First Cut! Youth Film Festival - Programme 2023

Hello and Welcome

to the 14th First Cut! Youth Film Festival

First Cut Youth Film Festival is now in its 14th year! The festival team and I are delighted to welcome you to Youghal to join us in this beautiful seaside town at the mouth of the Blackwater River, where we gather every year to create an exciting platform for young filmmakers to share their work and learn from each other, and from the professionals who provide their generous support.

Festivals create vibrant ways to bring people together, and the magic that happens when young people get together at our festival is what inspires and drives us. First Cut! creates an event that above all respects and celebrates the diverse voices of young people as expressed through the uniquely powerful artform of film.

The arts are how we tell our stories as a society. They’re how we talk about what is important to us, view the world, and make some sense of the complicated world we live in. We have seen how art has the power to enrich and even change lives.

It is in this spirit that we showcase the films that will be seen and enjoyed by our live audiences in Youghal and our online audiences around the world. These audiences will be exposed to worlds and situations, themes and perspectives that, in many cases, they might never have come across before - and all as seen through the eyes of young filmmakers. We proudly present an exciting, diverse and varied programme which we hope you will be challenged and entertained by.

Finally, a warm thank you to the filmmakers, audience members and everyone else who makes this festival happen each year. I hope you have a memorable time and find inspiration in the films and other events (all of which are free of charge) that make up First Cut! 2023.

Mary Mc Grath Festival Director

Thank you!

Friends of the Festival

A huge thank you to the local businesses in our brochure. You are our besties!

Global Trading

Youghal Rotary Club

Brookes of Youghal SuperValu

Youghal Sports & Leisure Bike Shop

The Walter Raleigh Hotel

Goodness Me

Hegarty Properties

Sage Café and Deli

Roma Grill

C.G Motherway Accountants

Youghal Pharmacy

The Red Store

Living Youghal

Clockgate Pharmacy

Doyle’s Traditional Takeaway

Murphy Insurances Youghal Ltd

Alan Prim Books

Noel Mackey & Sons

Coleman Footwear

The support of the local business community is very much appreciated.

Without the Youghal business community who support the festival and enable it to grow and thrive, the First Cut! Youth Film Festival would not be possible. To become a friend of the festival, please contact us:

T: +353 86 813 9019 firstcutfilm@gmail.com firstcutfilmfestival.com

First Cut!

Youth Advisory Council

The Youth Advisory Council (YAC) is a group of young people who share a special interest in film and bring their perspectives as young people to advise First Cut! on how to improve the festival each year and make it relevant. They are responsible for selecting a Youth Advisory Council Award for a film from the open call programme. They also take on significant roles during the festival itself, feeding into the design and delivery of the programme and the presentation of events. In return, they get to meet like-minded peers and participate in specially designed workshops.

First Cut! works to create an innovative, stimulating, and responsive programme that celebrates and connects young people through filmmaking, while constantly adapting to the changing needs of young

people in developing their interest in filmmaking. We could not accomplish that without the participation of our amazing YAC!

YAC 2022

Emma Caplice, Adrian Corzo, Aislinn Cuffe, Mark Delaney, Muireann Forde, George Lynch, Thomas McNamara, Liam O’Leary, Kyra Owers, Dylan Shortt, Sadbh Tighe, Nora Twomey

WalterTheRaleigh Hotel

A LUXURY FOUR STAR BEACH FRONT HOTEL

The 18th Century Georgian Walter Raleigh Boutique Hotel is spectacularly located on the sea front promenade in the famous heritage town of Youghal in East Cork. The gateway to Ireland’s Ancient East.

The tranquil setting and beautiful scenery surrounding the Walter Raleigh Hotel offer the perfect backdrop for your wedding day. Youghal’s inviting Green Park with panoramic coastal views provides exciting opportunities for beautiful photographs. From the early stages of planning to the big day, you’ll find that our professional management team is able to offer invaluable advice on all aspects of this memorable occasion, to make your wedding in Youghal and East Cork just perfect.

Filmmaking Workshop with Nell Hensey

Acclaimed filmmaker Nell Hensey presents a special workshop for members of First Cut’s Youth Advisory Council. In it, she shares her experiences of creating her first films and entering the film industry as one of Ireland’s most promising up-andcoming directors.

Nell Hensey is a Filipino-Irish director and screenwriter from County Clare. Her work has been funded by The Engine Shorts Film Scheme, The Arts Council of Ireland, Screen Ireland and Virgin Media Television. Nell also worked as a Showrunner’s Assistant on a Netflix Original Series co-produced by the Obama’s production company Higher Ground. Her short films Try & Touch and

Baths both premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh 2022. Nell’s latest short film Good Chips, produced by Copper Alley Productions, premieres at the Dublin International Film Festival and will be broadcast on Virgin Media Television in 2023. Good Chips is the first piece of Irish cinema to depict the Vietnamese-Irish experience through the story of a family of former refugees who struggle to run a takeaway business in 1980s Dublin. Nell was also nominated for the Dublin International Film Festival’s prestigious Discovers Award 2023.

Animania – A Day of Animation!

Tuesday 7th & Wednesday 8th, 10am The Regal Cinema

Animation plays a major part in First Cut! Youth Film Festival because nothing conveys the magic of cinema like animation. That’s why we open the festival every year with a programme dedicated to animation for a local primary and secondary school audience.

Schools Workshop Screening

This year First Cut! Youth Film Festival provided animation workshops to over 300 young people in thirteen schools in Youghal and Midleton: Bunscoil Mhuire, Gaelscoil Choráin, Kyle National School, Kilcredann National School, Clonpriest National School, South Abbey National School, Park National School, Pobalscoil na Tríonóide, CBS Midleton, St. John

The Baptist National School, Midleton College, St. Colmans Community College and Midleton Educate Together National School.

In Youghal, working with tutors Lisa McDonald, Kayde Middleton and Bekah Bustos, the workshops covered all the basic principles of hand drawn animation.

