Offaly filmmakers to screen as part of Still Voices Film Festival 2021
Two films from Offaly screen as part of this year’s Made In the Midlands programme at the Still Voices Film Festival.
Patrick Hough’s The Black River of Herself, and Bonnie Dempsey’s Tina Times Two will be screened as part of the Made in the Midlands screens on November 4 from 7 – 8pm in Ballymahon Library Co. Longford and online November 5 from 10am via stillvociesfilmfestival.com
The annual Made In the Midlands programme screeens a wonderful section of short films shot locally across the Irish Midlands.
Details of the Made in the Midlands programme emerged as Still Voices Film Festival in partnership with Creative Ireland announced the full programme for this year’s very special fifth-anniversary hybrid festival. While the festival is still based in Ballymahon - birthplace of the great writer Oliver Goldsmith - as the festival has grown, and is now utilising larger venues across Longford, Westmeath, and Roscommon.
This year’s festival sees a jammed-packed programme of events with a superb line-up of truly amazing short films available both in-person and online over the festival weekend.
Along with the stellar short film programme, there are multiple feature films to indulge in. Kicking off the festival on November 4 at 11 am in Mullingar Arts Centre, we have a new initiative ‘Creative Ageing’, which aims to deliver art for all age groups. This year’s film chosen by curator Adrian Duncan Sr, ‘Cinema Paradiso’ is aimed at a more senior audience.
The opening night film, Cavan-based ‘Redemption of a Rogue’ screens in the Rustic Inn Abbeyshrule on November 4 at 9 pm.
To celebrate its fifth anniversary, Still Voices is delighted to welcome acclaimed director Terence Davies to the midlands for a special screening of his 1988 masterpiece ‘Distant Voices, Still Lives’ (after which the festival took its name). This in-person event will take place on November 5 at 8pm in the Dean Crowe Theatre, Athlone, and will be followed by a conversation between Davies and film critic John Maguire.
The following day, November 6 at 4:30 pm, Davies will participate in a directing masterclass with renowned Irish filmmaker Pat Collins at the Backstage Theatre, Longford. Davies and Collins will discuss the filmmaker’s long and varied filmography, his film-making style and unique sensibility. This event is brought to you in partnership with Screen Skills Ireland and is open to both professionals and non-professionals alike.
Davies will also receive the inaugural ‘Still Voices Visionary Award’ for his significant contribution to the art of cinema.
Family-friendly screenings and our children’s animation workshop also return as well as industry panels for established and budding artists alike.
On November 6 at 12 pm in Dead Centre Brewery, Athlone, Casting Director Priscilla John (The Fifth Element, Captain America: The First Avenger, Logan) and actor Antonio Aakeel (Tomb Raider, Dublin Murders, Granada Nights) will discuss casting from both viewpoints. An absolute must for all actors and directors out there.
On November 7 in Ballymahon Library at 12:45 pm, there is a unique opportunity to hear from Longford artists, Michael Keegan-Dolan, Karen McGann, and John Connell on what it's like to pursue a career in the arts. Longford author Dani Gill will moderate this amazing event.
Tickets are on sale from the Box Office in Ballymahon Library and Online.
For more information check out the full programme on the Still Voices Website www.stillvoicesfilmfestival.com