17 September 2024
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
IndieCork, Ireland’s biggest celebration of independent film, will take place at the Arc Cinema Cork from October 6th to 13th, with 27 countries represented from across the world including Albania, Columbia, Thailand, Finland, South Korea and Haiti. There are also a record number of entries from Cork city and county showing at the year’s festival. The programme will launch on Culture Night, Friday September 20th.
The opening night film of IndieCork has been announced as ‘Juliette In Spring,’ a French comedy / drama which has charmed festival audiences recently. Directed by Blandine Lenoir, it will screen on October 6th at The Arc Cinema.
Of the short, feature and documentary films represented this year, 30 are from filmmakers with Cork connections. Among this selection is the premiere of new documentary directed by Emma Bowell of Framework Films on the Meitheal Mara project – a community boatyard in the heart of the city; as well as a world premiere of a new Cork feature film, ‘A Hell of a Difference,’ a horror / comedy set in Cork and made by two previous IndieCork winners Steven Broekhuizen and Emmet O’Brien.
Another boost to the Cork festival is confirmation that the independent Irish web hosting company Blacknight Solutions return as festival sponsors, with an additional award, the Blacknight Best Irish Short Film category. This comes with a generous cash award for the winning director.
Commenting on the upcoming festival, Úna Feely, co-director of IndieCork said the level of interest from filmmakers has been phenomenal: “Every year, IndieCork continues to go from strength to strength but this year’s festival programme is a great development. We screen more films than ever in the beautiful Arc cinema, our venue partner, with an additional strand of international films each evening, giving choice to the audience. It’s amazing to see so many countries represented, and the breadth of genres means there’s literally something for everyone. We look forward to welcoming many filmmakers here for their world and Irish premieres.’
Chairperson of IndieCork Eileen Hogan said it’s very encouraging to see the wealth of films being produced locally: “A huge portion of our entries this year are created by people in Cork, or by Cork people living in other countries. It goes to show what an artistic and culturally rich county it is. In recognition of this, the 2024 festival will have a panel discussion on filmmaking in Cork, that I have no doubt will be very well attended. It’s one of a number of networking events that take place as part of IndieCork that offer opportunities for filmmakers the world over.”
IndieCork also presents a music and sound programme highlighting music talent from Cork and beyond; and partners with Contemporary Music Centre and Screen Guild Composers of Ireland with events taking place at The Pavilion and Civic Trust House. In addition there are talks, workshops and networking events in partnership with National Talent Academies and Culture Ireland.
Tickets will be for sale shortly at https://cork.arccinema.ie