In Midleton, Flip Fest with animator Belinda Walsh enabled participants to create their own hand drawn flip books and optical toys.

The resulting short animations get their first screening today!

First Cut! would like to thank all participating schools for their support of these workshops which were made possible through the generous support of The Arts Council, Cork County Council, Youghal Credit Union and the YIFM Network.

Our Wonderful Tutors

Belinda Walsh is a visual artist who graduated from Crawford College of Art and Design. Her special interest is in the use of stop motion animation techniques as a wonderful platform to encourage children and adults to communicate stories, ideas and concepts. She is one of the founders and coordinators of Midleton Arts Festival.

Lisa McDonald is an Irish animator and director. She graduated with a First Class Bachelor of Honours Award in Animation from IADT. She has spent the past six years studying both animation and fine art and finds her passion as a filmmaker in the combination of the two. She has now honed her focus to experimental, stop-motion animation and visual design.

Kayde Middleton is an Irish professional visual artist based in Dublin. With over a decade of experience in creative roles and mediums, including design, illustration and spray paint. Kayde’s attention to detail and colourful artistic expression exhibit his rich cultural background, making his artwork both relatable and unique. Other interests include stop-motion animation and creative writing.

Rebekah Bustos is an IADT Design for Stage and Screen graduate working professionally as a Production Designer/Art Director and Visual Artist in Ireland. She works closely with those she collaborates with to create striking sets and designs that accentuate the visuals of a project.

ANIMANIA!

And Our Feature Presentation…

Marcel is an adorable, 1-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother, Connie, and their pet lint, Alan. When a documentary filmmaker discovers them, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers.

Marcel the Shell will be accompanied by four magical shorts…

Chariots of Fire (Elodie Wallace)

A race across Sandymount Beach as imagined by a young animator.

The Fall (Desirae Witte)

Leafie is a plucky little maple leaf who loves to groove.

The Witch & the Baby (Evgenia Golubeva)

An ageing witch needs a baby for a spell to make her young again.

The Little Bird and the Caterpillar (Lena von Döhren)

The little bird has plenty of peace and quiet high up in its tree.

Thursday 9th, 10.30am, The Mall Arts Centre

Schools and Youth Groups

Thursday 9th, 10.30am, The Mall Arts Centre

Secondary schools and youth groups are where many young people get their first chance to make a film. This programme showcases the quality and variety of films made in schools and youth groups throughout Ireland.

Under the Hood (Eimear Lane/Loreto Secondary School, Fermoy)

Breaking Brad (Presentation Brothers College, Cork)

Liam Ó Maoilíosa (Coláiste an Eachréidh, Athenry)

The Visitor Eps 1-3 (Wexford Youth Film Project)

Ducking & Diving (Terence McSwiney Community College, Cork)

Where To (Graziela Goncalves/Octavia/Present Base Productions, London)

Gone Wrong (Macroom Youthreach Centre – a Cork Local Creative Youth Partnership initiative)

The Spirit of Living (Leah Nolan/Loreto Secondary School, Fermoy)

Torna (Coláiste an Chroi Naofa, Carrignavar/The Glucksman, Cork)

Lonely But Never Alone (Wilson’s Hospital School, Co. Westmeath)

Lost and Found (Regina Mundi College/Kate Harley, Emily Byrne, Zi Yao Kong, Emma Desmond)

MND CTL (Greywood Arts Centre Youth Group, Killeagh)

A Local History Story (Saoirse O Hanlon/St Joseph’s NS, Ballyheigue)

Prime Suspect (Coláiste Iósaef Community College, Kilmallock)

The Magical Tortilla Chip (Blarney St CBS, Cork/Cork International Film Festival: Look@Me)

This screening will be accompanied by a panel discussion in which young people discuss their films and experiences of making them. It will feature filmmakers from The Spirit of Living who are from Loreto Secondary School, Fermoy; from Presentation Brothers College, Cork; and from Greywood Arts Centre Youth Group. It is moderated by Tadhg Crowley, Senior Curator: Education + Community at The Glucksman, Cork.

TikTok Filmmaking Competition

First Cut! has teamed up with Cork Credit Unions again to bring aspiring Cork-based TikTok creators aged 14 to 18 a fun and dynamic film competition.

The aim is to make a 60-second TikTok film that tells us about where they live: “What’s The Story? Tell us what’s great about your place? This is a chance to show off your local area; town or village - a park, a building, a place you hang out!”

Part of this opportunity includes taking part in a special handson workshop with social media expert Robert Fitzhugh who guides participants in picking a topic, focusing on creating short, impactful stories using TikTok, and combining it with classic storytelling sensibilities.

The films will be premiered at this event. Competition winners will be announced and prizes will be presented!

Robert Fitzhugh is a filmmaker and festival director working prominently with mobile phones. He is a firm believer that mobile devices make video-making accessible to everyone. He started the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival to connect the Irish and International mobile filmmaking community. In 2019 he started Film Smart Productions, a business aimed at teaching the making of professional video content for social media using accessible technology.

CORK Credit Unions

Athrú Amháin! / One Change!

Comórtas Scannánóireachta agus ceardlanna á Reáchtáil ag First Cut trí Ghaeilge. /First Cut Youth Film Festival Filmmaking through Irish Competition and Workshops

Tá áthas ar First Cut! a fhógairt go bhfuil an chlár scannánaíochta trí Ghaeilge Athrú Amháin ar ais. Tionscnamh atá sa chomórtas seo do scannánóirí óga chun scannáin a dhéanamh i nGaeilge a théann i ngleic le hábhar an athraithe aeráide.

First Cut! is delighted to announce the return of its filmmaking through Irish programme Athrú Amháin. This competition is an initiative for young filmmakers to make films in the Irish language that tackle the urgent topic of climate change.

