IT'S A WRAP FOR THE 22nd FOYLE FILM FESTIVAL
| 02/12/2009
It’s a Wrap for 22nd Foyle Film Festival as winners of the LIM Awards 2009 are announced.
All eyes have been on Derry for the last nine days as film aficionados rubbed shoulders with the cream of the filmmaking community at the 22nd Foyle Film Festival. A bumper year for the festival, the poor weather and even worse economic climate has led people to seek respite in the solace of a state-of-art cinema to enjoy the best of local, national and international film. Several screenings such as ‘The Boys of St. Columb’s’ and the education programme had to be extended to meet unprecedented demand. The workshops designed to skill up local people and aid their access into the industry also proved popular with classes ranging from Pitching Skills, Acting for Film and TV, and a Director’s Workshop, among others.
The Closing Night, 28 November 2009, saw a performance of Academy Award winning foreign film, ‘Departures’ and rather aptly the winners of this year’s Light in Motion (LIM) Awards which recognises excellence in the field were also unveiled. ‘The Crush’, directed by Michael Creagh, scooped the Best Irish Short, while ‘Ana’s Playground, (Eric D. Howel), won Best International Short. Best Animation was bestowed on ‘Chicory ‘N’ Coffee’, (Dusan Kastelic), and Best Documentary went to ‘The Great Contemporary Art Bubble, (director Ben Lewis). Recipients of the LIM Award in any of the shorts categories, (Irish/International/Animation) will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the Annual Academy Awards®. Short films and Short Animations which either screen or are accepted to screen as part of the Light In Motion (LIM) Film Awards at this year's festival can also be submitted for consideration to the Short Film Awards at BAFTA and Independently funded British feature films (fiction and documentary) screening will qualify for consideration in the British Independent Film Awards.
Festival Director and Programmer, Bernie McLaughlin, is delighted with the success of this year’s festival. She explains:
"This year the festival celebrated ‘Art & The Cinema’ embracing cinema as an art form in itself but also as the magical vehicle that can give the audience an exciting and inspiring glimpse into other artistic worlds. With this year’s excellent programme of screenings and events, and perhaps a need for escapism in the current economic downtown, we have had an upturn in the numbers of people engaging with the festival.”
For more information on Foyle Film Festival log on to www.foylefilmfestival.org or contact the Festival Office on 028 7126 7432.
The winners are:-
Best International Short
Ana’s Playground directed by Eric D. Howell
Best Irish Short
The Crush directed by Micheal Creagh
Best Animation
Chicory N Coffee directed by Dusan Kastelic
Best Documentary
The Great Contemporary Art Bubble directed by Ben Lewis
