“Remember Me My Ghost” – Wed June 6th | 4pm, Isabel Bader
“Joy” – Thurs June 7th| 7pm, Isabel Bader
“Rhinos” – Fri June 8th | 7pm, Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
“We Found Love” – Fri June 8th | 9:30pm, Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

Please visit http://worldwideshortfilmfest.com/schedule to purchase tickets!

Director of BBC Northern Ireland Peter Johnston referred to the new initiative at the Celtic Media Festival in Derry last month, however it has not been confirmed until now.

RTÉ, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland will officially collaborate to develop a joint commissioning initiative aimed at independent production companies. Production companies will be asked to submit proposals which reflect the cultural, geographical and historical connections between the three regions. The aim is to encourage creative ideas around story-telling, which will cater for audiences across the three areas.  The news is likely to be welcomed by independent filmmakers looking to distribute their work outside of their own region.

Further details will be announced by the three broadcasters in the coming weeks.

The Golden Globe-nominated Irish actor will be joined by Abbie Cornish in Brad Silberling’s suspense drama, which he is directing from his own original script.

The contemporary tale focuses on the unexpected relationship between a war criminal in hiding, played by Brendan – who currently stars in “Albert Nobbs” alongside Glenn Close – and his sole human contact, his maid (Abbie).

“There’s no greater pleasure than crafting a tale for brilliant actors to sink their teeth into, and with Brendan and Abbie, I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot,” said the director.

“Watching them go toe to toe in this suspenseful tightrope walk of veiled intentions, cat and mouse psychology, and desperate gambling for human contact – it will be a filmmaker’s dream to capture.”

The film is scheduled to start production on location in Belgrade, Serbia in the autumn.

Brendan, who previously appeared in “Safe House” opposite Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington and has lent his voice to the new Aardman film, “The Pirates! (Band Of Misfits)”, will next be seen in Robert Redford’s action thriller “The Company You Keep” alongside Shia LaBeouf and Susan Sarandon.

Abbie – recently seen in Madonna’s WE – next stars in Martin McDonagh’s black comedy “Seven Psychopaths” with Colin Farrell.

With sold-out screenings in 2010, 2011 & 2012, The Toronto Irish Film Festival (TIRFF) is the fastest-growing Irish film festival in North America. Put simply, TIRFF celebrates the very best of Irish cinema and reaches a potential audience of 250,000 Torontonians of Irish descent, as well as millions of movie lovers, who connect with the culture of Ireland through the magic of cinema.

As Executive Director of TIRFF, my fingerprints are all over the organization and I’ve driven the festival from a much-loved concept to a well-attended reality. In the past, I’ve referred to the festival as a brand new baby on the Toronto film festival scene (there are over 90 film festivals in the city) but we’re a beautiful baby with big green eyes, really only 21 months old, so I like to think that we’ve learnt to walk and talk but we still have a lot of growing to do. The big components of my role include diligently managing the following issues:-

1) Sponsorship – In 2011, we had zero sponsors but in the last 6 months leading up to the 2012 edition of the festival, I secured sponsorship relationships with over 15 different organizations, both in Canada and Ireland. Most importantly, the Irish Government provided financial support via various divisions – no small feat given the current economic climate in Ireland.

2) Content – I decide the programming that we’ll play at the festival which requires knowledge of what’s in circulation, what’s playing at other festival around the world and negotiating screening terms with the international distributors. Additionally, once decided, you have to get the masters into Canada in time, distribute screeners to media outlets to facilitate press reviews and, in the final days leading up to the festival, performing technical tests with your hosting venue.

3) Venue – There are many options in Toronto to hold a film festival. To my mind, there is no better venue than TIFF Bell Lightbox. Not only is it a stunning building that allows us to position TIRFF as a premium film event but the staff there ensure that the movies will look and sound fantastic on their screens. a critical component for us. Additionally, their box office service handles all of the pre-festival ticket sales online, by phone or by walk-up.

