Ireland’s Only Pop-Up Youth Film Festival!
The First Cut! Youth Film Festival takes place in the beautiful seaside town of Youghal, Co. Cork later this month. It offers an exciting opportunity for young filmmakers, aged 12- 21 years, to gather together in a vibrant festival atmosphere for a rare chance to network and showcase their work. As well as the screenings of works by young filmmakers, the Festival will also include workshops, performances and the rare opportunity for budding filmmakers to learn from, and engage with, professional filmmakers. Panel discussions, Q&A sessions and hands-on workshops will take place in the Mall Arts Centre.
The Festival will be opened by Killinascully star, Pascal Scott on Thursday evening at 6.30 pm in the Mall Arts Centre and everyone is invited! Seven short films will be shown to whet your appetite for what promises to be a great weekend of film. The Gala will also launch Towards Confident Film Making an innovative programme for building confidence and skills with young people.
Friday, is Schools Day with the focus on primary school pupils in the morning and secondary school pupils in the afternoon. There is a full programme on Saturday March 1st for young film makers starting at 10.30 am in the Mall Arts Centre. The morning will be devoted to fictional shorts where short films will be screened and then there will be a Q&A session with Mark Cogan, writer and director, Ruth Hayes, actor, writer and director and Dan O’Connell, writer and director and lecturer on the BA in Film and Screen Media in UCC.
The afternoon sessions will kick off at 1.00 pm with a screening of animation films followed by an interactive talk by Jane Lee, award winning animation director. Then, at 3.00 pm, the session will explore the world of documentary film making with Max Le Cain, filmmaker, cinephile and film critic and there will be a screening of international documentaries made by young people. The final session starting at 5.00 pm will focus on music videos and will be hosted by Shaun O’Connor who has won awards at various festivals and has also directed numerous music videos.
There is also an Acting for Camera workshop for young people aged 12 – 21 years with Mark Cogan and Ruth Hayes. This is a great opportunity to attend a fun, on camera, interactive workshop where participants will get the opportunity to develop their communication skills. The workshop is free but participants have to book in advance through emailing firstcutfilm@gmail.comand telling them why you want to take part in the workshop. The Festival receives funding and support from Cork County Council, the Arts Council, HSE, Cork Film Centre and SECAD and are sponsored by Salesforce.com and a variety of local businesses.
There is also a fantastic Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/pages/First-CutYouth-Film-Project-Festival/127337763985353 where you can watch short films made my young people in Cork over the past few years made with the support of SECAD, Cork County Council, the Arts Council and Cork Film Centre.