Dundalk IT film students shine at annual showcase

The annual Film Showcase of work from 3rd & 4th year students on the BA (Hons) in Film & Television Production in the Department of Creative Arts, Media & Music recently took place in the IMC Dundalk. 

Across both years, students conceive and write scripts for short films, TV dramas and documentaries throughout the year, and work in groups following an industry-standard production process.  The development and pre-production phase included a number of vital tasks such as weekly production meetings, fundraising, sourcing and organising locations, casting, sourcing props, dressing, costumes, script readings, creating risk assessments and scheduling shoots.  Shoots took place across the region in February and March and since then students have been engaged in picture and audio post-production with continuous feedback from their lecturers Sarah McCann, Eamonn Crudden, Lorcan Dunne, Marina Hughes, Kevin Cunnane, Ciaran Ryan, Colm Mullen and Richie Price, in order to compete their projects for screening at the showcase.

The afternoon began with the presentation of the first of two industry-supported awards.  The Samson Films Best Short Film Award is presented each year to the best short film made on the year-long Film Project module in 3rd year.  This year, that award went to Echo, written and directed by Lauren Corlett with her crew including Cora Hogan, John Brady, Martin Závacky, Rebecca Byrne and Klara Markova. This was the second recent award for Echo, having won Best Drama and Best Cinematography at the RTS Awards in RTE in March. 

Director Lauren Corlett said: “There's always a buzz leading up to the showcase and we were exhilarated with our teams win. I'm so proud of how far we've come and where this will lead us in the future.” The award was presented by Mike Cochrane from one of the world's leading innovators and manufacturers of creative video technology, Blackmagic Design, who had flown over from the UK, especially for the awards.  DKIT are part of the Education Partner Programme with Blackmagic Design and the company generously sponsored Da Vinci Resolve Studio licences for our winners, a prize total of over 2,000 euro.

The third-year films from this year were shown to an audience including cast and crew, along with family and friends with all five films exploring powerful and emotional themes. How Did We Get Here unfolds in a dystopian world where a man must make an impossible choice between his family’s well-being and his own ambitions. In I Can Fix You, Charlie’s evolving sense of identity strains her closest relationships, as she’s forced to confront terrifying figures from her past and consider a haunting proposition. Trapped follows Lily, who seems to have the perfect life—until strange events begin to unravel her reality, prompting her to question whether everything is truly as it seems. A Ballad of the Bittersweet and Broken centres on Monika, a young girl processing the devastating loss of her sister, who finds a way through her grief by reconnecting with music. Finally, Exposure portrays a lonely young man whose rebellion against his controlling mother leads him down a dark and unexpected path. 

The afternoon continued with the presentation of the Dearbhla Walsh Best Major Project Award which is presented to the best TV drama/documentary made on the year-long Major Project module in 4th year.  Dearbhla's expertly crafted winning video announcement came all the way from the Universal Studios Lot in LA, where she is currently filming.  This year's award went to My Life with Brian, written and directed by Mollie Newman, with Sarah Connolly, Rafaella Crepaldi, Oisín Nolan and Roisin Cullen as crew.  This was also the second recent award for My Life with Brian, having won Best Entertainment and Comedy Drama and Best Writing at the RTS Awards in RTE in March.  The award and prizes were presented by Mike Cochrane from Blackmagic Design. 

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Speaking on behalf of the team behind My Life with Brian, director Mollie Newman said: “Winning the Dearbhla Walsh award for ‘My Life with Brian’ was not just recognition for the script and film itself but for the countless time and effort put into bringing this story to life by both the cast and crew. I am deeply honoured to share this award with such an incredible team!”

The evening closed with the screening of the two short dramas and one short documentary The Real Cian Stanley, Cure and Coming Second made by 4th years as part of their year-long Major Project module.

The Programme Team on the Film & TV programme would like to congratulate all the students on their hard work over the year and look forward to seeing these films go on to win awards and be screened at festivals all over the world during the coming year.