Take 4 at the Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival.

April 30, 2012 - PRLog -- The Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival, now in its fourth year, which will take place in Schull, West Cork from 24-27th May, was launched recently at a Cinematographers Party at The Bodega,  Cornmarket Street Cork.

The launch event brought together first time filmmakers, established directors and film buffs behind the scenes at the Cinematographer’s Party and all were enthused by the announcement that internationally renowned writer and director, Mike Leigh, will attend the Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival in Schull, the village with no cinema, for the last weekend in May.

‘Experiencing the extraordinary’ at the Festival’s Cinematographer’s Party were, Michael and Kathleen Barry of Barry & Fitzwilliam, Distributors of Corona Extra and title sponsors of the event who were joined by Carmel Winters who has won the hearts of film enthusiasts for her direction of the film SNAP. Winters, who was a guest of the festival in 2011 was accompanied by former Film Classifier John Kelleher who was impressed by the novel alternatives to cinema in Schull, namely the use of an intranet network and wifi hotspots running the length of the village for the duration of the festival.

One of the more exciting interviews at this year's festival will be the open discussion with Mike Leigh. Mike Leigh’s successes as a writer and director include Life is Sweet, the comedy-drama Career Girls, the Gilbert and Sullivan biopic Topsy Turvy and the bleak working-class drama All or Nothing. His most notable works are arguably Naked for which he won the Best Director Award at Cannes and the BAFTA-winning (and Oscar-nominated) Palme d'Or winner Secrets & Lies. Leigh has earned a reputation among film lovers as he begins his projects without a script, but starts from a basic principle which is developed through improvisation by the actors and his support of the Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival reaffirms the festival’s position as being an independent festival of, and for, filmmakers. Other participants at the festival will include filmmakers Ken Wardrop and Jack Gold, who will be on scene in Schull for the duration of the Festival.

Despite the fact that the town has no cinema, organisers of the film fiesta have come up with innovative methods to showcase over 200 films all over the town by encouraging filmmakers, tourists and locals to access the submitted competition films locally, on their laptops, iPads and smart phones, simply by logging on. For four days at the end of May, Schull village itself becomes a screen.

“The Corona Fastnet Short Film festival is a major showcase for Irish and international short film production and has been held in high regard on a local, national and international level for a couple of years now.  The 2012 festival includes over 200 short films, a mix of Q&A sessions, premieres, workshops and open platform discussions, with notables such as Mike Leigh, ken Wardrop, Gerard Hurley, Carmel Winters, Mike Hannon, Michael Lavelle, Pat Collins, Greg Dyke, Chris O'Dell, Martin de Barra, as well as numerous producers,  industry professionals and post production professionals in Ireland” says Chairman of the Festival, Maurice Seezer.

Other speakers at the event were the Mexican Ambassador to Ireland, his Excellency Carlos Garcia de Alba, the Cork County Mayor, Tim Lombard, the newly appointed Cork Screen Commissioner, Niall Mahony, owner of the Bodega and supporter of the festival Benny McCabe, and of course, the festival’s main sponsor, Michael Barry of Barry & Fitzwilliam, importers of Corona. Also in attendance to celebrate the festival’s first Turkish entry was Sinan Ilhan, First Secretary, Turkish Embassy.

‘Our 4th Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival would not be possible without the support of our lead sponsor Corona Extra (through distributors Barry and Fitzwilliam) as well as Fáilte Ireland, West Cork Development Partnership, Benny & Cliona McCabe, Viv Nathan, Frank Daly, Culture Ireland, Michael Satke, Ulli Crespo, Cork County Council, iOmega and Digital Forge for their technical support, and huge private support from friends and local business friends of the festival. A big thank you goes out to the village of Schull for providing an idyllic setting for what is now an internationally acclaimed Short Film Festival and for the outstanding encouragement and enthusiasm of the entire community toward this event.’ Seezer added.

Once the launch event was underway last evening, a plethora of short films were screened to give film fanatics a prequel of the short pictures which have been submitted into the 2012 festival.

Acting as agent to the stars, Pauline Cotter, was on hand as Casting Director while an epic performance by Karen Minihane and Teri Lieber  from Play Acting Theatre Company drew the event to a close. The night drew to a close with a great performance from one of Cork’s best known bands, The Calvinists. All in all, a wonderfully spicy way to herald what should prove to be an intriguing and innovative Fastnet Short Film Festival over the final weekend in May 2012.
www.fastnetshortfilmfestival.com Facebook.com/fastnetshortfilmfestival