This year we opened this exciting competition to two age groups: 12 to 14 and 15 to 18, working individually or in groups. They were invited to make one-minute-long films in the Irish language that explore environmental issues and how to make our world a more sustainable place. Any approach to this theme was welcome.

Tá gach scannnáin cruthaithe igcomhaire Athrú Amháin á thaispeáint innui, áit a bhfógrófar buaiteoirí an chomórtais.

All films made as part of Athrú Amháin are screened today, the competition winners will be announced. Is scannánóir il-ghradam é Dónal Ó Céilleachair le 30 bliain de thaithí agus faoi láthair tá sé ag díriú ar thionscadail atá bunaithe ar an éiceolaíochta trí taighde, ceardlann agus tionscadail scannán nua. Is ceardlann é Scéalta Nua atá deartha chun daltaí a spreagadh trí scéal le bealaí nua a fhiosrú chun dul i ngleic leis an ngéarchéim éiceolaíoch agus aeráide.

Dónal is a multiple award-winning filmmaker with 30 years of experience who is currently focusing on ecological-based projects through research, workshop and new film projects. Scéalta Nua (New Stories) is a workshop designed for First Cut/Athrú Amháin to inspire young people to explore new ways of engaging with the ecological and climate crisis through story.

Photo by Callum Shaw

Ina theannta sin, cuirfear ceardlanna gearrscannán saor in aisce ar fáil ó Arann Bradstock do gach duine óg agus grúpaí atá ag glacadh páirt. Tabharfaidh na gearrscannán iad trí na céimeanna chun a gcuid scannán aon nóiméad féin a dhíríonn ar réitigh ar athrú aeráide a cruthú. Is féidir scannáin a cruthú trí úsáid a bhaint as cibé trealamh a bhfuil ag rannpháirtithe, fóin chliste san áireamh, mar sin ní bac í an teicneolaíocht. Ni caithfear aon taithí scannánaíochta roimh ré.

In addition, free on-demand and specially made short filmmaking workshops, from Arran Bradstock were made available to all participating young people and groups. Arran is a Cork filmmaker and musician. He completed an MA in Experimental Sound Practice at UCC and is currently working on a practice-based PhD in Composition where his focus is producing experimental films.

As an additional celebration of the popularity of Irish language filmmaking, a diverse programme of shorts in Irish from the First Cut! Open Call will close the event. The First Cut! 2023 Award for Best Irish Language Film will be presented.

Liam Ó Maoilíosa (Coláiste an Eachréidh, Athenry)

Torna (Coláiste an Chroi Naofa, Carrignavar/Glucksman)

Fuinneóg Cúil (TomÓNeacthain)

Thíos Cois na Trá Domh (Rachel Sharkey)

Nellie (Malachai J. Kirwan)

Athrú Aeráide (Sinead Ni Rinn)

Mearfhaisean (Nora Twomey)

An t-Oileáin (Mary O’Leary)

Gan Tadhall (Muirinn Carty)

An tSéipeil (Athrú Amhain- Scoil Scannáin Workshop, Macroom)

This innovative programme is made possible with support from Oifig Ghaeilge Chomhairle Contae Chorcaí , YIFM Network agus An Chomhairle Ealaíon.

Family Animation Screening

Thursday March 9th, 6.30pm, The Regal Cinema

An evening out at the cinema for all the family!

This programme is an exciting opportunity for our youngest animators to proudly share their very first short films with family and friends at the beautiful Regal Cinema. Their shorts are followed by a delightful and moving animated gem of a comedy about finding your home: Marcel The Shell With Shoes On

The event is free, but because places are strictly limited - booking in advance is essential to avoid disappointment. We expect that places will fill up fast!

Book here: firstcutfilmfestival.com/ first-cut-family-screening/

Cork Young Filmmakers

Friday 10th, Regal Cinema & Mall Arts Centre

For the past sixteen years, the Cork Young Filmmakers (CYF) programme has been bringing hands-on filmmaking workshops annually to hundreds of young people throughout County Cork. This screening showcases films made in schools during 2022/23 by the creative young people participating in these workshops, which give them a first-hand opportunity to express themselves through film.

CYF is managed by Cork Film Centre and funded by Cork County Council, SECAD, Cork ETB and Creative Ireland.

Eye of the Beholder (Kinsale Community School)

Finger Fight (Midleton CBS)

Creep (Coláiste Muire, Crosshaven)

Not Really There (Carrigtwohill Community College)

Barred (Mount St. Michael’s Secondary School, Rosscarbery)

Shadow Play (Kinsale Community School)

Switch (St. Brogan’s College, Bandon)

Time Out (Kinsale Community School)

The Scream (Maria Imaculata Community College, Dunmanway)

Banana Split (Kinsale Community School)

Malfunction (St. Colman’s Community College, Midleton)

Who’s Next? (Loreto Secondary School, Fermoy)

The Drill (Coláiste Treasa, Kanturk)

Sales Pitch (St. Colman’s Community College, Midleton)

A Nice Day (Carrignafoy Community College, Cobh)

Bookends (Coláiste Muire, Crosshaven)

Íobairt (ColáisteGhobnatan,BaileMhicÍre)

Who’s There? (Millstreet Community School)

Tabhair Dom Mo Cheann (Scoil Muire, Ballingeary)

Christmas Freeze (Coláiste an Toirbhirte, Bandon)

Blue Suits You (Coláiste Muire, Cobh)

Vanish (Pobalscoil na Trionoide, Youghal)

Panel Discussion:

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion in which workshop participants discuss their films and their experiences of making them.

Friday 10th, The Regal Cinema and Mall Arts Centre

Youghal Connections

Friday March 10th, 7pm, The Regal Cinema

An evening of inspiring short films followed by a thought-provoking Q&A with the filmmakers.

Youghal Connections brings together wonderful stories from Youghal to New Zealand, linked together by Youghal, its beautiful Blackwater River and its growing filmmaking community. Renowned filmmaker

Brendan Canty curates a selection of the best of recent Irish shorts and Darina Clancy presents a section of her documentary on the River Blackwater, Cois Móire that focuses on Youghal.

