Oscar Winning Irish Short Films at the Film Society of Lincoln Center
Date: Wednesday and Thursday September 12th and 13th at 7pm
Venue:Elinor B. Munroe Theatre at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, 144 West 65th Street

Irish Film New York, in association with the Film Society of Lincoln Center, presents two nights of the best Irish short film has to offer. The program will be introduced by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Naomi Sheridan and will showcase four wonderful and very different Irish Oscar Winning and Nominated short films.In recent years Ireland has punched above its weight in the Academy Awards shorts categories (both live action & animated), winning two Oscars in ten years and receiving nominations for six others.

Irish Film New York – an organization that fosters partnerships between Ireland and the US by presenting events and screenings featuring the best of Irish cinema to US audiences – presents a series of four shorts on September 12th and 13th: 2012 winner ‘The Shore’, a wry, humbling tale of reconciliation and making peace in post-ceasefire Northern Ireland, directed by Terry George; and Martin McDonagh’s ‘Six Shooter’, which won the live action award in 2006, the director’s stylish precursor to ‘In Bruges’, bearing all the familiar McDonagh hallmarks of trickery, gore, sparkling dialogue and … a loaded gun. The two nominated films include Nicky Phelan’s delightfully macabre animation ‘Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty’ (2008) from Brown Bag Films (who were also nominated in 2002 with ‘Give Up Yer Aul Sins’) and Juanita Wilson’s heartbreaking tale of life after the Chernobyl disaster, ‘The Door’ (2009).

The Shore (29 mins)
2012 Oscar Winner for Best Short Film, Live Action Directed by Terry George

THE SHORE was filmed on location in Killough, a small village in County Down and it tells the heartfelt story of two boyhood best friends, Joe (Ciarán Hinds) and Paddy (Conleth Hill), who have long been divided by a misunderstanding. Twenty five years earlier their world and their friendship was shattered by the conflict escalating in Northern Ireland and the two boys’ lives took very different paths. Now Joe returns for the first time in 25 years to his homeland with his 24-year-old daughter. But in his absence Paddy has married Joe’s former fiancée Mary: what happened all those years ago? Can old wounds be healed? The answer is in equal parts hilarious and moving.

The Door (17 mins)
2009 Oscar Nominated for Best Short Film, Live Action – Directed by Juanita Wilson

THE DOOR is an emotional and beautifully told short film shot in the contaminated lands of Chernobyl. This film opens with an absurd act: stealing a door. It then moves from past to present, as it focuses on a family’s desperate attempt to come to terms with the devastating effects of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. It is only in the final shot that the true meaning and purpose of the door is revealed. Then, what had seemed an absurd act turns into a simple statement of human dignity. Based on the “Monologue About a Whole Life Written Down on Doors, the testimony of Nikolai Fomich Kalugin” by Svetlana Alexievich (from her book “The Chernobyl Prayer”).

Six Shooter (27 mins)
2006 Oscar Winner for Best Short Film, Live Action – Directed  by Martin McDonagh

SIX SHOOTER is a dark and bloody comedy from the same writer and director that brought us ‘In Bruges’. This film follows the unexpected and intense tale of Donnelly (Brendan Gleeson) whose wife of many years has died that morning. As he travels on a train to Dublin he sits across from a strange, talkative and possibly psychotic young man. Due to this chance meeting Donnelly’s life and the lives of his fellow passengers will never be the same again.

Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty (6 mins)
2010 Oscar Nominated for Best Short Animation -Directed by Nicky PhelanGRANNY O’GRIMM’S SLEEPING BEAUTY is a sharp-witted animated short film in which a seemingly sweet old Granny tells her version of the well-known fairytale Sleeping Beauty. While Granny is babysitting her young granddaughter she tells her a bedtime story as only an aged Irish grandmother can! But rather than being sent off to sleep with visions of living happily-ever-after her granddaughter is left terrified by the completely inappropriate and hilarious bedtime story.

About Irish Film New York
IFNY aims to help Irish films and filmmakers find a market in the United States by fostering partnerships between Irish and US-based film institutes. It connects producers and directors and holds many film screenings and Q&A sessions with filmmakers throughout the year. IFNY hosts its annual Irish Film Festival at NYU’s Cantor Film Center over the first weekend in October. www.irishfilmnyc.com