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FOLLOWING another wonderful year of Irish and European film premieres, screenings and events, the annual awards ceremony took place in Killarney on Saturday evening.
The 20th edition of the Kerry Film Festival featured short and feature films from around the globe and many homegrown selections.
Artistic Director of the Kerry International Film Festival, Eibh Collins, informed a full house, “The Kerry Film Festival presents films that challenge and inspire, that win awards and begin new journeys for the film makers involved. In 2019 the festival saw a significant increase in films directed by women and the festival hopes to build on that as the festival moves into the future.”
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Also during the festival, IFTA (The Irish Film & Television Academy) hosted a Kerry Business Networking Event at the Plaza Hotel, to help highlight opportunities for local-business around Kerry from the Film & TV industry and making Kerry a film-friendly location.
The event, sponsored by the Plaza, was hosted by Áine Moriarty CEO of IFTA, a Killorglin native, in association with the Kerry ETB, and proved very popular with a wide mix of people across business, filmmaking and politics.
Attendees included Jimmy Deenihan, Michael Healy Rae, Danny Healy Rae, Councillor Norma Moriarty; business people such as Michael O’Donoghue of O’Donoghue Ring Hotels, Tom Randle of Randles Hotel, Eileen O’Donoghue Gleneagle Hotel, Mike Buckley of Kerry Coaches, Kerry County Council’s deputy CEO John Breen, Kerry Arts Officer Kate Kennelly, Kerry Film Officer Siobhán O’Sullivan, Award-winning filmmakers including Gerard Barrett (Pilgrim Hill) from Listowel, Terry Mcmahon (The PrizeFighter), Tom Collins (Kings) among the wide range of filmmakers and local businesses represented there.
AWARD WINNERS:
BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT – The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Bailey
BEST STUDENT SHORT – Starry Night by Emma Smith
BEST IRISH SHORT
Special mention for Ciúnas, for its subtle and nuanced directing.
Winner – A White Horse by Shaun O Connor
BEST KERRY SHORT, – The Space Between Us by Elaine Kennedy
BEST ANIMATION – Mind My Mind by Floor Adams)
BEST DOCUMENTARY – Heyday – The Mic Christopher Story by Alan Leonard
BEST FEATURE FILM – Kilimanjaro Mama by Malcolm WilIis
BEST SCREENPLAY – Two Bed Terrace by Cathriona Slammon