This screening is a new departure for First Cut! where we invite an adult audience, young and old, to come and enjoy this carefully curated selection of short films. Like always, entry is free of charge.

Cois Móire - extract (Darina Clancy)

Scrap (Jamie O’Rourke)

Penthos (Catherine Walker)

Untitled (Allyn Quigley)

Atali’i O Le Crezent (Brendan Canty)

4x4 (Ayla Amano)

Sucking Diesel (Sam McGrath)

Darina Clancy is a producer and director with over 25 years’ experience. She has produced and directed television content and films for five channels in Ireland and been nominated for two IFTAs. In 2014 she set up her own production company which has produced two series of Hollywood in Éirinn; a one off documentary, An Cliath Oilimpeach; and a four part series on the river Blackwater Cois Móire.

Jamie O’Rourke’s first short as writer and director, Scrap, currently on the festival circuit, was nominated for an IFTA and will screen at 2023 Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival. His second film, Calf, was recently commissioned by Screen Ireland & Virgin Media.

Recognized for her work both in her native Ireland and internationally, multi-award winning actress Catherine Walker has a successful career spanning 25 years. She has brought this experience to bear, along with her skills as a poet and a screenwriter, on her recently completed filmmaking debut, Penthos.

Allyn Quigley has directed a number of award-winning shorts. His most recent, Moth, picked up Best Irish Short Film at the Kinsale Shark Awards. He is currently in pre-production on his next short, Yellow Belt, funded as part of Screen Ireland’s Focus Shorts programme.

Brendan Canty is among the most exciting and prolific Irish directors. He enjoyed huge early success with his video for Hozier’s ‘Take Me to Church’. In 2019, he directed a short, Christy, which he’s developing as a feature with BBC Films and Screen Ireland. He recently won Best Director at Show Me Shorts Festival for Atali’i O Le Crezent.

Originally from New Zealand, Ayla Amano produced & directed videos for a wide range of clients, before spending two years in Vancouver working in documentary television production and directing a feature documentary for CBC. She now resides in Cork. Her debut short, 4x4, premiered at the Cork International Film Festival.

Sam McGrath is a multi-award winning Irish director based in London and Dublin. In 2022, Sam’s work took home a cumulative 10 Kinsale Shark Awards. In addition to this, he picked up 2 Silver Screen Awards at the Cannes Lions Young Director Awards. His short film Sucking Diesel is in the middle of a fantastic festival run.

First Cut! welcomes short films of every genre by young people from Ireland and abroad. The skill and imagination of young filmmakers shines through in the diverse and entertaining films that make up these programmes.

Open Call

Programme 1

Saturday 11th, 10am, The Mall Arts Centre

It Makes No Scents (Liam O’Leary)

Summer of 89 (Daniel Heaphy)

Russian Military Warship Go... (Oleg Pchelkin)

I Like It Here (Tom Anson)

B Ready (George Lynch)

Dare (George Lynch)

Rock Hard (Gearoid Murphy)

Fake Reality (Dimitris Trahanis)

The Documentary (Dylan Sheehan)

When I Let Go (Kyra Owers)

Clammed Up (Thomas McNamara)

exCHANGE Year (Nora Twomey)

Collapse (Mark Delaney)

Breakable (Dylan Shortt)

Programme 2

Saturday 11th, 11.30, The Mall Arts Centre

Pokemaniac (Wexford Youth Film Project)

The Time I Spoke to the Sky (Rachel Griffin)

Two Fools, One Lie (Rachel Griffin)

Dslexia & Me (Patrick O’Connor-Mason)

For Crying Out Loud (Aoife Rees)

Last Seen (Wiktoria Weintritt)

Something Smells Fishy (YIFM - Young Irish Filmmakers)

The Tell Tale Heart (Max Hendrickson)

Supernova (Niamh Collins/Emerging Limerick Filmmakers)

Faith (Callum Sinnott/Kildare Young Filmmakers)

Gan Tadhall (Muirinn Carty)

The Bullies (Alicia/Drishane Direct Provision Centre)

Panel Discussion:

Rachel Griffin, Muirinn Carty, Dylan Sheehan, Kyra Owers, Mark Delaney and Faith Akinbote (from The Bullies) will discuss their work in a Q&A moderated by filmmaker Mieke Vanmechelen.

Saturday 11th, 10am The Mall Arts Centre

First Cut! is committed to promoting and celebrating filmmaking for all young people.

First Cut, in collaboration with Elena Horgan, then Cork County Council Filmmaker in Residence, was awarded a Léargas European Year of Youth 2022 grant to build on a 2022 festival pilot project and provide 5 days of filmmaking workshops to a group of young people, who live in Drishane Direct Providsion Centre, in Millstreet, Co.Cork. At the end they would have a finished film that they wrote, acted in, directed and edited themselves with professional support, training and equipment.

Today’s Open Call programme includes The Bullies, the resulting film! The workshop was facilitated by Elena Horgan and Megan Murphy.

Elena Horgan

is a filmmaker and lens-based artist from Cork whose previous work has been screened at festivals such as Dingle Film Festival, FEST Portugal, Austin Arthouse and London Experimental. Over the last year, she has been working as Cork County Council’s filmmaker in-residence. During the residency, she has gotten the opportunity to collaborate with various groups in the community through filmmaking. She has just finished her latest short film Cumha, an experimental documentary about land, language and identity, shot on 16mm.

Megan Murphy

is a documentary filmmaker based in Dublin. Her love is observational documentary focused on social issues. She has recently began studying psychology with the belief that art is a powerful tool in mental health. This film is part of a series of activities and events which represent a First Cut focus on visibility, diversity and inclusion in filmmaking for young people from all backgrounds, particularly those who face barriers in getting involved in the artform due to economic and social inequality.