4) Volunteers – I make it very clear to all TIRFF volunteers that they’re performing an ambassadorial role, a vitally important responsibility during the festival. You can’t get that emotional buy-in from strangers without treating them with respect and I work hard to ensure volunteers are treated well during the frantic activity of the festival. I do screen the volunteers via phone before deciding who to select and, thankfully, have been very lucky to meet some wonderfully dedicated people who contribute to the success of the festival.

In the years ahead, we’d like to tour Irish films all across Canada – we believe there’s an appetite on a national level. To do that, however, we need to perfect what we do here in Toronto and, I believe, we’re getting close with every event. We will continue to partner with other festivals to co-present Irish films, as in May 2012, when we’ll co-present with Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary film festival. We’ll continue to grow the offering in our eSTORE, which is powered by Amazon – currently, the online store can be accessed right of our website and features hundreds of Irish movies, concerts, cds and memorabilia. All of these initiatives support our primary mandate to connect people to Irish culture whether they live in Toronto, Vancouver or anywhere in the world.

For more from Ignite Magazine, click HERE.

“Once,” was followed closely by musicals “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess”, a reinvention of the 1935 opera and “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” starring Matthew Broderick as a wealthy playboy. Both of those shows, which feature music and songs from George and Ira Gershwin, gained ten nominations.

The innovative play “Peter and the Starcatcher,” a prequel to the Peter Pan story, followed with nine nominations.

Actress Kristin Chenoweth and actor Jim Parsons announced the nominations in New York. The Tony Awards, which honors Broadway’s best musicals and plays, will be broadcast live from New York’s Beacon Theater on June 10.

Besides “Once,” and “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” best musical nominations included the Disney production “Newsies,” based on the 1899 New York newsboys strike, and “Leap of Faith,” starring Raul Esparza about a con man posing as a man of faith.

“Other Desert Cities,” “Venus in Fur,” “Clybourne Park,” and “Peter and the Starcatcher” gained nods for best new play, while best play revival nominations included “Death of a Salesman,” “The Best Man,” “Master Class,” and “Wit.”

Among the well known names nominated for best actor in a play were Philip Seymour Hoffman for a revival of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”, James Earl Jones for “The Best Man,” Frank Langella for “Man and Boy”, John Lithgow for “The Columnist” and British comedian and actor James Corden for “One Man, Two Guvnors.”

Nominations for best actress in a play went to Nina Arianda for “Venus in Fur,” Stockard Channing for “Other Desert Cities,” Tracie Bennett for “End of the Rainbow,” Linda Lavin for “The Lyons” and Cynthia Nixon for “Wit”.

And best musical revival nominees include “Evita,” “Follies,” “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

But heading into the major awards, “Once” gained the most nods across the board, including Irish playwright Enda Walsh for best book and British director John Tiffany for best direction of a musical, as well as nominations for sound design, choreography, orchestration and scenic design.

Tiffany told Reuters in a recent interview the musical, which features several new songs by the film’s original songwriter stars Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard, aimed to keep the film’s humble story and witty tone.

Irglova and Hansard have kept a lower profile for the musical after spending years promoting the film and becoming a real life couple before later splitting up.

Since its release, “2 TONNE HANDS ” has also picked up a Bronze Palm at The Mexico International Film Festival and a Silver Medal at Park City Film Music Festival in Utah. “I like to see personal stories with ordinary characters in, what is for them, extraordinary situations,” says Liam Clarke, writer and director of the film. Further information about the film including it’s trailer via the links below:

http://2tonnehands.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/2tonnehands

Written and directed by Carol Morley the documentary ‘Dreams of a Life’ is about 38 year old Joyce Vincent who after dying in her bedsit above a shopping mall in North London was undiscovered until three years later. Morley sets out to discover who Joyce Vincent was and how, in this so called age of communication, she came to be forgotten. Produced by James Mitchell, Cairo Cannon and Rachel Lysaght for Soho Moon Pictures, ‘Dreams of a Life’ recently had its North American premiere in the Festival Favourites section of SXSW.

