The Arts Office

Press Release Issued 19^th March 2009

The first NOISE Flicks Youth Film Festival is hosting a new short film competition open to individual young filmmakers (14 25 years), living or studying in South Dublin County, as well as groups (such as in schools, PLC, Third Level colleges or youth services) in South Dublin County. NOISE Flicks is looking for short films (2 15 mins) of ANY type: drama, comedy, action, documentary or Flash animation. The deadline for submissions is March 7^th 2009 at noon.

Acclaimed filmmaker Ken Wardrop will be amongst the judges of the competition. In 2004 Ken Wardrops graduation film, Undressing my Mother, became one of the most successful Irish short films of all time, winning over 25 international awards including a European Film Academy Award. His short films have played at festivals throughout the world including Sundance and Cannes. Ken is currently busy in post-production with his first feature project One Hundred to One Outsiders. He is a native of Portarlington, Co. Laois and studied documentary filmmaking at the National Film School, IADT-DL.

Fellow award-winning filmmaker, Brian Durnin, will be joining Ken Wardrop in attendance at the Festival on March 21^st. Durnin and Wardrop will be screening two of their short films, The Secret Language and Useless Dog respectively. They will participate in a discussion with young people regarding their experiences in studying and making films.

Brian Durnin has directed several original short films.The latest of these is Of Best Intentions, which won the Best Short Film award judged by Liam Neeson at the Kerry Film Festival 2008. It is currently nominated for Best Irish Short at the Irish Film and Television Awards. The Secret Language won two awards at the 2005 Cork Film Festival (Best Irish Short and Audience Award), the Best Short Award at the 2006 Belfast Film Festival, Audience Award the Boston Irish Film Festival 2006 and the Best Short Award at the Wood-Green Film Festival in London. For the past six years he has been directing commercials for Red Rage Films in Dublin and has picked up various awards in the sphere both locally (Sharks, ICADs) and internationally (EPICA, Promax, Cannes). He Brian Durnin is a graduate of the Film Production and Theory Course at DIT Aungier Street.