The curtain closed on Sunday night on the 5th IndieCork Film Festival, with organisers hailing their most successful year to date. IndieCork Film Festival found the creativity of the featured talent, the support of Cork audiences and quality of work presented to be of the highest standard.
We are aiming to contribute something meaningful and provide genuine opportunities to celebrate the independent film and music sector. A day later, we feel IndieCork 5 really achieved that. We look forward to building on this in the coming year.
Mick Hannigan, Co-director – IndieCork
IndieCork Festival presented the very best in Cork, Irish and international independent film and music over October 8th – 15th. Several local and international feature films received their Irish premiere at the festival, including Luca Guagdanino’s, Call Me By Your Name. This edition also created programme partnerships with the Visegrad nations, O’Bhéal, the German Short Film Association and Filmbase, among others.
IndieCork is genuinely contributing to the artistic life of Cork City through a local and national perspective, but we also connect internationally to the worlds of independent film and music making.
Una Feely, Co-director – IndieCork
To close the 2017 edition, the festival honoured filmmakers who embody the creativity, imagination, and tenacious spirit of independent cinema. Among work presented, IndieCork awarded Best Irish Short Film to Mike Hannon for The Cloud of Unknowing; Creative Cork Best Short to Killian Pettit for Anxiety High; Best World Short to a Belgian duo, William Hanne and Yann Bonin, for their film KL. Co-director and co-founder of IndieCork, Mick Hannigan, was honoured for his 30-year contribution to the industry
Gerald Walsh, a festival favourite, was awarded this year’s Spirit of IndieCork award for his consistently creative and evocative feature films.
In addition, the Ó’Bhéal Poetry Film award went to Kayla Jeanson for her film, Descrambled Eggs and the Ronan Phelan Script Award was given to Mark Dollard, for his script, The Story of Aylan, a prize awarded by Filmbase.
In the music categories, Gunther Berkus was awarded the Pioneering Musical Practice award for his contribution to music and culture scenes in Cork. Séan Murphy and Daithi Mac Cruitín, better known as Spekulativ Fiktion and Mankyy, were honoured with the Emerging Music Award for their latest EP release, interpretation of and devotion to the Irish art and music scene.
This has been the biggest step forward in the music programme, represented by the diversity of talent we showcased. We are delighted to award and highlight the immense contribution by pioneer, Gunther Berkus, and the dynamic talents of Spekulativ Fiktion and Mankyy, in the world of underground hip-hop.
Tony Langlois, Music Programmer, IndieCork
We have been touched by the support for the festival. From filmmakers and musicians to the audiences and attendances — It is very heartening for us to have achieved this level of engagement with audiences.
Una Feely, Co-director – IndieCork
IndieCork Festival Award Winners 2017
BEST WORLD SHORT FILM
KL by William Hanne and Yann Bonin / Belgium / 2017 / 3 mins
A succession of photos quickly pass. The place is revealed only by details, framed in close-up. This site is an immense cemetery located in Upper Silesia. Doing what only animation can do – this is a thought provoking and original presentation of a historic event, displaying the power of short film.
BEST IRISH SHORT FILM
The Cloud of Unknowing by Mike Hannon
With the beautiful cinematic style perfectly complimenting the mediative content of the film, Mike Hannon’s The Cloud Of Unknowing confirms cinema’s capacity to enable us experience the world through other eyes, in this case those of a contemporary hermit.
BEST CREATIVE CORK SHORT FILM
Anxiety High by Killian Pettit
In his charming pastiche of US 80’s teen dramas transposed to contemporary Cork, we commend director Killian Petit for his cinematic flair in the entertaining and knowing mini-epic Anxiety High.
RONAN PHELAN SCRIPT AWARD
Mark Dollard for ‘The Story of Aylan’
Ó’BHÉAL POETRY FILM AWARD
Descrambled Eggs by Kayla Jeanson, Canada
Kayla Jeanson’s Descrambled Eggs took both mediums into account and tells a bold, original, engaging and funny story. It’s a really entertaining piece and there are many small touches that demonstrate that the creators really put thought into the visuals and delivery of the poem while they were planning and shooting it. The poetry-film competition is about both mediums working together. With that in mind, the winner has made a huge effort to be a thoroughly cohesive piece with choreography, timing in camera, locations, props and performances.
SPIRIT OF INDIECORK FILM AWARD
Gerard Walsh, Director of Release
SPIRIT OF INDIECORK MUSIC AWARD – Gunther Berkus
In recognition of his extensive contribution to the cultural life of Cork, in which he has continually stretched the boundaries of both expression and technology. Gunther’s most recent project, STOA, which premiered at this year’s IndieCork, included image generated sound synthesis and live performance. It is likely to result in a film that we hope to see in 2018. His creativity, independence and determination make Gunther a deserving recipient of this award.
INDIECORK MUSIC AWARD
This prize is awarded to Séan Murphy and Daithi Mac Cruitín (performing as Spekulative Fiktion and Mankyy, respectively) for their upcoming (and unnamed) EP which they debuted this week for IndieCork.This prize also acknowledges their continued collaboration and contribution to underground hip hop in Ireland, and for their honest and personal interpretation of an art and music movement that has become a vital part of Irish youth culture in recent years.