C.V. and cover letter) must be received by Friday the 25th of September.

His & Hers Launch

The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland, in association with the Directors Guild of America, have announced that the winner of the Directors Finders Series 2009 is Ken Wardrop and his feature documentary His & Hers

The feature will be showcased in the Director's Guild of America Theatre, Sunset Boulevard, L.A, on 7th August 2009 to an audience of American distributors and industry personnel with a view to securing a U.S distribution deal for the film.

Before the L.A Screening the SDGI will launch His & Hers at a special Industry Awards Ceremony on Thursday 16th July in Dublin in The Morrison Hotel.

This event will be officially opened by the Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism, Martin Cullen, TD.

The awards will be co-hosted by acclaimed directors Neil Jordan and Jim Sheridan, and the guest speaker will be from Pathe! UK.

For further information or to confirm your place contact the SDGI at guestlist[at]sdgi[dot]ie

Human Rights Film School Competition

The Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin, will hold a Gala Screening on Thursday, 11 June of the ICCL (Irish Council for Civil Liberties), Human Rights Film School Competition. Both amateur and professional Irish filmmakers, directors, producers, and scriptwriters created short films for the competition to raise awareness about human rights.

A short-list of six films have been selected:

• Pirogues by Barry O'Donoghue (Producer)
• Team Spirit by Siobhan Twomey (Writer, Director)
• My Identity by Vittoria Colonna (Director)
• A Life Inside the Frame by Daniel Bevan (Co-writer, Co-director).
• 8 Things to Remember by Aoibheann O'Sullivan (Director)
• Children of Manila by Genny Carraro (Producer)

People can watch the shortlisted films on the Human Rights Film School Competition web site, and can vote for their favourite film here.

The winner of the Human Rights Film School will receive a place in the prestigious 2009 Summer School on Cinema and Human Rights at the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC) in Venice, which offers master classes and lectures given by renowned experts in the disciplines of film and human rights.

The Summer School is a 3 week crash course on filmmaking for social change, which runs alongside the Venice Film Festival from 27 August to 16 September. The course seeks to address the question "how can film be used as an instrument for enhancing human rights awareness?" This will involve a programme of interactive teaching, private screenings, workshops and modules on cinema and human rights, along with attendance at screenings at the Venice Film Festival, meetings and discussions with filmmakers and others from the film world attending the festival.

The School is led by award-winning documentary maker Nick Danziger.

Signatures & Reality Bites

Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB) is looking for entries for its short film scheme SIGNATURES (deadline Friday, July 17th) and the short documentary scheme REALITY BITES (deadline Friday, August 7th).

SIGNATURES is a short film scheme for the making of live-action, fiction films that act as a proving-ground for Irish creative talents which aims to encourage strong, original storytelling, visual flair, and production values appropriate to the big screen.

The scheme is an opportunity for producers, directors and writers to work in a professional environment that will allow them to further their experience.

REALITY BITES aims to encourage experimentation and a fresh approach to short non-fiction filmmaking. We are looking for something new in the use of the documentary form, whether the projects are journalistic or creative, observational or aesthetic, objective or personal.

The IFB actively encourages submissions in Irish as films for either scheme can be produced in either the English or Irish language. The successful short films will premiere at the Corona Cork Film Festival next year.

For more information on making an application, and to download an application form, visit the Funding Programmes section of the website.

Home Run

Irish filmmaker Alan Cooke won the Emmy for Best Writing for his documentary Home at the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Awards last weekend.

The documentary was also nominated for Best Documentary (Producers Dawn Scibilia and Alan Cooke) and Best Photography (Dawn Scibilia).

Galway Arthouse Cinema Go

The Irish Times reports today that work will begin in June on Galway's new €4 million arthouse cinema.

The project has been spearheaded by a group called Solas, which represents the Galway Film Society, the Galway Film Fleadh, the Galway Film Centre, and the Galway Arts Centre,

Three cinemas are incorporated in the design – a 176-seater at basement level, a 77-seater on the second floor and a 105-seater on the third floor including 28 seats on the balcony.

The cinemas, equipped for 35mm and digital projection, will screen films of the "widest cultural diversity and will offer programmes that are innovative in form and challenging in content," the city council says.

"Programmes will include Irish-made films, films in the Irish language, European and independent feature films, documentaries, animation, classic films as well as thematic, archival and retrospective cinema. Special emphasis will be given to educational screenings and matinee opportunities for diverse audiences," it says.

The development includes a cafe and a bar area, a book and DVD shop and an online archive link to the National Film Archive and "specialist online cinema resources", the council says.

The project was earmarked in the current city development plan which recognised a "deficit of culture and arts infrastructure in the city". The authority has acquired additional property in the area as part of its "cultural quarter" plans, incorporating the new cinema and the existing city museum.

