CIFF Newsletter – February 2021
The weather may be “Frozen”, but there’s a Spring in our step here at Cork International Film Festival as we prepare to launch our next CIFF Film Club season, with a programme of five exciting films and events, starting later this month. Love is in the air this weekend with our Valentine’s Day-themed selection of CIFF Shorts on our online CIFF Library, available to Mallow and Cork City Library Card holders.
Our programming team is busy attending many of the world’s most prestigious film festivals online to discover the best new films of 2021 to bring to Cork in November. Although our beloved cinemas may still be closed this month, we’ve handpicked some CIFF Highlights from our recent Festival programmes that are now available to stream online, and our Principal Venue Partner The Gate Cinema has a special online offering – read on for more information!
CIFF2021 Film Club – Save the Date
It’s back! CIFF Film Club 2021 launches on Tuesday 23rd February, with the first film in a season of five online screenings and event. Presented on the third Tuesday of each month from February to June, we hope you’ll join us for the latest and best Irish and international fiction and documentaries from the comfort of your homes, with filmmaker introductions and live Q&A’s. Full details will be announced next week, including special offers for Festival Friends.
Love is in the Air – CIFF Online Library
With February comes Valentine’s Day, so why not inject a little romance into your screening schedule this weekend? Cupid has curated a selection of our favourite CIFF Shorts which focus on love (and maybe a little heartbreak), available for free on the CIFF Library to library card holders of Cork City, Bishopstown, Mallow, and Midleton libraries.
Pebbles is a lonely creature who lives in a forest where magic flourishes. Being socially awkward, she struggles to connect with her new neighbour, Kou. With this, and Kou being a careless creature, it seems they will never reconcile.
When two adolescent boys become aware of their budding sexuality they uncover the pain and longing of the human heart. A sensitively told story exploring how a sense of danger, shame and confusion can intensify a series of fleeting exchanges and ultimately prove overwhelming.
CIFF @ International Film Festivals
It’s already a busy time in the world of film festivals, many of which are boldly surging forward online in defiance of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The Sundance Film Festival kicked off its online run at the end of January, showcasing many of the titles which will be appearing at festivals, on streaming platforms, and hopefully in cinemas throughout this year and beyond. Goteborg Film Festival, also in full digital mode, offered one lucky festival fan the chance to watch the entire programme alone in a lighthouse on a tiny island off the stormy Swedish coast!
Our globetrotting programmers virtually attended the annual International Film Festival in Rotterdam, searching for outstanding World cinema gems. Next up, our friends in Scotland virtually kick off the Glasgow Film Festival, and we’re delighted to see the CIFF2020 World Premiere Irish documentary ‘Castro’s Spies‘ included in their line-up, along with Frederick Wiseman’s epic ‘City Hall‘, another CIFF2020 favourite.
Award Season @ CIFF
The Film and Motion Picture award season for 2021 has officially kicked off with nominations and acknowledgements being given across many Awards bodies.
In fantastic news, our CIFF2020 Family Gala ‘Wolfwalkers‘ has received a nomination for Best Motion Picture – Animated for the 78th Golden Globes taking place on Sunday 28 February 2021. The British Academy of Film and Television Awards have announced their 2021 long list, with ‘Wolfwalkers‘ receiving recognition in contention for ‘Best Animated Film’. Congratulations to our friends at Cartoon Saloon!
What’s Up, Doc?
IGNITE Documentary Talent Development Programme, a joint initiative of Cork International Film Festival & Docs Ireland, Belfast, kicks off Phase 2 this month, with a monthly training programme for our six IGNITE alumni. The yearlong programme, supported by TG4, the Arts Council of Ireland, Screen Skills Ireland, Arts & Business NI and Screen Skillnet, will support the development of new feature documentary films.
CIFF is delighted to announce a new sponsorship award from the BAI to support the Festival’s documentary programme, which includes CIFF’s tentpole Industry event, Doc Day, providing dedicated training, professional development and networking for the sector, with keynote international guests, (recently Abigail Disney and Simon Chinn). Our Documentary Gala leads a strong international factual film programme, available nationwide through our new online Digital Festival platform, and excellence is recognised with our Award for Cinematic Documentary Award and the Oscar®-qualifying Grand Prix Documentary Short Award.
Funding News and Opportunities
The Bank of Ireland Begin Together Arts Fund in partnership with Business to Arts has announced 36 projects spanning music, theatre, dance, traditional music, and the visual arts which will receive support from the first phase of The Fund. Among the selected projects are two exciting Cork-based experiences: ‘Yes, But Do You Care?’, an arts project lead by lead artist Marie Brett with The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, adapted for public distribution online and exploring conceptual ideas of personal autonomy and dependency through the lens of dementia care through combining dance/movement, spoken word, sound, music and projected photography and text; and, A Midsummer Lullaby, a series of live chamber orchestral performances taking place over three days across Cork City created by our Friends in the Cork Midsummer Festival and conductor John O’Brien. We look forward to seeing these wonderful events take place! See the full list of recipients here, and look out for the second round of applications expected in April/May 2021.
Our Principal Funder, The Arts Council of Ireland has announced the successful recipients of its 2020 Authored Works and Reel Art Awards, and we are delighted that three CIFF Alumni are to be the latest recipients of these awards. Congratulations to Tadhg O’Sullivan (also UCC Film Artist in Residence 2021) has been selected for the Authored Works award, designed to provide film artists with the creative and editorial freedom to make a long-form authored film. Alan Gilsenan and Luke McManus have been selected as the latest recipients of Reel Art awards, which is the Arts Council’s long-running arts documentary scheme.
The Arts Council has also announced more than 30 awards and funding schemes for 2021, offering support to a variety of artists and arts organisations. See the full list of available funding opportunities here.
CIFF Highlights on Demand
Our beloved cinemas may be temporarily closed, but for now some of our CIFF Festival Highlights are available online to watch from the comfort and safety of your own home.
Support The Gate Cinema – ‘Assassins’
