Yesterday, film aficionados gathered in Dublin to hear what this year’s Cork Film Festival has in store. Offering a variety of celebrated films across genres, many of which are Irish premieres, the festival is a must for film buffs. “You’ll be seeing onscreen films that wouldn’t otherwise be seen in Cork,” promises festival CEO Fiona Clark. Speaking exclusively to Hot Press, Clark couldn’t contain her own excitement about the festival’s unique opportunities. “Our opening film is The Man who Invented Christmas, starring Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens, and it’s going to open in a Victorian theatre in the Victorian Quarter of Cork. It’s perfect because the opening scene in that film is set in a theatre, and it’ll be like a mirror image of where the audience is sitting, so it’ll be so exciting.”
Hayden also provided a tidbit of advice for those who may (understandably so) be feeling overwhelmed by the number of films available and are unsure how to best schedule their festival time. “Basically I would say just take the whole week off, come see everything. My advice to audiences is this- look at the programme, pick something where you’re like, oh, I really want to see that. Then pick something where you think, well, that looks interesting, I’ll take a punt on that. And then pick something that you absolutely would not have chosen, just take a real risk. So I would say take at least three picks: safe bet, intriguing, and a punt.”
As for personal recommendations, Clark suggests, “Michael Inside, which is Frank Barry’s third film, and he’s a really interesting filmmaker. There’s a few that would have seen I Used to Live Here, which was his previous film, they’ll know that he’s a filmmaker of huge integrity that works very closely with casts and stories that really resonate with young audiences as well, and Michael Inside is no exception. There’s a standout performance from Dafhyd Flynn.”
Michael Hayden, programme director, explained what makes Cork an internationally unique festival. “Because our dates are in November, it gives us the opportunity to take a look at what’s happening in festivals around the world. So we’ve managed to get award-winners from festivals all over the world. It’s a pretty strong position to be in, we can bring those films to Ireland when they might not be shown here otherwise.”
Cork Film Festival kicks off November 10 and runs until November 19. There will be a vast programme consisting of Irish premieres, family films and events, short films, and first look at blockbusters like the opening and closing films The Man Who Invented Christmas starring Dan Stevens, and Downsizing, starring Kristen Wiig and Matt Damon. For more information, check corkfilmfest.org