WHILE the screenings gets underway on Saturday, the 15th annual Kerry Film Festival will be officially opened in Siamsa Tire on Sunday, at 7:30pm with special guests and a wine reception.
To mark the special anniversary the Festival has partnered with IFI National to present a new score for three O’Kalem films written by Irish Composer Bernard Reilly and performed by Cine Theatre Ensemble.
The O’Kalem silent films were made in Beaufort and Killarney by the Kalem Picture Company between 1910 and 1915. The first transatlantic films to be produced & the first-ever fiction movies to be made in Ireland, they are a major part of the history of filmmaking in Kerry, and indeed in Ireland.
At the dawn of American cinema, when most film companies were already heading west to Hollywood, one company travelled east – to Ireland. Kerry Film Festival, in association with the Irish Film Institute, is proud to present the world premiere of new score for three of the silent films.
The little-known story of The Kalem Film Company, or “The O’Kalems,” as they were fondly called; the first transatlantic films to be produced & the first-ever fiction movies to be made in Ireland, in Killarney and Beaufort specifically, in 1910 will be shown.
Bernard Reilly is a highly regarded composer and studio musician who has recorded with many international names, including the London Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Lloyd Webber and The Corrs.
As a composer, his music features in a number of acclaimed films and documentaries, including a Soldier’s Song, The Gamble and The State We’re In for RTE Television.
This promises to be a great evening of classical music, as they celebrate all that’s great about film in Kerry with an acknowledgement and reinvigoration of those iconic films.
Call 066 7129934 for more information about tickets for the show.
