Irish Talent: New Shorts 10, Animation

Sun 10 July / Town Hall Theatre / 12:15 / 12+

This selection of shorts celebrates the creative cornerstone of Irish film: the animation industry. We showcase the latest work from established directors and the best in new Irish animation from the country’s recent graduates.
Please note, this programme is not recommended for children.

Fluff

Life in the cotton field is sleepy and uneventful. Eugene is as happy as a cotton bud can be, until one fateful day, a monster enters the field.

Director: Michelle Kiely
Producer: Sarah Dunne (Dundalk Institute of Technology)
Country: Ireland

Play Truant

Finn, a rebellious teen, skips school to play in the local arcade. One day, his principal catches him and he attempts to escape her. Along the way, the two get distracted by some classic arcade fun.

Director: Shane McDermott
Producer: Shane McDermott (Athlone Institute of Technology)
Country: Ireland

The Commuterments

It’s another rainy morning in Dublin, and Siobhán, a lioness that is unapologeticly herself, arrives late at the bus stop. With colloquial good humour, she interacts with her fellow passengers on her journey to work every morning while having good ‘craic’.

Director: André Parra
Producer: André Parra (CDCFE Colaiste Dhulaigh)
Country: Ireland

Bridey

Meet Bridey. Bridey is moving house with her mam. Her mam is very excited as they are moving back to her childhood home. Bridey? She’s not so sure.

Director: Mary Blake
Producer: Mary Blake (Atlantic Technical University Sligo)
Country: Ireland

Soft Tissue

A father takes desperate measures in the hopes of saving his son, but his actions soon become a distraction from what matters to him most.

Director: Cliona Noonan
Producer: Cliona Noonan
Country: Ireland

Small hours

Small Hours follows two people’s trains of thought, transitioning from one memory to another. As we dive deeper into the memories we transcend into the characters’ subconscious and lose track of reality.

Directors: Marta Sniezek & Christian Spurling
Producer: The National Film School, IADT Dublin
Country: Ireland

Colour!

Colour! tells the story of a vibrant little girl starting school in a new neighbourhood. As she struggles to come to terms with constantly clashing with the crowd, can she find the bravery to embrace her differences? Or will she fade out entirely?

Director: Britt Bailey
Producer: Aisling McElroy
Countries: Ireland &
United Kingdom

Cost of Curiosity

Helpless insects fall victim to a child in persuit of answers.

Director: Rachel Fitzgerald
Producer: Royal College of Art (RCA)
Countries: Ireland &
United Kingdom

Roots

Roots follows the director’s father as he works in the garden of their home in Dublin, where he reminisces on how he became interested in gardening, and the life that led him there.

Director: Ellen Hickey McCullough
Producer: Ellen Hickey McCullough (The National Film School, IADT Dublin)
Country: Ireland

The Crow

In this animation, artificial intelligence is used to transform a dancer into a crow. The result is a haunting and compelling piece that follows the crow through its brief dance in a landscape of post-apocalyptic barrenness, to its inevitable demise.

Director: Glenn Marshall
Producer: Glenn O’Neill
Country: United Kingdom

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Tides of Time
Taoidí Ama

A hidden door, a jungle, and a journey into the past – an adventure for all the family. Join Molly and Beth in a story that crosses time and generations, for risk-takers young and old.

Doras dofheicthe, dufair, agus turas siar ar an am atá caite. Bí i dteannta Molly agus Beth i scéal a ghluaiseann tríd na glúinte a tháinig romhainn – eachtra dóibh siúd a ghlacann rioscaí, idir óg agus aosta.

Director: Phil Shanahan
Producers: Cathriona Murphy & Gerard Keenan
Country: Ireland

The Rocker and the Puca

Teenage busker Jack is driving the locals mad because he only plays one tune… So, when a shape-shifting trickster known as ‘Puca’ appears and promises Jack a cap full of coins in exchange for playing a single gig, Jack can’t say no.

Director: Trevor Courtney
Producers: Trevor Courtney
& Paul Dowling
Country: Ireland

Soul Office

Soul Office is an animated comedy following two enterprising criminals who bite the dust when an ATM robbery goes awry. Undeterred by their untimely demise, they come back as ghosts to finish the job.

Director: Ryan Loughran
Producers: Fiona McLaughlin, Tom Getty & Grace Loughrey
Country: United Kingdom

The Creature of Hy-Brasil

Aquard, an amphibian humanoid, is taken from his underwater realm. Years later, he escapes from his captors to return to his home, the mythical Irish land of Hy-Brasil.

Director: Nathan Lowry
Producer: Nathan Lowry
Country: Ireland

Still Up There

A mortally-wounded astronaut awakens in the upper atmosphere after a catastrophic event. He struggles to remember how he got there and latches himself on to the only familiar thing – his own severed arm.

Director: Joe Loftus
Producer: Joe Loftus
Country: Ireland

Candlelight

Two candles meet and fall in love, but discover that when they touch, the heat of their combined flames causes them to melt rapidly. Now they both must choose to live apart, or make the ultimate sacrifice for love.

Director: Scott Newton
Producer: Richard Gordon
Country: Northern Ireland

Act IV

A domino effect of cosmic chaos