CORK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Shorts, Award & Conversation

Saturday 11th, 1.30pm, The Regal Cinema

European Shorts Programme

Cork International Film Festival, Ireland’s first and largest film festival, partners with First Cut! every year to curate a programme of shorts for FCYFF. This year, it is a selection of nominees for Best European Short Film at the European Film Academy awards.

As a member of the European Film Academy, Cork International Film Festival is part of a network of 29 film festivals that includes Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Rotterdam. Each festival nominates a European short to be considered for the Best European Short Film award.

The Red Suitcase (Cyrus Neshvad) - Luxembourg, 2022

An Iranian girl decides to remove her Headscarf/Hijab in a life-changing situation.

Le Saboteur (Anssi Kasitonni) - Finland, 2022

An ex-saboteur gets back in the game and every trick will be exposed!

Neighbour Abdi (Douwe Dijkstra) Netherlands, 2022

A candid and investigative journey through a painful history, focusing on the creative process throughout

Festival Programmers – In Conversation

The screening will be followed by a public conversation that is a must for all aspiring filmmakers: CIFF senior programmer Don O’Mahony and Galway Film Fleadh Director of Programming Maeve McGrath will discuss the process of submitting to festivals. This is a rare and valuable opportunity for filmmakers to gain insight into how to enter their films, how to present them, what to expect from festivals - what works and what doesn’t.

Don’t miss this chance to gain insight into the viewpoint of seasoned programmers from two Oscar Qualifying festivals!

Cork International Film Festival Award 2023

CIFF selects and presents an annual award to a film from the First Cut! open call.. This award enables the winner to submit their film and attend the 68th Edition of CIFF in November 2023 and also includes free admission to Cork International Film Festival’s ‘First Take’ Industry Day.

FUSION

Fusion is a diverse programme of short films from two of the most established youth film organisations in the country: CorkYoungFilmmakers(CYF) and WexfordYouthFilmProject.

CYF

CYF offers week-long and two-day handson film workshops across Cork County each year which are always very popular. The short films are screened at Cork County Hall at an annual Gala event. The wildly entertaining and darkly imaginative Psycho-Therapy, Burgers and Lemonaid all received audience awards at last November’s Gala. We are always proud to provide workshops to, and platform films made by, young people from diverse communities. Practice Session was made in Clonakilty and brought together young people from the Ukrainian community, from the Direct Provision centre and the local community to collaborate on a short film over two days.

Wexford Youth Film Project

Wexford Youth Film Project is a veritable hothouse of youth filmmaking which produces a slate of wonderfully engaging films each year and has launched the budding careers of some of the most promising young talents currently emerging on the scene. In The Visitor, Wexford Youth Film Project pushes the envelope by adopting the TV series format. What happens when an alien arrives in an Irish household as an exchange student? Hilarity ensues…

Psycho-Therapy (Midleton CYF Two-Day Workshop)

Burgers (Macroom Week-long CYF Workshop)

Lemonaid (Bandon Week-long CYF Workshop)

Practice Session (Clonakilty Two-Day Workshop)

Multiple Choice (Bandon CYF Two-Day Workshop)

Factóir 50 (CYF/Club Óige, Béal Atha an Ghaorthaidh)

The Visitor Eps 1-3 (Wexford Youth Film Project)

An tSéipeil (Athrú Amhain- Scoil Scannáin Workshop at Chapel Hill, Macroom)

Saturday 11th, 3.00pm, The Regal Cinema

Spotlight

Emerging Filmmakers Programme

Saturday 11th, 3.00pm, The Regal Cinema

Spotlight is First Cut’s Open Call programme celebrating the vision of emerging filmmakers of third level age. Some are in film courses, some are working independently but all are significant upcoming talents to watch out for in the future.

Hunger (Shane Joyce)

Finding Mothers (Barra Convery)

A Saddle for Two (Ian Fallon)

Don’t Look @ Me (Sean Kinsella)

Baths (Nell Hensey)

Silver Medal Winners (Nicky Kinkladze O’Callaghan/Ben Murphy)

Daydream (Julian Hamman)

Panel Discussion

Barra Convery, Nicky Kinkladze O’Callaghan & Ben Murphy and Nell Hensey will discuss their work in a panel moderated by journalist Ellie O’Byrne.

Someone Like

Me: A View from LGBTQIA+ Filmmaking Communities

Special Guest Panel

Saturday 11th, 4.45pm, The Regal Cinema

First Cut! strives to be a platform for young filmmakers of every background and sensibility. It is in this spirit that we bring together a panel of outstanding filmmakers from LGBTQIA+ communities. Writer/director Katie McNeice, director Bob Gallagher, film artist Francis O’Mahony and filmmaker & educator Barry Dignam will discuss issues that they have faced in making films as well as how their work develops from their own specific points of view. In what promises to be an inspiring and thought provoking conversation, they will explore and celebrate film as a rich and diverse medium of expression and look to the future of telling LGBTQIA+ stories including in mainstream cinema.

Katie McNeice

Katie McNeice is a multi-award winning writer/director who crafts thoughtful identity-films with a particular focus on sexuality and gender. Shorts include In Orbit, Whale Fall, Lambing and the upcoming Irish language project Focail Baile Croí. Her debut feature screenplay is Who We Love which she co-wrote with Graham Cantwell. This funny and poignant story of coming of age and coming out earned her an IFTA Nomination for Best Script Film in 2022. Upcoming features include The Deepest Breath which she’s adapting from the LGBT children’s novel by Meg Grehan. Katie is currently part of both the X-Pollinator CREATOR programme and Screen Ireland’s Writer as Executive Producer course.

