Best Foreign Film Poll

Over at the Guardian blog there's a call for punters to send in their nominations for the best foreign film ever made. There's a £200 gift voucher on offer--for UK participants only.

One wonders what is meant by "foreign films" - I'm assuming they are films made in a language that is not English, which rules out most Irish cinema, along with Australian and Canadian candidates. But perhaps they mean non-British.

Taking the former definition, in a couple of minutes I assembled a small list from a huge range of contenders:

Vittorio De Sica's Umberto D (1952), Thomas Vinterberg Festen (1998), Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954), Chan-wook Park's OldBoy (2003), Fritz Lang's M (1931), Krzysztof Kieslowski's Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993), Jean-Luc Godard's Le Mépris (1963), Ingmar Bergman's Persona (1966), François Truffaut's Les Quatre cents coups (1959), Kar Wai Wong's In the Mood for Love (2000), Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund's City of God (2002), Kaige Chen's Farewell my Concubine (1993), Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Delicatessen (1991), Takeshi Kitano's Hana-bi (1997), Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding (2000), Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story (1953), Mathieu Kassovitz's La Haine (1995), Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 (1963), Ki-duk Kim's 3 Iron (2004), and Lucile Hadzihalilovic's Innocence (2004).

There are so many more; these are the films that I thought of immediately. I think it's impossible to select just one film. Films satisfy different needs at different times. Several of the directors I listed have other classics among their oeuvre.

What are your favourites?

Kisses in Dublin

IFTN notes that a new Irish feature film, Kisses, has begun principal photography in locations around Dublin. Written and directed by Lance Daly (Last Days In Dublin, The Halo Effect), it stars newcomers Kelly O’Neill (10 yrs) and Shane Curry (11 yrs), with support from Stephen Rea (Breakfast on Pluto), Paul Roe (Adam & Paul) and Neilí Conroy (Intermission).

Lynch in Paris

Anyone fancying a trip to Paris in the coming weeks, might want to visit David Lynch's "The Air is On Fire" installation, which occupies the three floors of the The Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain until May 27.

Maxim Jakubowski has written about the multi-media exhibition on the Guardian blog. The showing features Lynch's artwork, short films, and photography, and is set off by his own musical composition.

It would be a perfectly weird hiatus between glasses of wine and sumptuous meals.

Oz on film

The IFI in Dublin is running an Australian Film Festival from Monday 2nd April until Thursday the 12th of April.

The festival provides audiences with the opportunity to sample a varied cross section of recent Australian cinema.

NI arts funding crisis

The Stage reports there will be a crisis in arts funding in Northern Ireland from 2008 to 2011 unless at least £23.5 million is injected into the NI Arts Council's budget. The funding body discovered last week that it is going to lose £4.5 million in lottery money to the 2012 Olympics.

Chief executive Roisin McDonough told The Stage she questioned whether the government valued the arts in Northern Ireland as much as elsewhere in the UK. The region has the lowest per capita funding of all the arts councils, at £6.13 compared to £11.93 in Scotland and £8.14 in England. The requested increase would bring its spend up to £10.70.

McDonough added: "Our original forecasts were made before this latest bombshell hit. Over the last ten years, there has been chronic underfunding of the arts in Northern Ireland, and in the last few years funding has been frozen. This loss is coming on top of all the other underfunding and it is very serious. Our theatre sector in particular is small but it is a very important, vibrant part of our infrastructure and it needs to be resourced properly. We haven't been able to do that.

"You've only got to look at the fact the Lyric, our principle rep, struggles every year and at the moment has a £4.6 million shortfall in the funding it needs to get its new theatre, which is absolutely crucial for the whole development of theatre in Northern Ireland."

Screenwriters Co-Op

Last week Variety published an article about the creation of a Writers Co-Op, a production venture to be housed at John Wells Prods.

Co-Op is designed to give gross participation to screenwriters, along with a voice in how their scripts are turned into films. It will be staked under a first-look deal by Warner Bros., where Wells is based.

Over the next four years, the Writers Co-Op will generate at least 18 scripts from writers who will risk their usually high upfront salaries for the reward of receiving first-dollar gross, the right to participate as producers and a guarantee they will not be rewritten without their consultation and approval. The scribes will also have a say in the decisionmaking process from development all the way to post-production.

The writers will forgo a great deal of their upfront fees on first drafts to ensure their films move through the sticky development process, and in exchange receive a full payment and production bonuses when the film is made.

19 writers have signed up: Ron Bass (Rain Man), Henry Bean (Internal Affairs), David Benioff (Troy), Scott Frank (Out of Sight), Robert Nelson Jacobs (Chocolat), Kazan (Reversal of Fortune), Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise), Richard LaGravanese (The Fisher King), Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams), Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost), Stephen Schiff (The Deep End of the Ocean), Schulman (Dead Poets Society), Ed Solomon (Men in Black), Dana Stevens (For Love of the Game), Robin Swicord (Memoirs of a Geisha), Michael Tolkin (The Player), Rafael Yglesias (Fearless), and the writing team of Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (City Slickers).

It will be fascinating to monitor how this venture proceeds.