Sean McAllister’s ‘The Reluctant Revolutionary’ which had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February is an intimate portrait of Yemen as the revolution unfolds.  Told through the eyes of tour guide leader Kais, an intelligent commentator on the changing time of Yemen, it offers poignant moments of reflection, loss, anger and hope on the unknown road to revolution. Produced by Rachel Lysaght and Elhum Shakerifar for Underground Films, the documentary was filmed over the course of a year with exceptional access to a country where no other camera crews or journalists were allowed to remain.

The Reality Bites funded ‘Home Turf’ will also screen at Hot Docs this week. Directed by Ross Whitaker and produced by Aideen O’ Sullivan for True Films, this short film is a visual celebration of the dying craft of turf-cutting. While the old men carry out the simple tradition with good humour and determination, the film explores the battle between man and machine, the inevitability of progress and the rich benefits of old-fashioned community life.

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is North America’s largest documentary festival. Each year, the festival presents a selection of more than 100 cutting-edge documentaries from Canada and around the globe. Through its industry programmes, the Festival also provides a full range of professional development, market and networking opportunities for documentary professionals.

The Irish Film Institute, together with its key partners  the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, announced plans for the development and building of a new preservation and research centre with the IFI’s key partner, NUI Maynooth.

James Hickey, Chief Executive, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board said “Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board are delighted to support this initiative.  The Archive is vitally important in collecting, preserving and documenting Ireland’s screen history.  The new archive preservation and research centre will ensure that Ireland’s film heritage will now be safe and accessible for years to come.”

In November 2011, the IFI officially launched the IFI Irish Film Archive Preservation Fund. The Archive building in Temple Bar had reached capacity and critically, the IFI has been unable to accept any more material, meaning that precious collections have been in danger of being lost.

The Preservation Fund was established to help raise funds to meet the shortfall in the project’s budget in order to see this important project come to fruition. This shortfall has now been met, enabling the realisation of the opportunity to build a new custom built Irish Film Archive Preservation and Research Centre on the NUI Maynooth campus.  The centre will not only provide a secure home for the collections ensuring their safety for the future, but crucially will facilitate research into ways in which digital technology can ensure the collections are widely accessible for many years to come.

Speaking at an event to mark the announcement yesterday, Irish director Neil Jordan, who has donated prints of all his films and a portion of his written notes to the archive, said it was “a great resource” for the storage and preservation of his films.  “It’s more a preservation thing on their part but it’s brilliant for me because otherwise I wouldn’t have any copies of them,” he said.

Since then, social and economic issues associated with the address have led to prejudice against its residents – many of whom have been forced out of their homes due to redevelopment.Yet the community’s sense of hope and perseverance shines, as seen in this inspiring documentary following music teacher Ron Cooney and the kids of the Ballymun Music Programme through the creation of a choral and orchestral album. While the film focuses on the incredible talent behind the project, it also gives us a glimpse into the lives of these young artists who have learned to overcome the limitations imposed by others.

Screening #1: Wednesday April 11th, 12:00pm

Screening #2: Thursday April 12th, 10:15am

To purchase tickets, click HERE.

Dreams of a Life refers to those fragments of personal narrative that remain when a life is over. This documentary is a collection of those fragments, carefully pieced together to form the semi-complete story of Joyce Vincent. The picture will remain incomplete because the ending just doesn’t fit. Joyce Vincent was pretty and popular so why did she die alone, her corpse unnoticed for three years? Her friends didn’t realize that the Joyce they knew was “Joyce,” the tragic tabloid tale of a skeleton found in North London. The Joyce they recall is a head-turner, a gifted singer, destined for success. Director Carol Morley employs a variety of clever techniques, blending fact and fiction to flesh out Joyce’s story and allow her to be properly mourned as a person with a life and dreams unfulfilled.

Screening #1 : Wed, May 2 9:45 PM, The Royal Cinema

Screening #2: Fri, May 4 9:15 PM, Isabel Bader Theatre

TO PURCHASE TICKETS, VISIT THE HOT DOCS WEBSITE HERE.