03/02/2005 - The third Jameson Dublin International Film Festival which opens on 11 February will screen 95 feature films from 34 different countries. The festival director's objective is to present a snapshot of world cinema that is different, adventurous, thought-provoking and entertaining...

“Our ambition is to bring the cream of world cinema to Dublin, to present a snapshot of all that is different, adventurous, thought-provoking and entertaining”, said festival director Michael Dwyer when presenting the program of the third Jameson Dublin International Film Festival running from 11-20 February.
The non-competitive event will screen 95 feature films from 34 different countries in Dublin’s four city center cinema complexes. The festival will open with the world premiere of The Mighty Celt, the directorial debut of Irish writer/director Pearse Elliott who wrote the script for last year’s top Irish title at the local box office: Man About Dog. His new film starring Robert Carlyle and Gillian Anderson has also been selected at the upcoming Berlinale’s Kinderfilmfest.

Among the highlights of the festival is a retrospective of Italian filmmaker Gianni Amelio who will celebrate his 60th birthday on the closing day of the festival. “Gianni Amelio is one of the great artists of contemporary cinema, yet most of his films have never been seen here in any form”, stressed Dwyer. “I am delighted that we can redress the imbalance and that Signor Amelio has accepted our invitation to attend the festival and to discuss his rich body of work with the audience”.
Special events including a ‘Meet the distributors’ session on February 18th which will give the audience the opportunity to meet with a handful of Irish distributors and exhibitors, and as many as seven ‘Seasons’ will focus on new Irish, Canadian, Danish, Asiatic cinema, as well as documentary filmmaking, independent cinema and the UK distribution/production company Tartan Films celebrating its 21st birthday. Hamish McAlpine who co-founded Tartan Films with film director and producer Don Boyd in 1984, will give a special talk on February 19.
The Irish cinema season will be particularly interesting as a showcase for Ireland’s latest film production and most promising talents. Irish producer Julie LeBrocquy who won a Golden Globe award last year for Osama, will unveil her new co-production with Iran and Singapore: Story Undone directed by Hassan Yektapanah. Writer/director Terry Loane will be in Dublin with the two new Irish discoveries Niall Wright and John Joe McNeill to present his feature film debut Mickybo & Me, and two other Irish upcoming directors Ciaran O’Connor and Fintan Connolly will give their personal vision of contemporary Dublin in their respective films Capital Letters and Trouble with Sex .