Awards of the 10th IndieCork Festival
October 2nd to 9th 2022 at The Gate Cinema, Cork
October 2nd to 16th IndieCork Online
Made In Cork Award
Jury:
Thom Palmen (Dingle International Film Festival) Margaret Greene (Film industry)
Cara O’Doherty (Film critic)
Winner:‘Padraig’ by Brian Benjamin Dwyer
Best Emerging Irish Female Director Award
Jury:
Mary Crilly (Sexual Violence Centre Cork)
Wilbirg Brainin Donnenberg (Filmmaker, Austria)
Winner: Mildly Different by Anna Czarska
The Louis Marcus Documentary Award
Jury:
Lelia Doolan (Galway Film Fleadh)
Dr. Barry Monahan (UCC)
Anne Gaschutz (Filmfest Dresden and Locarno Int. Film Festival)
Winner: ‘Swing and Sway’ (Brazil)
Honorable Mention: ‘I Am The Tigress’ by Philipp Fusennegger (Austria)
Honorable Mention: ‘North Circular’ by Luke McManus (Ireland)
Best Irish Short Film
Jury:
Gerry Maguire (London Irish Film Festival)
Jenny Clarke (Film Curator)
Riina Mikkonen (Tampere Int. Short Film Festival)
Winner: Dash by Rory Fleck Byrne
Honorable Mention: ‘Where do all the old gays go?’ by Cathy Dunne
Best World Short
Jury:
Alexandra Gabrizova (Midpoint Institute, Czech Republic)
Per Fikse (Minamalen Short Film Festival, Norway)
Ana Cabral Martins (IndieLisboa Film Festival, Portugal)
Winner: ‘Freedom Swimmer’ by Olivia Martin McGuire (UK)
Honorable Mention: ‘Staging Death’ by Jan Soldat (Austria)
art(ist)FILM award
‘Saudade’ by Eimear Young
IndieCork Music Award
Boa Morte – Paul Ruxton, Maurice Halissey, Cormac Gahan and Bill Twomey
Spirit of IndieCork Award
Director Luke McManus
Jury Statements for each award:
Made In Cork Award
Jury:
Thom Palmen (Dingle International Film Festival)
Margaret Greene (Film industry)
Cara O’Doherty (Film critic)
Winner: ‘Padraig’ by Brian Benjamin Dwyer
Back in the old days you would call this story a cuffer or a wry.
A man who gets what he might have dreamed of all his life but does he really want it? Don’t believe a word you hear, don’t let your eyes deceive you. We the jury got dragged away and almost fell for it!
Pádraig is a great piece of work. Congratulations Brian Benjamin Dwyer, you are a true raconteur
Best Emerging Irish Female Director Award
Jury:
Mary Crilly (Sexual Violence Centre Cork) and Wilbirg Brainin Donnenberg (Filmmaker, Austria)
Winner: Mildly Different by Anna Czarska
What does it take to make a film one remembers?
There are all sorts of criteria to be applied.
One could be that it succeeds in creating a memorable experience by authenticity. An authenticity that is not hampered by wanting too much: by too much formal trimmings, by too much concern, by too much empathy, by too much political and social correctness…We see a young girl and then the same girl as a young woman coming to grasp with her being different, mildly different, so mild that people just register her as being odd, while she is enjoying her synesthetic visions, her uninhibited trains of thought on thickness of walls, wondering if the loudness of her thinking can be heard by others. At the same time it is her being different that does not let her enjoy childrens’ parties, balloons and later as an adult noise and bright lights. This difference results in loneliness, in alienation from a mother who might never have mustered the acceptance and understanding of an atypical presentation of autism, usually found in autistic females. At one point the conquest of solitude by having found a friend seems the obvious remedy for the mild difference. But also a precise diagnosis of a neurodiverse disposition proves to be helpful providing a trigger for self-empowerment that may change Christina’s future life in a significant way. The filmmaker has taken us along to walk the narrow path with their telling us a simple story we might have heard, but we should not forget.
