Screenwriting conference in Dublin in June

The Jameson Dublin Film Festival is organising a major scriptwriting conference in June, that will bring together four very different writers: Shane Black (Lethal Weapon), Shane Meadows and Paul Fraser (A Room for Romeo Brass, SomersTown), Eran Kolirin (The Band's Visit) and Conor McPherson (The Eclipse). Other guests are planned. Dates June 4 & 5. "Give Me Direction" will be an opportunity to champion great and original writing for the screen and to deepen the Irish Film Board’s engagement in addressing industry concerns. The conference will follow an informal, mixed format of sessions and interviews: plus a rehearsed read-through and a preview screening.

For more details, visit the JDIFF.

The Secret of Kells scores a home victory

The Irish-themed animation "The Secret of Kells" brought it all back home recently, when it won the Best Irish Film award at the 2009 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. It won against strong challenges from fellow nominees Five Minutes of Heaven, The Yellow Bittern: The Life and Times of Liam Clancy and The Daisy Chain.

Writers on Kells are Tomm Moore for the story and Fabrice Ziolkowski for the screenplay. Ziolkwski is a prolific writer for TV in France, reflecting the fact that Kells was a co-production between France, Ireland and Belgium, with a lot of talent from each country involved. It is currently on release in France and Belgium.

Full list of nominations and winners:

BEST PERFORMANCE
Tom Hardy - Bronson (Winner)
Toni Servillo - Il Divo
Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino
Meryl Streep - Doubt

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (Winner)
Religilous
Chris & Don: A Love Story
American Teen
Encounters at the End of the World

BEST IRISH FILM
The Secret of Kells (Winner)
Five Minutes of Heaven
The Yellow Bittern: The Life and Times of Liam Clancy
The Daisy Chain

BEST DIRECTOR
Paolo Sorrentino - Il Divo (Winner)
Laurent Cantet - The Class
Werner Herzog - Encounters at the End of the World
Tomas Alfredson - Let The Right One In

BEST FILM
Let the Right One In (Winner)
Il Divo
In the Loop
The Class

"Slumdog" and "In Bruges" pick up Bafta awards

With a remarkable seven out of eleven nominations, last night was definitely "Slumdog Millionaire"s night at the annual BAFTA award ceremony in London. The film won Best Film and six other awards: director for Danny Boyle, adapted screenplay, music, cinematography, editing and sound.

According to a report in Screen Daily, Boyle said it felt 'amazing' to win, adding that he wished to keep his links with India and was in talks about shooting a thriller in the country. Writer Simon Beaufoy said he believed the film had captured the imagination of the world. "It has come out at a time when we need a film about hope," he said.

The Best Original Screenplay went to Martin McDonagh's "In Bruges", another personal favourite. For the full list of awards and interviews with Boyle, Beaufoy and others, visit the Bafta site.

UPDATE: Martin McDonagh picked up the Best Script award for "In Bruges" at the Irish Film & Television Awards. The film itself won the best International award. "Hunger" picked up the Best Film award.

Out to lunches

Screenplay Europe will be going quiet for a few days, as I am packing for Cannes. I'm shopping two projects, "Protag" and "Tunerz", with a director and a producer respectively. The meetings have been lined up, the pitches honed (a good exercise in itself, of course - funny how you often get new insights into a story by constantly thinking up new pitches) and I'm feeling pretty upbeat about the whole exercise.

Plus, it will be nice to hang out with the film community for a few days. Anyone else down there can look out for me at the Belgian and Irish stands. I'll also be checking the conference schedule at the UK pavilion. Look for the dude with the hat.

Terry George premiere and masterclass in Belfast

Oscar-nominated writer and director (and who has excelled in both roles) Terry George will premiere his new film "Reservation Road" at the 8th Belfast Film Festival and will also run one of the masterclasses at the event. George is best known for "In the Name of the Father" and "Hotel Rwanda". His masterclass on April 11 will "examine the similarities and differences in writing for TV, Film and the internet, the art of characterization and the subjects of plot, structure and dialogue". He will also take part in a Q&A session after his film's projection.

For more details, visit the Belfast Film Festival site.

"Kings" chosen as Ireland's "Best Foreign Language" at Academy Awards

IFTA, The Irish Film and Television Academy has announced that Tom Collins’ ‘Kings’ starring Colm Meaney, Donal O’Kelly and Brendan Conroy has been officially selected by an independent IFTA jury for submission to the 80th Academy Award(S)®, for the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ category. This is the first time that an Irish language film is being submitted from Ireland for this category.

"Kings" tells the story of a group of Gaelic-speaking young men who in the mid 1970s left the west of Ireland, bound for London, filled with ambition for a better life in a place where they could be kings. Thirty years on they meet to mark the passing of the youngest of the group. For some of them, those thirty years have been hard. Their muscle has been spent, their hopes dashed on the roads and building sites of Britain, to be replaced with a sense of hopeless disaffection. ‘Kings’ is a story of a lost generation, rich in humanity and emotion, and with a heart-breaking resonance not just for the Irish in today’s changing world.

