#Festival: Kerry Film Festival announces stellar programme for 2017, October 19-22

The Kerry Film Festival has pulled back the curtain to reveal its 2017 programme. The festival takes place in the picturesque town of Killarney, Co. Kerry in the south west of Ireland from the 19th to the 22nd of October. Showcasing the best in Short, Feature and Documentary Cinema from at home and abroad, and introducing Discovery Features, a platform for first time feature film makers, the 18^th Kerry Film Festival is shaping up to be one of the must-attend events on the Irish film-event calendar.

Between the opening night feature, The Crest and the closing night feature, A Captain Unafraid, audiences will discover a wealth of cinema that is sure to entertain and enlighten in equal measure. Kicking things off in style, The Crest documents the journey of two descendants of an Irish king who journey to the island where he once presided — not to reclaim the land, but to surf the waves. Surprising, scenic, and brave adventures The Crest is a portrait of a family estranged by time and distance, but united by a peculiar devotion to the dangers of the Sea. Other epic journeys unfold in both Emer Reynolds’ stunning The Farthest, which follows the Voyager Space Probe as it prepares to leave our Solar System some 12 billion miles away, and in Le Voyage de Fanny, an award-winning tale of courage, determination and survival that sees a young girl in occupied France leading a band of children to the Swiss Border.

Other highlights include Ó Dhútaigh Mhúscraí (From the Land of Mhúscraí), a creative documentary exploring the works of contemporary artist living in the Múscraí Gaeltacht of West Cork. And Drimoleague-born director Pat Collins’ poetic and arresting portrait of celebrated Sean-Nós singer Joe Heaney in Song of Granite, Ireland’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90^th Annual Academy awards. A second musical high-point is the Irish Premiere of Score: A Film Music Documentary which brings Hollywood’s premiere composers together to give viewers a privileged look inside the challenges and creativity of constructing a film score.

Another Irish Feature Premiere, Lies We Tell, features Golden Globe winner Gabriel Byrne as the faithful right-hand man of a dead gangster who finds himself pulled into a dangerous showdown where he must deal with his boss’s mistress and her gangster ex-husband, while Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect is a profile of the Pritzker Prize-winning Irish-American architect. Although Roche has reached the top of his profession, he has not sought fame, and little is known about him here. He is best known in Ireland as the architect of Dublin’s Convention Centre.

The Festival closes with A Captain Unafraid which follows the strange adventures of ‘Dynamite Johnny O’Brien’ who, despite being born in Manhattan to Irish parents, managed to get involved in revolutions in Haiti, Colombia, Texas and Mexico before finding his destiny in the 19^th Century Cuban War of Independence.

With a reputation for platforming the best in local, national and international Short Films, this year’s mix is sure to excite audiences. Highlights include a selection of Global Shorts featuring work from Australia, The UK and the USA, and The Nickel Film Tour which showcases the best and brightest of Canadian Cinema. Other programmes cast a spotlight on work from as far afield as Japan and Iran while also showcasing the best animation, drama and documentary shorts from around Ireland, as well as local work via its Kerry Made and Kerry Connection Programmes and a special screening of The Welfare of Tomás Ó Hallissy.

The Kerry Film Festival will also present the Maureen O’Hara Award for 2017 to Emer Reynolds to celebrate her contribution to the film industry and in admiration for her work which continues to engage audiences and inspire fellow filmmakers. The Kerry Film Festival inaugurated the Maureen O’Hara Award in 2008 to celebrate outstanding women in cinema. The award was named in honour of O’Hara, one of Hollywood’s best loved and most inspiring actresses.

Director Emer Reynolds is an Emmy nominated, multi-award-winning documentary director and feature film editor, based in Dublin, Ireland. The Farthest is her latest feature film.

As if all this wasn’t enough, for 2017 Kerry Film Festival is also introducing Discovery Features, a new platform for first time feature film makers, and will showcase work from Ireland, the UK, Germany and the USA, and, following the success of last year, 2017 will also see a return of Industry days with panel discussions, ‘In Conversation’ events and Q & A sessions and much, much more.

For tickets and more information see http://www.kerryfilmfestival.com/