Francis O’Mahony

Francis O’Mahony is a transgender, Irish based film maker and artist. His films are focused on themes of gender and identity. Francis graduated in 2021 from the national College of Art and Design in the Fine Art Media department. During college Francis completed an artist residency in Digital Art Studios in Belfast where he made his award- winning film; Cat Vomit. Upon graduation, Francis has gone on to screen Cat Vomit and his graduate piece; Nettle Bush, at First Cut! Youth Film Festival, Gaze Film Festival, Dublin International Film Festival and Cork International Film Festival. His main career goal is to direct a feature film from one of his original scripts and he is currently working on building up a body of work.

Barry Dignam

Barry Dignam is moderating the panel. He has made many multi-award-winning short films including Chicken, Dream Kitchen and A Ferret Called Mickey. He’s had been nominated for a Palme d’Or at Cannes and a Berlin Bear. Monged, a feature he co-wrote with Gary Duggan, premiered in 2015. His films have been presented in official selection at over a hundred and fifty international film festivals. They have been screened by top broadcasters and released on DVD, VOD and theatrically in Europe, the US and beyond. As an educator, he has over twenty years’ experience in teaching film and academic leadership. In 2021, Barry was appointed to the new role of Head of European Projects at the National Film School, IADT where he works to establish FilmEU, the first European University of Film and Media Arts. Formerly he was the Head of Department of Film & Media, Chair of Film & Television and Irish Course Director of Viewfinder (the Erasmus+ Joint Master of Art in Cinematography). He studied Drama at Trinity College Dublin and Film at the National Film School IADT.

Bob Gallagher

An award-winning filmmaker described by Werner Herzog as a ‘good soldier of cinema’ and by Totally Dublin as ‘one of the nation’s premiere creative forces in the visual arts’. For Bob’s full bio, please turn to page 39.

“When you’re growing up as an LGBTQ person, you don’t always see actors who look like you, or who are a part of our community. And you don’t often see stories that reflect your lived experiences. And so when people have an opportunity to see films that center LGBTQ people, it can be a really personally powerful and empowering act.”

~ Matt Comer, Charlotte Pride Festival

YMVC Youth Music Video Competition 2022

First Cut! continues to partner with award-winning director Brendan Canty for the seventh annual YMVC, a unique professional mentorship programme, which hothouses young film talent. Five outstanding young filmmakers were selected in 2022 by directors Brendan Canty and Bob Gallagher for the opportunity to make a music video under their mentorship. Each finalist was matched with a track from the following up and coming Irish acts: Strange Boy, Paddy Hanna, Willzee and Elaine Mai. Thanks to the support of an Arts Council YPCE Project Award, YMVC 2022 offered participants stipends of €1000, and for the first time the winner of best music video will receive a €5000 bursary to kickstart their career!

At this event, we are delighted to welcome the filmmakers to the festival and share their videos with a live cinema audience. The 2022 YMVC award will be announced followed by a panel discussion with filmmakers and mentors, moderated by Jessica Bonenfant, the YMVC coordinator.

The 2022 YMVC Directors:

Rachel McGill & Fionnuala McCormack Strange Boy

Rachel McGill is a filmmaker from Limerick. She won the Talent Nation competition and was mentored in the prestigious Camerimage festival in 2019. She graduated from the NFS in 2020. She recently completed a film funded through the ENGINE Short Film Scheme. Rachel likes to explore controversial topics in an unconventional way, exploring our deepest fears and anxieties. Based in Meath, Fionnuala McCormack graduated from the NFS in 2020. Her most recent work includes directing a short documentary with BBC Gaeilge on women’s sexuality, and participating in the 25th Ji.Hlava Academy mentored by Khvan De La Cruz. She loves her work to be a collaborative journey with other artists in the hope of conveying the beautiful complexities of the human experience

Rachel and Fionnuala are both passionate about female representation in film and media. They love to intertwine experimental visuals within their work, using their films to explore social issues or convey an intimate human experience.

Ian Fallon

Paddy Hanna

Ian Fallon is a writer, director and editor from Kildare studying in the NFS. His first short, Victim, was nominated for the Short Form Award at the Royal Television Society ROI Student Awards. He received the Cork International Film Festival Award at the 2021 First Cut! Festival for his short Last Letter. Ian’s main focus is on storytelling and how it affects, challenges and engages the audience.

Fia Wren

Willzee

Fia Karma Wren is an emerging film artist focused on creating experimental films and documentaries. Her work has been screened at festivals such as the Galway Film Fleadh. She won ‘Best Director’ at First Cut! in 2019. Fia recently graduated from the National Film School of Ireland with a first class honours in Film. Her work has since been featured in the Irish Arts Review.

Cara Gaynor

Elaine Mai

Cara Gaynor is a 23 year old filmmaker from Dublin and a 2021 graduate from the NFS at IADT. Creating stories and giving people a visual platform to share their story is extremely important to her. She likes to work on projects that not only entertain but educate. Being a dancer for 18 years and growing up in a very musical and design heavy household has influenced her filmmaking.

Mentors

Brendan Canty

Brendan Canty has forged his way as one of the most exciting and prolific Irish directors. He had massive early success with his video for Hozier’s ‘Take Me to Church’ (over a billion views on Youtube and two MTV VMA nominations). Brendan has gone on to direct consistently elegant and visually stunning music videos for top international artists. His 2017 short For You won a Kinsale Shark and was nominated for an IFTA. His 2019 short Christy is being developed as a feature with BBC Films and Screen Ireland. He recently won Best Director at Show Me Shorts Festival for his latest short film Atali’i O Le Crezent.

Bob Gallagher is an award-winning filmmaker described by Werner Herzog as a ‘good soldier of cinema’ and by Totally Dublin as ‘one of the nation’s premiere creative forces in the visual arts’. Gallagher came to prominence as the creator of some of the most iconoclastic music videos to emerge from Ireland in recent years, collaborating with acts such as Girl Band, Lankum, Pillow Queens and Villagers. His music videos have received international press, and multiple awards. With a darkly experimental aesthetic, his work explores the psychological impacts of juxtaposing music and image, often in collaboration with artists from other disciplines.

