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Note: Parking is free on Saturday and Sunday in lots 17 and 20
The Celtic Cultural Center of Madison in collaboration with the Wisconsin Union Directorate Film Committee and the UW-Madison Celtic Studies Program presents the 2012 Celtic Film Festival.
Free admission to this festival is made possible by the generous support of the Irish Film Institute, Culture Ireland, and the Arts Council – Dublin, Ireland, and the partnership with the Wisconsin Union Directorate Film Committee.
The wide variety of feature films and shorts from award-winning contemporary directors in Ireland, Wales, Cornwall and Scotland include animation, documentaries, dramas, and comedies. This year’s festival showcases selections in English as well as the Irish and Cornish languages with English subtitles.
Highlights include Ballymun Lullaby from Ireland which was awarded the Best Director Finder Series 2011 from Directors Guild of America and has been an Official Selection of festivals in Boston, Chicago, New York, Dublin, Cork, Galway, Toronto, and Halifax. Vinyl, the new film by Sara Sugarman (Very Annie Mary), tells the story of a hoax very much like something Mike Peters of the Welsh band The Alarm foisted on the music industry in 2004. Keeping with the music theme Tomás na nAmhrán features the life and songs of Tom a’ tSeoighe, a prolific songwriter from Connemara. Ross Whitaker’s short Bye Bye Now was a hit in 2011 and we have his earlier documentary film Saviours in the 2012 lineup. Mark Jenkin’s The Midnight Drives can be viewed as an elegy to Cornwall. In an interview he said “I couldn’t have made it in any other place.”
| Saturday, November 10 | Sunday, November 11 | 1:00 pm | Cornish shorts
and Irish Documentary (85 mins) |
1:00 pm | Irish shorts (85 minutes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:00 pm | Swansong (100 minutes) | 3:00 pm | Vinyl (85 minutes) |
| 5:00 pm | The Pier (86 minutes) | 5:00 pm | Midnight Drives (91 minutes) |
| 7:00 pm | Saviours (78 minutes) | 7:00 pm | Ballymun Lullaby (72 minutes) |
| 9:30 pm | Orphans (101 minutes) | ||
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View the festival poster.
Tamara – Will Coleman Dir. 2011 (12 mins) Some Cornish with English subtitles
Two uncoordinated freedom fighters are determined to preserve their right to speak their native language however inexpertly they go about it.
Pen Sans – Barbara Santi Dir. 2012 (15 mins)
A documentary presenting the reactions to a proposed “facelift” for the ancient harbor of Penzance. Some say it will improve the commercial prospects for the area. Others in the community are fiercely protective of the access to the sea for the intrepid swimmers and to the unobstructed view for holiday makers.
Horn of Plenty – Will Coleman Writer & Performer. 2012 (6 mins)
A proclamation from the Source – Will Coleman (Tom and the Giant) tells the Cornish creation tale of the Horn of Plenty with a cameo appearance from God himself.
Diarmuidín – Peter Carr Dir. 2011 (52 mins)
Using historical film footage and current interviews, Diarmuid Ó Súilleabháin is affectionately remembered by friends and family on the 20th anniversary of his death in a car accident in 1991. He was born in Cúil Aodh in 1947 in the Múscraí Gaeltacht of northwest Cork an area famous for its musical tradition. Although Diarmuidín worked as a teacher and broadcaster he is celebrated in this documentary for his distinctive sean-nós singing. Seán Ó Liatháin, Peadar Ó Riada and Paddy Glackin are among the musicians who pay tribute to his memory.
Swansong had its beginning in a one-man play about a vulnerable fatherless child whose un-wed mother brings him back to her small conservative Sligo village in the 70s. Austin “Occi” Byrne is brutally tormented by his peers but his inner turmoil is the catalyst for his outbursts that become more violent as he ages. A glimpse of hope is offered by a nurturing friend making her own journey out of a troubled past. Runner up for Best Irish Feature at 2009 Galway Film Fleadh.