April Sit In

FilmmakersForum.ie is having its monthly Sit In on Monday April 2nd, in Training Room 3, Filmbase, Curved Street, Temple Bar, from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.

The Sit In's are FilmmakersNetwork.ie's monthly meetings. It's an informal place to meet with other filmmakers, to help get collaboration going, show and discuss our work and generally keep up the energy bubbling away around this site.

All filmmakers are welcome - whether a member of FN.ie or not - so do come along.

The April meeting will comprise of an announcement of the winner of the February Script of the Month, screenings of members' work, discussion of projects that individuals are working on, a film swap, followed by drinks in the local.

YouTube Video Awards

It's a sign of the times when YouTube creates its own Video Awards, which are voted upon by the public. The winners in the various categories of the 2006 awards have been announced.

I expect this will become a bigger event in years to come, with a live online ceremony and celebrities behaving badly.

Verity Bargate Award

The Soho Theatre in London has announced it's seeking entries for its Verity Bargate Award for a new play written by an emerging writer. Only one play can be submitted and it should be not less than 70 minutes in length. The deadline for applications is July 6.

The 2007 winner will receive £5,000 and a residency at Soho Theatre. "The prize money is in respect of an exclusive option for Soho Theatre to produce the winning play according to the Company's standard license agreement."

Novel hopes

According to The Guardian Irish screenwriter Derek Landy (Dead Bodies, Boy Eats Girl) has penned a young adult novel, entitled Skulduggery Pleasant, which hits the bookshops in Ireland and the UK on April 2.

Landy's publishing advance - said merely to be "in seven figures" - is one of the highest paid to an author of children's fiction and covers three books, aimed at children between eight and 13.

"It's horror with gothic sensibilities, fast talking characters and martial arts - all the things that are fun in life," he said.

The backdrop for the stories is Landy's native north County Dublin; he lives in Lusk just inland from the coast.

Media changes

The LA Times has an interesting article about the rise of new online content from sources like YouTube, and how this may affect traditional studios and how films are made in the future.

Franco-Irish Festival

The Franco-Irish Literary Festival will run from 27-29 April in Dublin Castle.

The 2007 Festival concentrates on the various dimensions of Islands in Literature. The theme Talking about Islands, A propos des Iles... will be the opportunity to pay a warm tribute to Michel Déon, a famous and prolific writer, and member of the Académie Française, who has been resident in Ireland for more than 30 years.

Guests of the festival include José Luis de Juan, Irène Frain, John Banville, Chantal Thomas, Franzobel, Henri Lopes, Bríd Ní Mhóráin, Jean Lemieux, Theo Dorgan, Peter Sheridan, and Jean Raspail.

In conjunction with Bookcrossing, the weekend will also witness the "release" of 100 English and French books all over Dublin.

Paisley biopic underway

According to The Guardian, Belfast playwright Gary Mitchell has been commissioned to write a screenplay about the life of preacher and politician Ian Paisley.

"I think it is a tremendous opportunity to explore and expose the great man and all his vices and all his virtues," said Mitchell, whose plays have dealt with the destructive impact of the troubles on the lives of ordinary people in loyalist communities.

Asked who should take the star role, Mitchell told BBC Radio Ulster: "It's up for grabs. What's important is that it's going to be a major person and one who has the ability to play such an icon."

Mitchell has written for television and film, won the George Devine Award in 2000 for As The Beast Sleeps, and has been writer-in-residence at the National Theatre.

Don't be boring

Over on The Guardian blog, playwright Anthony Neilson has advice for those thinking of writing a play: "Don't be so boring".

Speed Dating scores

IFTN reports that Speed Dating, which was written and directed by Tony Herbert, has won the Audience Award at The European Independent Film Festival in Paris.

The romantic comedy stars Hugh O'Conor, Emma Choy and Don Wycherley, and was produced by John Conroy and Tony Herbert with private funds. The film will be released in Ireland on April 20th.

McGahern Tribute

From RTÉ I see that the IFI in Dublin will host a John McGahern tribute on 1 April from 11am to 3pm, which will be introduced by Colm Tóibín.

The programme features rare screenings of 'Wheels' and 'The Rockingham Shoot'; 'Wheels' is an adaptation of McGahern's 'Nightlines' story of the same name while 'The Rockingham Shoot' is a one-off, BBC Northern Ireland drama written for television by the author.

Also screening on 1 April is the adaptation of 'The Leave-Taking', 'The Lost Hour', and its sequel, 'The Key', which is based on McGahern's short story 'The Bomb Box'.

Chance to view Home

IFTN mentions there's a free showing of the award-winning Irish documentary, Home, which was written by Alan Cooke. It will air in the IFI in Dubiin on Saturday the 24th of March at 11:30 am, but tickets must be requested in advance via email.

Cooke, a stage and film actor, shot the film on location in New York during 2005. Co-produced and directed by Dawn Scibilia, the film features Dubliner Cooke exploring themes of nostalgia and the concept of home.

Included are a number of interviews with immigrants and native New Yorkers including Woody Allen, Liam Neeson, Frank and Malachy McCourt, Alfred Molina, Mike Myers, Rosie Perez, Colin Quinn and Susan Sarandon. Irish director Jim Sheridan commented that the film "beautifully captures the Irish immigrants journey through the myth and mystery of New York."

