27/09/2013 - Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan and Lance Daly amongst those travelling to Busan for Irish focus at festival

Ireland has been selected as the National Cinema spotlight at the Busan International Film Festival (October 3-13) and a contingent of Irish filmmakers are travelling to Korea to participate in the festival’s Asian Film Market with a view to use the country focus to raise the profile of the Irish film industry within Asia. Neil Jordan (photo)and Jim Sheridan will be honoured at a hand-printing ceremony during the festival to mark their lifetime contribution to the international film industry. Irish actor Pat Shortt and directors Lance Daly, John Butler and Brendan Muldowney will join them.

Busan will screen 11 Irish films including Sheridan’s In America and In the Name of the Father and Jordan’s The Crying Game and Michael Collins, alongside John Carney’s Once and John Boorman’s The General. New films selected include Daly’s Life’s a Breeze [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Butler’s The Stag [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Muldowney’s Love Eternal. 

Irish Film Board (IFB) CEO James Hickey said, “The Busan International Film Festival plays host to one of the most important film markets in Asia and the Irish contingent will meet with a wide range of international financiers, producers, sales agents and press there. This cultural trade mission aims to raise the profile of Ireland, Irish culture and the Irish film industry in Korea and to the Asian market.”

The jaunt is supported by the IFB, Culture Ireland, the Irish Embassy in Seoul, the Dublin International Film Festival and the Irish Film Institute. 

Irish films at Busan:

Garage (2007) | Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Love Eternal (2013) | Director: Brendan Muldowney

Life’s a Breeze (2013) | Director: Lance Daly

The Stag (2013) | Director: John Butler

Leo the Last (1970) | Director: John Boorman

The Crying Game (1992) | Director: Neil Jordan

In the Name of the Father (1993) | Director: Jim Sheridan

Michael Collins (1996) | Director: Neil Jordan

The General (1998) | Director: John Boorman

In America (2002) | Director: Jim Sheridan

Once (2006) | Director: John Carney