4 Cork Finalists Announced For Ford Shorty Film Competition ‘8 Minutes’

SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR FORD SHORT FILM COMPETITION ‘8 MINUTES’

12 out of 50-plus entries selected to be screened  and winner announced this Saturday June 9th at gala event at Fota House, Cobh, As part of Titanic 100

(Cobh, June 6th, 2012) Twelve new Irish filmmakers have been shortlisted in a short film competition, run by Ford Ireland in partnership with the Titanic 100 Cobh 2012 Festival. The winner will be announced at a gala screening this Saturday June 9th in the beautiful Fota House, Cobh, Cork.

The twelve finalists – four from Cork, three from Dublin, and one each from Kildare, Meath, Waterford, Wexford and the USA – will have their films exclusively screened in the beautiful Fota House in Cobh on the evening of June 9th, and one lucky winner will receive the use of a Ford Fiesta, taxed and insured, for one year, a €2,000 fuel voucher and will have their film showcased on the Irish Film Board’s website.

Filmmakers responded to the competition in a fascinating variety of ways, with their 8 Minute films exploring issues around homelessness, parental separation, emigration, the importance of hope,  journey, overcoming obstacles, and some on lighter topics too including lego blocks and the purchase of an ice-cream van.

The judging panel of film industry experts includes Fiona Shaw CBE, the internationally acclaimed actress and theatre director originally from Cork; Cork actress Jennifer Erin Lee who stars in the forthcoming Titanic series, Blood and Steel; producer of BAFTA-winning short film, Pitch Black Heist, Gerardine O’Flynn; Alan Fitzpatrick, managing Director of Filmbase; Executive Director of the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland Birch Hamilton; and Eddie Murphy, Chairman and Managing Director of Henry Ford and Son, Ireland.

Full details of the competition and the finalists are available on www.8minutes.ie

‘8 MINUTES’ SHORTLIST

My Dearest Aunt Emily
Writer: Peter Le Bas (Beverly Hills, CA) | Director: Peter Le Bas | DOP: Alexander Le Bas

Out of the Depths – A Titanic Requiem
A crewman suffers from survivor’s guilt.
Writer: Peadar Donohoe with poem by Adam Wyeth (Crosshaven, Co Cork) | Director: Peadar Donohoe
DOP: Moria O’Brien

Play On
A man recently diagnosed with a terminal illness encounters a musician.
Writer: Nathan O’Brolchain (Dublin 18)
Director: Nathan O’Brolchain | DOP: Michael Andreasson

Without a Face
A neo-industrial journey of one man’s desire to experience more fulfilling life.
Writer: Nathan Lacey (Wexford) | Director: Nathan Lacey | DOP: Tom O’Mahony

Uisce Beatha
The fallibility of man.
Writer: Tadhg Hickey (Cork City) | Director: Shaun O’ Connor | DOP: Shaun O’ Connor

Hope
A young girl is saddened by her surroundings, until she opens a box.
Writer: Kevin de la Isla O’Neill (Dublin 8) | Director: Kevin de la Isla O’Neill | DOP: Kevin de la Isla O’Neill

Elysium
For a large number of emigrants leaving their homeland was not a matter of choice but one of necessity.
Writer: Chris Lodge (Donacarney, Co Meath) | Director: Chris Lodge | DOP: Chris Lodge

Changes
A young boy deals with the separation of his parents and the bullies at school.
Writer: Vincent Lambe (Dublin 6) | Director: Vincent Lambe | DOP: Andrew Edger

A Selfless Act
An old homeless man has a brief encounter with a wealthy young businessman.
Writers: Dan O’Connell & Frank Hurley (Hollyhill, Cork) | Director: Dan O’Connell
DOP: Jason Keane

Red Flag
In this dark comedy, two friends try to find the last safe place on earth in a post-apocalyptic world.
Writer: James Fitzgerald (Dunmore East, Waterford) | Director: James Fitzgerald | DOP: James Fitzgerald

The Secret to my Success
A bullied school janitor’s life changes when he buys an ice cream van.
Writers: Brian Folan / Peter McCoy (Maynooth, Co Kildare) | Director: Brian Folan
DOP: Niall O’Connor

Lego Brick Road
The story of one man’s battle of wills with the unlikeliest of foes.
Writer: Toby Lee Tyrrell (Cork City) | Director: Toby Lee Tyrrell | DOP: Toby Lee Tyrrell

About the Judges

FIONA SHAW CBE– Actress: Born in Cork and living in Cobh in her youth, Ms Fiona Shaw is an internationally renowned actress who has been in many international films. Her works include My Left Foot, The Taming of the Shrew, As you Like it, Jane Eyre, the Black Dahlia and playing the insufferable Aunt Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter movies.

JENNIFER ERIN LEE – Actress: Cork. Jennifer recently completed filming as Lady Thomas Andrews, wife to the Chief Architect of the Titanic, in the soon to be aired TV Series Blood and Steel, the story of how the luxury Liner, Titanic was built in Belfast by White Star Lines over 15 years from 1897 and the journey that has stirred the masses ever since. The series is directed by Ciaran Donnelly with other actors including Chris Noth, Alessandra Mastronardi and Derek Jacobi.

GERARDINE O’FLYNN – Winner of the 2012 BAFTA Awards for Best Short Film: Pitch Black Heist – A film Starring Liam Cunningham and Michael Fassbender. They are professional safe crackers who meet on a simple job to relieve an office safe from its contents. The catch is that a light activated alarm system impels the men to embark on a pitch black heist.

ALAN FITZPATRICK – Alan is Managing Director of Filmbase, a national resource centre for new and emerging filmmakers in Ireland. Filmbase works with a variety of national agencies to develop and promote opportunities for filmmakers through supports that include production funding, training, masterclasses, networking events, mentoring and the publication of Ireland’s only film magazine, Film Ireland. Alan oversees all of Filmbase’s film production awards, including those with the broadcasters RTE and TG4 which have collectively supported over 250 short films since their inception.

BIRCH HAMILTON has been the Executive Director of the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland since 2006. Birch received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from the University College Dublin in 1996 and in 2005 she was awarded a merit Masters in Entertainment Law with the University of Westminster, London. Birch started her career in film in 1996 with September Films, London and from there has worked with for several leading film production companies. Birch has radically transformed the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland into a powerful and dynamic institution and participates various national and international boards and is highly engaged in the film and new media space.

EDDIE MURPHY – Chairman and Managing Director of Henry Ford and Son, Ireland. Henry Ford’s legacy was providing mobility to the masses by way of producing Ford motorcars. In 1912, the same year as the Titanic’s Voyage, Henry Ford arrived in Cobh (then Queenstown) from America and established Henry Ford and Son five years later. Ford has a pivotal and important role in transportation around the world and a distinct link to Cork. As well as being the key representative to this link, Mr Eddie Murphy is Ford Ireland’s Nominated Judge for the Ford Short Film Competition.