200 films by budding directors to be screened at Cork's Regal

Mon, 19 Feb, 2024 - 07:54

Amy Campbell

AROUND 200 free films will be shown at the First Cut Youth Film Festival (FCYFF), from March 4 to 9, in the Regal Cinema in Youghal.

The festival, in its 15th year, provides people aged 12 to 25 with a platform to screen their films, take part in film workshops. and to listen to discussion panels led by experts.

As part of the festival’s Schools and Youth Groups Programme, 40 primary and secondary schools from all over Ireland will screen short films of all genres.

For the past few months, students in Youghal and Midleton have taken part in animation workshops, facilitated by Belinda Walsh and Lisa McDonald, creating animated short films to be screened at the festival.

FCYFF has hosted a series of Irish-language workshops at which young people are tasked with creating a short film in Irish about climate change and the environment. 30 Irish-language short films will be screened at the festival.

The festival, in conjunction with the Cork International Film Festival, will present Intinn, a film and mental-health programme for transition-year students. This consists of screenings, Q&As, and workshops.

Filmmakers of third-level age include Muirinn Carty, Lawrence Cook, Luke K Murphy, and Roisin Leahy-Sahin, and there will also be film screenings by local filmmakers Irene Tanner, Sinead O’Loughlin and Allyn Quigley and Lochlainn McKenna.

There will be panel discussions with Bob Gallagher, Maximilian Le Cain, visual artist Asha Murray, and curator Daniel Fitzpatrick, as well as a discussion with Darina Clancy about Youghal’s historic film-makers, the Horgan Brothers.

The Youth Music Video Competition is an opportunity to create a music video under the mentorship of Kate Dolan, Tara O’Callaghan, writer and cinematographer Bob Gallagher, and music video director Brendan Canty.

On Saturday, March 9, all music videos will premiere and the winner will receive a €5,000 bursary. Finally, First Cut will showcase a collaborative virtual reality piece from workshop participants.