The architecture blog, Archiseek, has blueprints and mock-ups of the planned structure.

IFB at Hot Docs

Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB) announced it will be attending Hot Docs, the documentary film festival which takes place in Toronto from April 30th to May 7th.

The IFB are hosting an Irish delegation and are offering a small number of bursaries to assist with travel and accommodation costs.

Irish delegation members will have the chance to:

• attend the Toronto Documentary Forum (TDF), a unique presentation forum that assists independent documentary producers and their market partners to raise co-financing from the international marketplace. TDF is applauded as the most effective international market in North America for those working in the social, political and cultural documentary genres.
• participate in the International Co-Production Day which includes an information session on financing and production in Ireland, a private networking session with other international documentary professionals and a luncheon.

They are also eligible to avail of a host of promotional opportunities and discounts (hotels, passes, entry in Docs for Sale). Discounted passes (half price) will allow admission to the TDF as an observer and to every film in the festival.

It is an excellent opportunity to meet key co-production partners and financiers from North America and around the world.

If you are planning on attending the festival and would like to be part of the Irish delegation please get in touch with Suzanne Murray suzanne.murray@irishfilmboard.ie before close of business on Friday 20th March.

To make an application for one of the bursaries, please download and complete the Application Form from the web site and email it along with an up-to-date CV to Sarah Dillon sarah.dillon@irishfilmboard.ie before close of business on Friday 20th March.

As the IFB is currently prioritizing the funding of feature documentaries with cinematic potential, these projects will be given priority for the bursary award.

Home Nominated

The feature documentary Home, written by Irishman Alan Cooke, received three nominations in the New York Emmy Awards, and Cooke has signed a deal with Cinetic Media of New York to bring it onto Digital platforms like iTunes and Amazon Worldwide.

Home is a view of New York from the perspective of recent Irish Immigrant, and features interviews with actors Liam Neeson, Mike Myers, Susan Sarandon, Rosie Perez, Alfred Molina, as well as writers Fran Libowitz and Frank McCourt. The low-budget film shot was shot on various dates from 2004 -2006.

It has been nominated for: Best Documentary - Dawn Scibilia and Alan Cooke; Best Photography - Dawn Scibilia; Best Writing - Alan Cooke. The winners will be announced on the 29th of March in New York City.

Home has already picked up numerous awards including Best Documentary at the Magners Irish Film Festival 2006, Best Documentary award at the 2006 Boston Irish Film Festival and winner at the Chashama Film Festival, New York City 2008.

SOURCES 2 2009

SOURCES 2 is an advanced training programme offering intensive script development workshops in Europe for professional scriptwriters and teams of writers with cowriters, producers or directors with a specific film project for cinema and television.

It's offering seven-day Script Development Workshops in the coming months:

Application fee: €100.
Participation fee: €1,800 per project/writer and €900 per second person committed to the project. Includes the seven-day session (accommodation and meals included, travel costs excluded), supervision during rewriting period, and the second session of one day per project (accommodation, meals, travel costs excluded).

For the workshop at the FilmCamp/Norway, 11th– 19th June 2009, applicants should be focused on feature film projects and creative documentaries.
Submission deadline: 1st March 2009.

For the workshop in Graz/Austria, November 2009, applicants should be focused on feature film projects and creative documentaries.
Submission deadline: 1st July 2009.

Information on how to apply to the workshops is on the web site.

Not Normal

According to Northern Ireland Screen the NI Community Relations Council wishes to commission a series of 10-15 short films, focussing on the bizarre behaviour patterns and contradictions which are the 'perceived normality' of contemporary life in Northern Ireland.

It's hoped the series will illustrate the division of society in Northern Ireland, principally sectarian but also racial. The working title for film series is Not Normal.

The film treatments should highlight the ironies, paradoxes of identity, double-takes, physical movement conventions, political and faith 'place mapping', avoidance behaviour, verbal circumlocutions, and silent knowledge, of domestic and public life in Northern Ireland, illustrating its contemporary implications in a divided society.

The approaches and film techniques should interest (principally) the 16 -25 year-old audience Proposals are called for from film production companies and individuals with a track record of working with and producing films for young people in this age range.

Each film proposal should be submitted on one A4 page, and should articulate:

• The central idea
• The treatment
• The creative approach
• The format
• The genre

Applications from individuals should indicate the Film company or Executive producers with whom they will be working. The CVs of these must detail previous experience of delivery and production.

The commissioned films will be funded with an allocation of up to £2,000, which will be subject to contract, and against agreed budgets.

Each commissioned film must have copyright cleared for broadcast and transmission on the web, and be submitted to CRC on an edited DVD.

Each individual or film company may submit a maximum of 5 ideas or treatments for films.

The deadline for proposals is 5pm on 31st January 2009, and information on where to send the applications is on the web site.