CORK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2024 INDUSTRY EVENTS
2024-25 IGNITE-DOCS PARTICIPANTS, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DOCS IRELAND BELFAST, ALSO ANNOUNCED
Presented in partnership with our Official Industry Partner
Supported by Coimisiún na Meán
Cork City. Cork International Film Festival (CIFF) has announced its 2024 Industry Events, alongside the fifth year cohort of the IGNITE-Docs programme. CIFF, supported by their Official Industry Partner Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, provides industry days with guest speakers and panels, alongside their film programme during the Festival in November, offering opportunities for established and emerging filmmakers to learn and connect.
First Take will take place on Thursday, November 14th from 11:30am to 5:00pm in Triskel Arts Centre (registration from 11:00am). First Take provides training and development for emerging filmmaking talent and students, providing a unique opportunity for them to connect with leading industry professionals through case studies, panels and presentations. Aislinn Clarke, director of Irish horror film FRÉWAKA, will participate, and there will be an in-depth profile of SEPTEMBER SAYS by Ariane Labed, with its producer Lara Hickey, which world-premiered at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Both films will have their Irish premieres at CIFF and are shortlisted for the Best New Irish Feature Award supported by the Irish Examiner.
First Take will include Spotlight, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland’s flagship scheme for new screenwriters, with invited writers discussing their individual creative processes. There will also be a focus on neurodivergent voices within the sector, and a session exploring career opportunities in the Irish animation industry in collaboration with Women in Film & Television Ireland. A networking event, supported by National Talent Academies, will conclude First Take.
Doc Day Live, the Festival’s focus on high-quality Irish and international documentary cinema on Friday November 15th, will have participation from leading European documentary curators from CPH:DOX and Locarno, with a focus on the EURODOC programme with its representative Alexia de Montalembert. Doc Day will include film case studies: CHASING THE LIGHT (also shortlisted for the Best New Irish Feature Award), with director Maurice O’Brien and producer Clare Stronge speaking to Niamh Fagan, Project Manager, Screen Ireland; and THE MAKING OF A JAPANESE (which will have its Gala Screening following the event) with director Ema Ryan Yamazaki and producer Eric Nyari speaking to Ken Wardrop, Director/Producer, Venom Films. A networking lunch supported by Creative Europe Desk Ireland will be provided, as well as a post-event reception. Both First Take and Doc Day post-event drinks receptions are sponsored by Murphy’s.
Continuing CIFF’s focus on high calibre Irish and international documentary features, Doc Day Online will present several online sessions, Friday, November 15th – Friday, December 13th. Available free of charge and with in-depth discussions with leading filmmakers, Doc Day Online will include a career interview with Emer Reynolds, 2024 Arts Council Film Artist in Residence at UCC, whose multi-award-winning 2016 film THE FARTHEST will screen at the Festival on Saturday, November 16th.
IGNITE-Docs, a joint initiative of Cork International Film Festival and Docs Ireland, Belfast, is delighted to announce the Year 5 participants of the programme.
Supported by Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland (CIFF Industry Partner) through the Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme, TG4, the Arts Council of Ireland, Coimisiún na Meán, Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet, Northern Ireland Screen, IGNITE-Docs is a comprehensive training programme for emerging Irish and Northern Irish documentary filmmakers. The scheme is project-led, and supports the progression of the eight selected projects and their teams through training that focuses on the development process of documentary, from inception to exhibition.
The aim of IGNITE-Docs is to aid in the long-term sustainable growth and artistry of talent in the Irish documentary film community, through training and skills development, mentorship and drawing from the resources and expertise of both Festivals.
The participants for 2024-2025 are:
All the Lovely Animals (Director: Kathleen Harris)
Three women devote their lives to rescuing abused animals from across Ireland – a harrowing, heartwarming and sometimes hilarious task that makes us wonder: what is an animal?
June 1982: A Massacre (Director: Rabie Mustapha, Producer: Andy Wilkinson)
The memories of an under-documented massacre haunt the inhabitants of a Palestinian neighbourhood in South Lebanon.
Saint Michael (Director: Niall Sheerin, Producer: Emma Keane)
A grief-stricken brother uses home videos, diary entries, tattoo art, and paintings left by his late older brother to reconcile himself with his one-time childhood hero, their sometimes difficult relationship, and the huge loss his passing has left behind.
Saving Sodomy From Ulster (Director: Lewis Doherty)
At the height of The Troubles, a generation of queer people battle their erasure against a homophobic political campaign and oppressive police treatment, formulating a path to peace.
Sex Education (For Adults) (Director: Nicola Leddy)
In Ireland we have never known what to do about sex, let alone how to embrace it, but one woman is on a mission to completely change that forever.
Shades of Blue (Director: Katie McFadden, Producer: Simeon Costello)
Through the lens of his fading eyesight, a visually impaired man takes to the ski slopes with a group of friends, proving that even as vision decreases, his determination and lust for life does not.
Tape Me Away From Home (Producer: Austin Kenny)
In a pre-telephone era, a story of emigration (and much more besides), is recorded to cassette by those who left, and by those left behind.
An Tigh (Directors: Medb Johnstone, Seán Keeley)
The story of how a small pub in the Connemara Gaeltacht changed music forever.
The 2024/2025 programme will provide a long-term engagement, comprising:
- Training days at Cork International Film Festival in November 2024, and Docs Ireland in June 2025
- Regular online training days from November 2024 – June 2025
- The opportunity to attend Sheffield Doc Fest in June 2025
Presented in partnership with our Official Industry Partner
Supported by Coimisiún na Meán
