08/10/2009

Golden Globe and Academy Award winning British actor Jeremy Irons will adjudicate in the Best Director Competition at the 10th Samhlaiocht Kerry Film Festival (October 31-November 7). The competition carries a €5,000 cash prize.

The other adjudicators who will judge this year’s Kerry Film Festival short film competitions are Michael Fassbender, Simon Brown and James Christopher.

Festival Director Jason O’Mahony said, “From Jeremy Irons, an Oscar winning actor and one of the finest actors of all time; to Michael Fassbender, who set the film world alight with his unflinching portrayal of Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen’s Hunger [+see also:
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film profile], a role which, for my money at least, should have seen him win an Oscar; to James Christopher, one of the most respected film critics in the world and Chief Critic on The Times in the UK for many years; to Simon Brown, a fantastic Irish animator, who was lead animator on the recent Ice Age films and also worked with James Cameron on the upcoming Avatar, every member of the adjudication panel is at the very forefront of their chosen profession and we’re absolutely thrilled that they have decided to help adjudicate the 2009 Kerry Film Festival.”

“This will be the tenth year of the Kerry Film Festival and both the quantity and quality of the films has risen year on year. And we felt it was important to have an adjudication panel of the very highest standing to adjudicate the short films,” O’Mahony added.

The Festival received nearly 500 submissions, up significantly on the total number of films submitted last year and more than double the number of films submitted in previous years.