The Louis Marcus Documentary Award
Jury:
Lelia Doolan (Galway Film Fleadh)
Dr. Barry Monahan (UCC)
Anne Gaschutz (Filmfest Dresden and Locarno Int. Film Festival)
Winner: ‘Swing and Sway’ (Brazil)
We were taken by this film’s daring blend of styles and its experimental formal play. It creates a precarious coherence — justified by its self-imposed manifesto — between the different worlds of the two filmmakers whose experiences it weaves together. The to-and-fro communications of the separated friends hangs poignantly between contrasting personal stories and events on the international political stage in terrifyingly similar ways. The film ends nicely with an idealised virtual link between their personal worlds marking the similarities of their experiences in Bolsonaro’s Brazil and in Trump’s America.
Honorable Mention: ‘I Am The Tigress’ by Philipp Fusennegger (Austria)
This remarkable portrait is refreshing in its honest depiction of a fascinating personality, and moving in how it presents gentle moments of the heroine’s story.
Honorable Mention: ‘North Circular’ by Luke McManus (Ireland)
With sparkling style and striking intimacy, this film pays homage to the characters and culture of the renowned Dublin thoroughfare.
Best Irish Short Film
Jury:
Gerry Maguire (London Irish Film Festival)
Jenny Clarke (Film Curator)
Riina Mikkonen (Tampere Int. Short Film Festival)
Winner: Dash by Rory Fleck Byrne
We have selected Dash by Rory Fleck Byrne as the winner of the Best Irish Short because of its original approach to storytelling and character development. We felt that the film delivered everything we wanted from short filmmaking but did so through use of an unexpected form Rory Fleck Byrne excels as a first time director, and in his lead performance he brings a physicality to the role by fully embodying the character. His choice to use close-ups on hands, and the horse’s body, drew our attention to the importance of touch, creating a tactile and tender film. The jury agreed that Dash should be the recipient of this award, as what we felt was the best film overall, but in doing so, we wanted to recognise the power of telling challenging stories about LGBTQIA+ individuals and the emerging freedom here in Ireland and the possibilities which exist within the short filmmaking form for stories like this to be told.Dash feels true to the independent spirit of this festival and is a great signpost for what short filmmaking can achieve.
Honorable Mention: ‘Where do all the old gays go?’ by Cathy Dunne
Alongside our winner Dash, we wanted to commend Where do all the Old Gays Go? for bringing Irish LGBTQIA+ stories to the screen. The interviews paint a rich portrait of an older queer community in Ireland, they are a delight to watch and bring to light the need to consider how queer spaces need to be created to care for older people. The jury wished to highlight the great skill of interviewing within the documentary, which created a safe and open space in which the participants could share their stories freely.
Best World Short
Jury:
Alexandra Gabrizova (Midpoint Institute, Czech Republic)
Per Fikse (Minamalen Short Film Festival, Norway)
Ana Cabral Martins (IndieLisboa Film Festival, Portugal)
Winner: ‘Freedom Swimmer’ by Olivia Martin McGuire (UK)
A story that wields its sense of humor avoiding sentimentality, of a generational search for freedom that recontextualizes a once-promised land. Through the clever use of hybrid elements — from animation to newsreel footage — we’re taken on a journey through treacherous waters and dangerous shores that weaves carefully together a connection between personal history and contemporary political climate.
Honorable Mention: ‘Staging Death’ by Jan Soldat (Austria)
A sarcastic tongue-in-cheek presentation and representation of death in popular culture as entertainment. A tour through an actor’s 50 year long carriere of being shot, stabbed, disemboweled and exploded more than 70 times.
IndieCork Music Award
Boa Morte are slow burners – their music tends to be quiet, tender, thoughtful, and it draws audiences into a magical slow space. Their performance this week was, for many, a highlight of the IndieCork festival. Founded in 1998, their work exhibits enduring commitment to a singular aesthetic vision. This award acknowledges not only the band’s excellent work over the years but also recognises the great respect in which they are held in their home city of Cork.
Spirit of IndieCork Award
Luke McManus
A true original, independent filmmaker, making films of great worth, integrity and artistry.