Bob Gallagher

Saturday

11,

First Cut! Awards

The Award Categories are:

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

Best Film 2023

First Cut! Youth Council Award

2023

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

Best Director 2023

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

Spotlight Award 2023

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

2023 Cork International Film Festival Award

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

Best Schools Film 2023

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

Best Irish Language Film 2023

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

Best Animation 2023

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

Best Documentary 2023

First Cut Youth Film Festival Best International Film 2023

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

Best Music Video 2023

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

Best YMVC – Youth Music Video Competition Award 2023

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

Athrú Amháin Competition

Winning Film 2023

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

2023 Best Cork Young

Filmmakers Film

First Cut! Youth Film Festival 2023 Best Cork Young

Filmmakers Schools Film

Winning filmmakers receive a beautiful award statuette designed and created by Paddy McCormack.

First Cut! International

First Cut! International First Cut! International First Cut! International

Tuesday March 7th – Saturday March 18th Online at firstcutfilmfestival.com/first-cut-international/

First Cut! is launching a new strand to its programmingFirst Cut! International, an online platform that offers online screenings showcasing the best short films by young filmmakers from all over the world.

The three First Cut! International programmes can be streamed free of charge from our website concurrently with First Cut! 2023 and will remain available for a full week after the physical festival.

Programme 1

Russian Military Warship Go... (Oleg Pchelkin)

Daydream (Julian Hamman)

Ihruqax (Rasmus Safarnia)

A Walk in the Past (Alina Mustovici)

Fence (Maryam Rezaei)

Fine (Kayra Öcal)

Show Must Go On (Hyun-seo Lee, Su-a Ko, A-ra Cho, Do-hee Kim)

Town Youth (Jie Liu)

Project Imagination (Kostya Tyoschin)

Programme 2

Harmony Hills (Izzy Buhler)

The First Sound (Amirmahdi Nematzadeh)

Expiration Date (Eliza Pritchard)

The Pushers (Simona Jurkuvėnaitė)

Mustermann (Veronika Väth)

Tasting Skinny (Saturn Alyx)

Hunger (Junayed Alavi)

The Mineshaft (Brad Davies)

Mechanism (Gabriel Lima, Izaaaki & Maria Beatriz) Inside Groove (Elizabeth Wei Yun Albrecht)

Programme 3

100% Meat Free Human Flesh (Bartholomew “Skippy” Jälapeno)

I Like It Here (Tom Anson)

Necessity of Life (Kevin Rahardjo)

Eliotropio (Niccolò Martella)

Our Last Day (Balázs Mihály Szabó)

Offerlamm (Tova Persson)

The Cuckoo’s Tale (Krittipong Thitithanakul)

Instructional video 1989: how to recognize human faces (Aiden Nelson)

Rena (Alexandros Damianidis & John Akrivopoulos)

Dear Kaleidoscope (Lydia Mastrangelo)

Moderators

First Cut! 2023’s panel discussion and Q&A moderators.

Tadhg Crowley

Senior Curator – Education + Community at the Glucksman in UCC. He has recently curated projects with communities of interest and communities of place including - Making Waves (2017); Future Forms (2019); and Tales of a City (2020). Tadhg has coordinated the Glucksman’s Creative Agency programme with young asylum seekers since 2015. He has curated exhibitions at the museum and designed the University’s first Visual Arts Module for third level students with intellectual disabilities.

Mieke Vanmechelen

A Belgian born film artist and farmer based in Kerry. She works at the intersection of experimental moving-image media and documentary. Her work has been screened in Ireland and internationally. A recurring theme is the interdependence of humans, animals and their environment. She recently directed a feature documentary about endangered farming practices with Michael Holly. She is heavily involved in education and works as a children and youth facilitator, mentor and consultant. She is currently Kerry County Council Filmmaker in Residence.

Don O’Mahony

Senior Programmer with Cork International Film Festival, Don O’Mahony became involved with the festival when he became part of the selection committee in 1999. He has been in charge of the festival’s experimental programme, Free Radicals since 2004, which has since broadened into the Parallax section. And he has been in charge of the festival’s short film programming since 2016.

Maeve McGrath

Director of Programming at the Galway Film Fleadh, she has previously worked as Artistic Director of Kerry International Film Festival, producer at Carlow Arts Festival and joint short film programmer at Dublin International Film Festival. Maeve is embedded in community arts practise with The GAFF in Limerick where she recently curated a community audio/visual project, Tiny Little Histories and she produced TravFest, a Traveller Wellness Festival as part of Guth na Mincéirí.

Ellie O’Byrne

A freelance journalist and features writer. As well as covering a variety of social, environmental and topical issues, she frequently writes for the Arts pages of the Irish Examiner, where she covers visual arts, music, film, comedy and dance. She is also a media lecturer in Griffith College Cork on their BA in Journalism.

Jessica Bonenfant

The Artistic Director of Greywood Arts in East Cork, a welcoming place for artists and the community to come together to explore the creative process. Her background is in choreography and improvisation, including dance for camera. Jessica has worked with First Cut! as the YMVC Coordinator for the past five years.

Saturday 11th, 7.15pm – The Regal Cinema

Strange Boy Live Music

Saturday 11th, The Regal Cinema

7.15, following the Awards Ceremony

First Cut! is thrilled to conclude the FCYFF 2023 with a special live set to accompany our awards ceremony from a 1000-year-old poet channeling through the body of a young man from Limerick: Strange Boy.

Strange Boy also collaborated with YMVC directorial team Fionnuala McCormack and Rachel McGill on the music video for his song Sorrow, screening earlier in the evening as part of the Youth Music Video Competition event.