According to director Tom Collins, "‘Kings’ has been a remarkable journey for me over the past four years. To receive this latest accolade is quite overwhelming and I am indebted to the Irish Academy for their support. I know it’s always dangerous to have messages in films, but I hope people will watch ‘Kings’ and empathise with the whole experience of emigrants in a foreign land and how hard it is for them to find their way home. This is a universal story – it’s not just about paddies…” Specifically concerning the relationship with the original play "Kings of the Kilburn High Road" and the playwright Jimmy Murphy (see below), Collins had this to say to Screenplay Europe: "I regard Jimmy as a friend and one of Ireland's best writers. Kings is doing exceptionally well which wouldn't have happened without [him]".

"Kings" was produced by Newgrange Pictures and goes on release in Ireland on September 21.

"Kings" showcased in L.A. and Dublin

The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland, in association with the Directors Guild of America, have announced the winner of the Directors Finders Series 2007 as "Kings" directed by Tom Collins, written by Collins and playwright Jimmy Murphy. "Kings" follows the story of a group of six young men who leave their homes in the West of Ireland in the mid 1970's to go to England in the hope of making their fortunes & returning home. Thirty years later only one makes it home - but does so in a coffin.

As part of the award, the film will be showcased in the state-of-the-art Director's Guild of America Theatre, Sunset Boulevard, L.A on 28th September 2007 to an audience of American distributors, with a view to securing a US distribution deal for the film. It will also be featured at a special Awards Ceremony hosted by director Jim Sheridan on 23rd August in Dublin in The Clarence Hotel, to precede the L.A Screening Event. This event is being filmed by TV3.

To find out more, visit the Irish Film Board.

Paul Laverty: the "spectacular lie"

Paul Laverty, the long-time writing partner of Ken Loach, has just been interviewed by the Santa Barbara Independent about scriptwriting and their choice of subject matter. The film "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" picked up the Palme d'or in Cannes last year. It takes an uncompromising look at the struggle for independence in Ireland and the subsequent Civil War. Although many people considered it as a metaphor for the Iraq war, Laverty denies this entirely. A far better parallel (which Laverty does not make) could be made with the Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation, not just in terms of the direct brutality of occupation but also in terms of its effects on the resistors. The core story is, after all, about two brothers that have to face each other.

An interesting quote from the article: "Did you feel drawn to screenwriting because you felt you could reach a wider audience and bring more attention to issues that were important to you? Choosing the subject matter, the characters and premise to a story, and how we attempt to tell it reveals a great deal about the filmmakers. Our choice of material is of course affected by our values, politics, and how we see the world. It strikes me that a great many contemporary films glorify the pursuit of wealth, romanticize violence, and usually set up “Western values” as superior. It’s often simplistic and very crude; black and white. In the end, it makes for a spectacular lie about how Westerners see themselves. They lie to the rest of the world, too. I have zero interest or respect for this type of filmmaking, no matter where it comes from."

For the full article, visit Santa Barbara Independent.

Paul Laverty on Amazon US

Paul Laverty on Amazon UK

Fast Forward Ireland to host 24-hour challenge

Following the example of a similar events in the US and continental Europe, Fast Forward Ireland is hosting a challenge to write and shoot a 3-minute short in 24 hours on April 13-14. Teams must register beforehand and will receive the theme at the same time. The organisers promise craic, high-fives and the possibility of your film doing the rounds of the other events. So why do it? "People still want to make films in Ireland, and we know this for sure now," according to the website. "We've also seen these people come out of the woodwork and make fantastic movies over the last year at each fast festival we've had."

For more details, register by clicking on the logo above.

Irish film and TV awards

The Irish Film & TV Awards were held on February 9, with awards going to what was clearly a very good year for Irish film generally. The two heavyweights this year were Ken Loach's "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" (photo), which picked up the Best Film award, and "Breakfast on Pluto" that picked up the Best Script award for Neil Jordan and Pat McCabe. Cilliam Murphy also picked up a Best Actor award for his role in "Breakfast".

Also worth checking is "Small Engine Repair", written by Niall Heery. For the full list of winners, check the Irish Film & TV Awards.

"Adam and Paul" writer-director team plan new movie

I've never understood why "Adam and Paul" didn't chalk up more viewers worldwide. Despite being a runaway hit at home in Ireland, releases elsewhere were very tepid. This was probably due to the premise, which has been summed up (accurately) as "Laurel and Hardy waiting for Godot in Dublin on smack". However, the bittersweet tale is probably one of the best-written and engaging comedies I've seen in years.

The writing-directing team of Mark O'Halloran and Lenny Abrahamson are now set to start shooting "Garage" in Ireland. I'll leave the comments to one of the producers, the UK's FilmFour. "Lenny and Mark [have] taken a genre we think we know and think may have had its day – the small-town drama – and used it to make something new, poignant and hilarious".

"Adam & Paul" premiere in London June 4

STOP PRESS:
"Adam & Paul" has just been announced in the line-up of the Brussels Film Festival on July 2. Other films to look out for include "Demi Tarif", "Guernsey" (poster of the year), "Czech Dream" and Douche Froide". See the programme line-up here.