Jack has adapted to his life in the US when he gets a call to return to Ireland immediately because his father is dying. When Jack arrives he finds his mercurial father as cantankerous and feisty as ever and not in any apparent danger. The two come to uneasy truce that gives Jack enough time to resolve the bitterness he harbors and to look forward to a promising future back in the States. Selection of Irish Film Fest Rome 2011, Galway, Cork, Thessalonika, Tbilsi, Czech Republic, Georgia and Jerusalem International Film Festivals
This documentary features 3 young members of the St. Saviours Olympic Boxing Academy in Dublin's north inner city. We follow their progress as they aim for the Irish Senior Championships that will allow them to advance to Olympic competition. The solidarity of the club and the supportive coaches give them the confidence to overcome environmental odds that would discourage any but the most determined souls. It’s so much more than boxing… Best Feature Documentary: Waterford Film Festival 2007 Best European Documentary: International Film Festival of South Africa 2008. Selection of SXSW Festival, Boston Independent Film Festival, Chicago Irish Film Festival and San Francisco Irish Film Festival.
Peter Mullan (My Name is Joe, Trainspotting, NEDS) as an award-winning director. Four adult children mourn their mother’s death in very different ways on the stormy night before her funeral. The oldest son invents religious rituals of his own while his grieving brothers end up in brawl and brothel and their disabled sister roams the rainy streets of Glasgow. A kaleidoscopic series of events, some tragically humorous, unfold before the bedraggled siblings return to the roofless church to say their goodbyes. 4 awards including Best Film at 1998 Venice Film Festival
An Cluiche - Cathal O Cuaig 2012 (8 mins) In Irish with English subtitles
“The rules of love and football are alike. You must keep your eye on the ball to win.” Selection of Galway Film Fleadh, Milwaukee Short Film Festival, Dingle Film Festival, and Dublin Underground Cinema Festival.
Signs - Vincent Gallagher Dir. 2010 (3 mins)
How closely do you look at the street signs you pass every day? If you don’t pay attention you could be missing a lot of activity. Best First Animation Short Galway Film Fleadh 2011
The Boy in the Bubble – Kelan O’Rourke 2011 (8 mins)
Rupert invokes a magic spell to shield himself from ever experiencing a broken heart again. This short’s wondrous art work won the James Horgan Award Best Animation at the 2011 Galway Film Fleadh.
The Herd – Ken Wardrop 2009 (5 mins)
A mother and son discuss an interloper in their cattle herd who has “an unusual identity crisis.”
Asal – Tom Sullivan 2011 (12 mins.) In Irish with English subtitles
Tom Sullivan’s (Intermission) short drama features a local Connemara boy as the young fisherman who risks his life to rescue a donkey from its abusive owners. Tiernan McBride Winner for Best Short Drama 2011 Galway Film Fleadh
Tomás na nAmhrán – Peter Carr Dir. 2003 (52 mins) In Irish with English subtitles
Tom a’ tSeoighe emigrated to England at the age of 17 and continued to travel there to work even after he moved his young family back to Lettermore. We revisit scenes memorialized in the songs he wrote in Irish that were recorded by well known Connemara singers like John Beag O Flatharta. With the enticing local scenery as a backdrop Tom even sings a few of his own compositions, a rare treat.
Sara Sugarman (Very Annie Mary) tells the story of an aging Welsh punk rock band that fails to interest the music industry in their new recording – until they substitute 5 young punkettes who lip-synch the song. When it’s a huge success the old rockers have to teach their teenagers what it means to be punks. Selection of Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Trying to recapture some of the joys of childhood in an attempt to relate to his estranged children, Andy takes them to familiar holiday spots in Cornwall during a winter break from school. The weather and frosty hosts put a damper on the plans but warmth seeps in from the divorced father’s persistent attempts to reconnect. Selection of the 2008 Cornwall Film Festival.
To outsiders Dublin’s Ballymun high-rise housing estate has a reputation as an impoverished unsafe no-go area but the residents prove there’s more than meets the eye. This inspired documentary opens the door to a storehouse of untapped musical talent awakened and incubated by one teacher determined to raise the hopes and self-esteem of his students who eventually take the stage with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Best Director Finder Series 2011 from Directors Guild of America. Selection of festivals in Boston, Chicago, New York, Dublin, Cork, Galway, Toronto, and Halifax.