Abbey Theatre face-lift

According to RTÉ the Abbey Theatre has announced the details of the €730,000 redesign of its auditorium space.

The project, which is due to take 10 days, involves the complete removal of the present seating and the installation of a new raked floor.

The new auditorium will hold 492 seats and also provide two designated wheelchair places.

According to the theatre, sightlines and acoustics will be significantly improved.

Long terms plans for the Abbey include a re-location to the Docklands by 2010 in a theatre designed by the winner of a juried competition.

FastForward Ireland

Registration is now open for FastForward Ireland, a 24-hour filmmaking festival. Taking place in Dublin over April 13-14, 2007, members of the festival will shoot, edit, and deliver a 3-minute movie for screening within 24 hours.

There are limited spaces, so actors, writers, directors, crew, and artists should sign up immediately before the final thirty groups are decided.

Year of the Writer-Director

Touching somewhat upon the previous entry, The Los Angeles Times declares 2007 is the "Year of the Writer-Director".

Consider Mike White, the droll, white-haired scribe behind The Good Girl and School of Rock, who says he used to be a "really bad backseat driver" on the sets of the movies he wrote. "You're completely stressed in each situation trying to figure out how to manipulate everyone into doing what you want them to do." But directing -- that's a charm, says White. "You can actually say what you want."

White just helmed his first film -- Year of the Dog, the tale of a woman (Molly Shannon) who really, no, really, loves animals. In fact, he joins a bumper crop of brand-name writers making directorial debuts in 2007. They include Oscar nominees Scott Frank (Out of Sight) and Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich), John August (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Oscar winner Alan Ball (American Beauty), Zach Helm (Stranger Than Fiction), Tony Gilroy (the Bourne movies), Robin Swicord (Little Women) and perhaps the most singular screenwriter of his generation, Charlie Kaufman, an Oscar winner for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Fantasic Irish Films

ITFN reports on the current line-up of Irish nominees for the annual European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation (EFFFF) awards: the Méliès d'Or (for short films), and the Méliès d'Argent (for feature films).

Over the course of the year, participating fantastic film festivals around Europe nominate films in the d'Or or d'Argent category. All the nominees are entered into competition and judged by an international jury.

This year the winners will be announced at the 11th Méliès d'Or Ceremony at the Lund International Fantastic Film Festival, on the 16th of September 2007.

• Written, directed, and edited by Ciaran Foy, "The Faeries of Blackheath Woods" was nominated for a Méliès d'Or at the Cinénygma Luxembourg International Film Festival.


• "Final Journey", written and directed by Brendan Muldowney, was nominated for a Méliès d'Or at the Scienceplusfiction Film Festival in Trieste. The previous short film Brendan wrote and directed, "The Ten Steps", was also nominated for a Méliès d'Or.


• The feature film, Isolation, written and directed by Billy O'Brien, won the Méliès d'Argent nomination at Fanomenon, the Leeds International Film Festival.

It's great to see a strong representation of Irish talent at such a high level of competition, and it's interesting to note that each film was written and directed by the same person.

Is theatre relevant?

Lisa Loomer, an American playwright and screenwriter, writes a short article for The Los Angeles Times, about the power and relevancy of theatre today.

But does it matter? Can a play ... change anything? The most depressing quote I ever read is that "97% of what people perceive is what they already believe. What is not in alignment with their beliefs, they simply filter out." That quote inspired me to write a play about how we perceive each other across the divide of race and class -- and it also made me think about my job. I don't think it's my job to change people's minds. I think it's my job to get them arguing in the parking lot after the show.

That said, I'm going to take the opposite point of view now (because that's what I do as a dramatist) and say that, yes!, a play can change our consciousness. Off the top of my head: Angels in America. The Crucible. Lysistrata.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Have a good holiday!

Single-handed on Sunday

Single-Handed, a new two-part mystery drama set in the West of Ireland, will air on RTÉ One at 9.30pm on Sunday the 18th, and conclude on Monday the 19th of March.

Produced for RTÉ by Touchpaper Television, it stars Owen McDonnell, Ian McElhinney, Laura Murphy and Liam Carney. It was written by Barry Simner and directed by Colm McCarthy.

Ugly Duckling wins approval

IFTN reports that the animated film, The Ugly Duckling and Me, created by Magma Films, won Best Directed Animated Feature Film award at the Cartoon Movie awards ceremony in Germany last week.

The Ugly Duckling and Me is directed by Michael Hegner and Karsten Kiilerich and was co produced by Galway based Magma Film's Ralph Christians (Executive Producer) and Moe Honan (Producer and Voice Director). The screenplay is written by Mark Hodkinson.

The 3D feature has already been sold to almost every country in Europe and worldwide only 5 territories remain unsold. The film is currently on theatrical release in France where it is reportedly enjoying excellent box office figures.

The film will be released in Ireland in July 2007, and the TV series of the same name is being aired on RTÉ Two on Sundays at 11am, and Fridays at 2pm.