Student Filmmakers Showcase Work At Iveagh Movie Studios

Students studying media production at Upper Bann Institute (UBI) celebrated the screening of their coursework films at a gala event held at the Iveagh Movie Studios in Banbridge on February 27.
In all, 13 films were shown to a packed audience of students, parents, institute staff and invited guests. This is the third festival held at the Iveagh Movie Studios. The cinema and entertainment venue has been supporting the student screenings for a number of years. The event had all the style and glitz of the Oscars with students dressing in their finest evening wear for the occasion.
Student work screened included James Carragher’s, ‘Unstoppable', a ghostly tale told by the corpse himself. Other work of note was Elaine Calvert’s challenging ‘Beyond the Barriers’ which took as its theme the exploration of teenage sexuality. The film that really punched above its weight was Amy Stuart’s, ‘The Confessional’, a keenly observed and well shot piece exploring cross-dressing, set against a backdrop of religious conformity.
Also notable was Dylan Copeland and Gareth Gillespie’s collaborative piece, ‘The Amazing Bob’, a glowing example of sock puppet meets buddy road movie. Scorsese and Tarantino fans will be disappointed to have missed an opportunity to see John McCourt’s, ‘The Mission Final Cut’, a no-holds-barred homage to the gangster genre.
Geraldine McIvor, Head of Faculty at Upper Bann Institute, attended the event and congratulated the students on the screening of their work. Bernard McCloskey, NIFTC Head of Education, who also attended commented: "I am delighted to have this opportunity to see the film work of the next generation of film-makers in Northern Ireland. It is encouraging to see such a wide variety of high quality material from the students. It is a tribute to both the students and their tutors. I want to offer my congratulations to all concerned. Our mission at the NIFTC is to encourage and develop a dynamic screen industry and screen culture in Northern Ireland. UBI and the courses it provides for aspirant media industry entrants, plays a key role in developing the next generation of media producers."
(DS/SP)