Mayo International Film Festival debuts at Linenhall

THE Mayo International Film Festival (MIFF) debuts at the Linenhall Arts Centre this February 25 to 27, spotlighting and celebrating film from Co. Mayo and the world over.

MIFF is dedicated to supporting independent filmmakers and smaller production companies by offering a dynamic platform to showcase new work.

One of the festival’s primary aims is to promote the west of Ireland as a sublime filming location, which is evident from several films shot on location in Co. Mayo that will be screened as part of the ‘Best of Mayo’ category.

In this, and representing the huge range of talent connected with Co. Mayo, will be the world premiere of animation 'The Loneliest Whale in the World', dark supernatural comedy 'Afterlife', written by Mayo-based Mike Heneghan, post-apocalyptic live action short 'RIP to the Rescue!', and the animation 'Girl and Robot', written by Castlebar’s very own Joe Loftus, to name but a few.

Additional festival highlights from Ireland include the documentary 'Making Tom', centered on singing legend Big Tom McBride, 'Kathleen Was Here', directed by Eva Birthistle, 'Sit Down and Shut Up', when Limerick City FC played Real Madrid, and 'Broken: A Lockdown Story' and 'The Invisible Boy', which have both been nominated for Best Irish Short Film.

Cinematic gems from an international standpoint include the Israeli documentary 'Dangerous Dog', the story of Alan McFadyen's famous Kingfisher photograph in 'Moment of Impact', Austria’s 'At The Strawberry Stand', and the world premiere of animation 'Flotsam and Jetsam', which among many others will dazzle festival audiences.

Encompassing eight individual programmes, across a vast spectrum of genres, and brimming with Irish and international titles, 73 short films, documentaries and animations will be screened in total.

Ticketing options include individual programme passes priced at €7 or an ‘all access’ festival pass for €40.

MIFF culminates with an awards ceremony to mark the end of the festival’s inaugural year and acknowledge all the wonderful films, participants and award winners. The specially selected judging panel features a prestigious line-up of eight industry supremos including two-time Animation Academy Award nominee Darragh O’Connell from Brown Bag Films, filmmaker and artist of documentary and experimental work Vivienne Dick, and Fantastic Film producers, Brendan McCarthy and John McDonnell. This event is free but pre-booking is essential.

For more information, see www.thelinenhall.com.