With hard-hitting, thought-provoking lyrics, Strange Boy’s unique mastery of flow renders him one of the most important rappers of our time. He combines hip hop and Irish traditional music, the old and new cultural influences dominant in this country, with a sophistication that would have you swearing this genre always existed. It’s been an incredible 12 months for the rapper

who released his debut new album HOLY / UNHOLY. The album received extraordinary critical acclaim with Hot Press naming it in their top 6 hip-hop albums released anywhere in the world in 2021 and it was ranked in the top 6 Irish albums of the year by both Nialler9 and District Magazine. He is a new artist for a new generation in Ireland, singled out by District Magazine as a “national treasure”.

Having essentially created his own genre, Strange Boy is currently working on a new album with producer & composer Enda Gallery to further pioneer this new fusion.

Thank you!

Festival Team

Mary McGrath – Festival Director

Max Le Cain – Programme Manager

Úna Feely – Festival Producer

Ronan O’Toole – Project Manager

A special thanks to our amazing team, volunteers, great partners, passionate filmmakers, sponsors and to everyone who came to see these amazing films.

Jamie Hanrahan - Website Design

Gerry O’Mahony - Festival Photographer

Kara Sweeney - Festival Video Documentation

Kieran O’Connor - Programme and Poster Design

Jessica Bonenfant Coogan – YMVC Coordinator

Karen McCabe – Administrator

Ayşegül Yüzel – Volunteer Coordinator

Casey Walsh – Social Media

Tara Murphy – Festival Strategy & Policy Consultant

Chris Hurley – Technical Consultant

Oscar O’Sullivan – Cork Young Filmmakers

Programme Admin

Arran Bradstock – Festival Open Day Manager

Eimear O’Brien – Lunasa PR

Festival Trustees & Patrons

Ayoola Smart

John McCarthy

Kate O’Connor

Linda Curtin

Pascal Scott

Toirdealbhach Ó Lionáird

A very special thank you to our main funders The Arts Council of Ireland and Cork County Council, to all the organisations who provide support to our programmes and workshops; RTE Supporting the Arts, CETB, (Cork Education and Training Board), CLYP, (Local Creative Youth Partnership), Cork Credit Unions, Screen Ireland, SECAD, YIFM and more. Thanks to our Animania sponsor Youghal Credit Union and special thanks to Cork International Film Festival who are also our festival partner again this year.

A huge thank you to everyone who volunteered valuable time and energy to help make First Cut! 2023 happen. We thank sincerely all of the exceptionally talented and successful filmmakers who have joined us this year to offer their support to young filmmakers.

We are very fortunate to the support of the local business sponsors in Youghal and surrounding areas and to have both The Mall Arts Centre and The Regal Cinema in the heart of Youghal town. They provide us with generous support and

Special thanks to Aileen Loughrey (Irish Language Officer Cork County Council); Allyn Quigley; Anna Garcea (CIFF); Arran Bradstock; Ayla Amano; Ayoola Smart; Barry Dignam (IADT); Beth Taylor, (The Regal Cinema); Belinda Walsh; Bernadette Tuite (Chapel Hill); Bob Gallagher; Brendan Canty; Catherine Walker; Cry Local Radio, Youghal; Críona Sexton (Screen Ireland); Darina Clancy; Dónal Ó Céilleachair; Don O’Mahony and Deirdre Mc Carthy (Cork International Film Festival); Eimear Harte, The Arts Council YPCE; Eimear O Brien (Lunasa

PR); Elena Horgan; Fiona Clarke (Cork International Film Festival), Fiona Quinn (Cork Local Creative Youth Partnership, CLYP); Francis O’Mahony; Garry McHugh (YIFM Coordinator); Áine O Donovan (TY Coordinator, Pobalscoil na Trionóide); Grace Mitchell (Creative Ireland Cork County Council);Ian McDonagh (Cork County Council Arts Officer); Jamie O’Rourke; Joe McCarthy (Municipal District Officer); Killian Daly (The Regal Cinema); Karl Wallace (Head of Festivals, The Arts Council); Kate Dolan; Katie McNeice; Kayde Middleton; Kieran

O’Connor (Graphic Design); Kieran Quinn (Youghal Credit Union); Lisa McDonald; Maeve Mc Grath (Galway Film Fleadh); Mairéad Kiernan, Network Coordinator YIFM; Megan Murphy; Mieke Vanmechelen; Mick Finn (CETB); Nell Hensey; Dr. Paul Deane (MaREI); Rebekah Bustos; Robert Fitzhugh (Dublin Smartphone Film Festival); Sam Mc Grath; Seóna Ni Bhriain (Head of YPCE, The Arts Council); Tadgh Crowley (The Glucksman, University College Cork); Tara O’Callaghan; Therese Dalton (County Wexford Youth Film Project)

large spacious auditoriums allowing ample room for us to welcome everyone with state-of-the-art cinema screens.

Friends of the Festival

Without the Youghal business community who support the festival and enable it to grow and thrive, the First Cut! Youth Festival would not be possible. To become a festival friend contact us at:

+353 86 813 9019 - firstcutfilm@gmail.com - firstcutfilmfestival.com

RTÉ supports more than 120 arts events nationwide every year.

First Cut! Youth Film Festival

Saturday at a Glance

Saturday March 11th

Open Call Shorts 10am, The Mall Arts Centre

Short films of every genre by young people from Ireland and abroad.

Cork International Film Festival Shorts 1.30pm, The Regal Cinema

A programme of short films curated by Cork International Film Festival

Fusion 1.40pm, The Regal Cinema

Shorts from two of Ireland’s most established youth film organisations: Cork Young Filmmakers and Wexford Youth Film Project

Spotlight

3pm, The Regal Cinema

An open call programme dedicated to gifted emerging filmmakers in their early twenties

Someone Like Me 4.45pm, The Regal Cinema

A panel of distinguished filmmakers gives a view from LGBTQIA+ film communities

YMVC – Youth Music Video Competition

6.15, The Regal Cinema

Videos made under a unique mentorship programme for emerging filmmakers

Awards Ceremony & Strange Boy Live Set

7.15, The Regal Cinema

The highly anticipated FCYFF 2023 awards announcements and presentations