Cinemagic Programme Launch
September 28, 2007
The Coca-Cola Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival for Young People has launched its much anticipated annual film festival programme which is set to run from 16 November - 2 December 2007 in various venues across Belfast, including Movie House Cinemas Dublin Rd, Storm Cinemas, and Queen’s Film Theatre.
This year’s fun-filled programme boasts an eclectic range of over 100 film screenings from 15 countries including special premieres, international features, documentaries, shorts, foreign language; and industry Q&A’s (including Mark Kermode and Brian Freisinger), masterclasses (hosted by John Thomson, Martin Duffy, Dermot O’Leary, Pauline Quirke, Chris Cowey, Suranne Jones), competitions, school workshops and discussions, all of which aim to motivate and inspire young people aged between 4-25.
Download this year’s festival programme
Cinemagic Chief Executive, Joan Burney Keatings, encourages young people and schools throughout Northern Ireland to get involved: “Whether it is going to the cinema to experience new films from around the world or participating in a workshop to find out more about a career in the film and television industry there is something for all ages to enjoy at Cinemagic.”
Maire Campbell, Public Affairs and Communications Manager for Coca-Cola Bottlers (Ulster) Ltd discusses the partnership: “Coca-Cola is looking forward to working with Cinemagic for the second year running as title festival sponsor. Through our partnership we hope to assist in the development of a youth based film and media culture by supporting an organization which provides opportunities for young people to actively engage with the creative industries.”
Film Screenings: 16 Nov-2 Dec.
Cinemagic is delighted to announce an impressive array of special preview screenings including the animated fairytale ‘The Ugly Duckling and Me’ (16 Nov), the European Premiere of ‘A Plumm Summer’ (17 Nov), a fantastic magical family adventure film starring Henry Winkler and Jeff Daniels (at which the director and filmmaking team from Beverly Hills CA will be present) and ‘Bee Movie’ (2 Dec), an animated laugh-out-loud comedy featuring Renee Zellweger. Over 20 ‘in competition’ features from around the world include the heart-warming tale of ‘Mystery of the Wolf’ (30 Nov), the adventure-filled quest of ‘The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar’ (17 Nov), the simple love story ‘Little Box of Sweets’ (20 Nov), and the story of war and friendship told in the Swedish made film ‘Zozo’ (19 Nov)
Documentary fans can enjoy a variety of skillfully made films that highlight topical social issues such as ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ (22 Nov), ‘Belfast Girls’ (22 Nov) and ‘The World According to Sesame Street’ (28 Nov). Fun for all the family is guaranteed with special classic screenings of ‘King Kong’ (17 Nov), ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ (17 Nov), ‘Back to the Future’ (24 Nov), ‘ET’ (18 Nov), and ‘West Side Story’ (18 Nov) to name but a few!
Talent Lab Masterclasses: 28 Nov-30 Dec
Cinemagic’s successful Talent Lab in association with Invest NI returns offering a series of 10 creative masterclasses for 16-25 year olds in areas such as Scriptwriting, Presenting, Acting, TV Production, Music in Film, Publishing, Radio Production and Make-Up for Film and TV. This is a must for young people wishing to pick up top tips on how to succeed in the media industry.
Cinemagic Stars Masterclasses: 16-18 Nov.
Budding young actors aged 13-18 have the opportunity to participate in a 3-day intensive masterclass in contemporary or musical theatre, led by industry professionals including Suranne Jones and Mikyla Dodd. In 72 hours, the participants will create an original stage production that will be performed to a captive audience in The Waterfront Hall on 18 Nov.
Primary & Nursery Education Programme in association with NI4Families: 26-30 Nov.
Primary school pupils can look forward to an entertaining and fun-filled series of workshops that will visit schools across Northern Ireland. These include puppet workshops hosted by the creative teams behind Sesame Street and Emu, a special music concert ‘Sing-A-Long with Tom’, screenings of children’s favourite television shows such as Kipper, Pingu and Bob The Builder and special guest appearances from Postman Pat® and Jess the Cat! ‘Cinebabies’ is offering Nursery Schools the opportunity to become involved in the festival experience where each nursery will be transformed into a mini-cinema, so the young audience can view the latest pre-school entertainment programmes!
Secondary School Education Programme: 19-30 Nov.
The festival offers workshop and film packages to complement the post-primary curriculum with a special emphasis on students studying moving image arts and media studies. The highlights are ‘Special Effects in Film with Brian Freisinger’, ‘Filmmaking with The Sesame Street Live Action Team’, ‘Story Telling’, ‘Filmmaking and Shakespeare’, a Swedish Film Institute workshop with Eva Westergren, for teachers and students about the benefits of using film in the classroom, and ‘Pitch That Brief’ in association with 4TalentNI is a unique opportunity not to be missed if you want to learn the art of ‘pitching’ from the professionals!
Young Filmmaker Competition in association with First Light Movies: 23-25 Nov.
Cinemagic Young Filmmaker is searching for films, of any genre, made by budding young filmmakers aged 25 and under from the UK and Ireland. The competition is split into three different age categories; films made by under 15’s, films made by 15-17-year olds and films made by 18 to 25-year olds. Short listed films will be screened at a weekend showcase event, where there will also be masterclasses and networking opportunities for all the young-filmmakers present.
Q&A’s: various dates.
Special Effects wizard Brian Freisinger will enlighten audiences on his career experiences before the screening of ‘Bridge to Terabithia’, (21 Nov). For those passionate about the world of music, television and journalism, Cinemagic, in partnership with Queen’s University, is hosting ‘In Conversation With’ events with top media professionals John Reid (Warner Music), Barry McIlheney (Emap editorial consultant) and Chris Cowey (Top of The Pops) who will cover the A to Z of their respective industries. Cinemagic is delighted to welcome film critic, broadcaster and journalist Mark Kermode, who will be discussing the highlights of his varied career before one of his all time favourite children’s films ‘Silent Running’ (1 Dec).
Festival Box Office: Belfast Welcome Centre: 028 90 24 66 09. Book film tickets and view festival programme online at www.cinemagic.org.uk. For further information telephone Cinemagic on 028 90 311 900.
Great write-up! Cinemagic programme looks fantastic and is full of goodies!
Thanks Daryl - it is all Claire’s work though