Guerilla Films in association with the London Script Consultancy and the New Producers Alliance are hosting a premiere screening of "Adam & Paul", Ireland's surprise box office hit of 2004. Written by Mark O'Halloran and produced for just less than €400,000, it grossed over €700,000 in Ireland alone, where it is currently in the top five rental DVDs. "Adam & Paul" is a stylized, downbeat comedy about two hapless junkies, tied together by habit and necessity. It has been called "Laurel & Hardy on smack in Dublin and waiting for Godot."

"Funny, sad and thought-provoking... skilfully structured and superbly performed." (Evening Herald)

"Bleak, yet side-splitting; savage, yet heart-felt ... this is, quite simple, great stuff." (In Dublin)

"Mordantly funny and unexpectedly poignant" (Time Out)

The London Premiere will take place on Saturday 4 June, 11.00 am at the UGC Shaftesbury Avenue, followed by a Q&A with debut director Lenny Abrahamson (although it's a shame the award-winning O'Halloran is not even mentioned in the blurb). Discover how the filmmakers took their idea from the page to the big screen, with all the inevitable lucky breaks, mistakes, and pitfalls along the way.

Go to the website now for more information http://www.adamandpaul.com

Saturday 4 June, 11.00 am
UGC Shaftesbury Avenue
13 Coventry Street, Piccadilly, London, W1D 7DH
UK Pounds 4.00
Tel for reservations: 0871 200 2000

Irish screenplay wins second award at Cannes

After winning the Irish Film Institute's fourth Tiernan MacBride Award for Screenwriting this year, Brian O'Malley and Terry McMahon have won the Hartley-Merrill Prize for International Screenwriting at Cannes. "Sisk", a tale set in the Chinese mafia in Dublin, was up against over 2000 entries from 23 countries and is the first Irish screenplay to win the award. Chairman of the prize, Ted Hartley, called 'Sisk' "a skilfully written piece". Previously, producer and MacBride jury chairman Ned Dowd has said: "In the four years that I have been involved with Tiernan MacBride Award, this is a script that stands out as a film I would personally like to make. It is almost ready to shoot in terms of the way it is written; a credit to the writers.”

Information about the Tiernan MacBride Award and "Sisk".

Danny Boyle and John Crowley offer writers chance to write new feature films

This is something that is close to the heart of Screenplay Europe. Directors Danny "Trainspotting" Boyle and John "Intermission" Crowley (one of our favourites) are looking to find scripts from writers with agent representation or who are members of the Writers Guild of Great Britain. The UK Film Council’s Development Fund is behind the idea, which aims to "bring together teams with a unified creative and market vision from the outset, so that the resulting projects stand in particularly strong position further down the line – and with a good chance of actually getting made". I-ree!

Rather us than detailing the whys, hows and wherefores, visit the UK Film Council's site.

John Crowley on Amazon UK
Danny Boyle on Amazon UK
Danny Boyle on Amazon US

Pitch Idol in Northern Ireland

Pitching is always - and rightly - considered as a tricky operation. The ability to sell an idea as complex as a film narrative in two minutes is a handy one - although having the opportunity to pitch to the right person is equally as important. Amongst the upcoming writer events, Screenplay Europe noted that Northern Ireland's Screenwriters Ink is hosting Pitch Idol in Belfast on May 3. The title might be silly, but it's never a bad idea to confront your ideas with some seasoned but hopefully supportive professionals. And we also believe in writers getting out of the house a bit more often! And as they say on the site of the Northern Ireland Film and TV Commission, "this could be the start of a beautiful friendship!"

Eurimages greenlights 10 co-productions

The Council of Europe's Eurimages has announced that a total of 10 projects will receive part of the €3.4 million co-production fund. They include "The Golden Door" from Emanuele Crialese (Italy), "Madonen" from Maria Speth (Germany) and "Opowiesci Galicyjskie" from Dariusz Jablonski (Poland). Eurimages is also supporting the distribution of "Der Untergang/Downfall" and "Gegen die Wand" (Germany), "Kontroll" (Hungary) and "Cowboys & Angels" (Ireland) in different European territories.

See the full story on Eurimages.

Irish screenwriters nominated at home

It's been a very good year for Irish cinema. From "Cowboys & Angels" to "Adam and Paul", "Man About Dog" (number one at the Irish box-office when it opened!) to "Freeze Frame" and "Inside I’m Dancing", there is "a noticeable bounce in the step of an industry on a roll" acording to the Irish Film Board's website.

To add a little glamour, Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film board and the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission have just announced the Best New Talent award at The Irish Film and Television Awards 2004.

The nominees include:

* John Simpson, (writer/director) "Freeze Frame"
* Pearse Elliot, (writer) "Man About Dog"

This sponsorship reflects both bodies' commitment to new Irish talent, in a year that has seen the release of an unprecedented number of films from young Irish creative teams.

Richard Williams, CEO of the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission gave a nice quote: “All our futures in this industry depend on emerging talent so it is very pleasing to see that talent is really beginning to blossom in Northern Ireland."

Check the Irish Film Board here.