A brand new film festival is coming to Dingle, Co. Kerry this year.
This November, the red carpet will be rolled out for film royalty as the inaugural Dingle Distillery International Film Festival will take place from the 11th – 13th.
Officially launching in mid-September, the festival is already attracting the attention of major stars, including Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan.
The film festival is set to take place in various locations around Dingle, a place steeped in cinema tradition thanks to local institutions like the Phoenix Cinema and the breathtaking landscapes that attracted directors such as David Lean and Ron Howard, as well as Disney’s Lucasfilm to the area.
The festival will screen nine feature-length films in competition, with nine more screened outside of competition. Nine feature-length documentaries will also be presented in the Documentary category.
With innovation and diversity in storytelling at the heart of the festival, a cash prize of €5,000 has been generously donated by Dingle Distillery for the best short film by a young, up-and-coming talent, by far the highest cash prize for a short film in Ireland to date.
With prizes also up for grabs in the feature and documentary zones, filmmakers can apply here and submit their entries before 30th September 2022.
The festival will also host talks and workshops targeting established and up and coming filmmakers, including a Master Class by renowned director John Sayles.
Speaking about the new festival, Saoirse Ronan said: “I am very, very excited to see what the new Dingle Distillery International Festival is going to do.”
“It’s being organised by some of the best people in the Irish film industry and the film industry as a whole and I think because of that they are going to get very exciting people to come in and do talks and workshops and curate films and things like that.”
“I don’t think there is a better place to have a film festival than in Dingle, it is an incredible town, the community are amazing.”
“You can always get a nice pint and a nice bit of lunch, and I am just really excited to see what new Irish talent is going to be showcased there as well. So yeah, I can’t wait to go to the Dingle Distillery International Film Festival.”
