From advice from Oscar winning film directors to getting involved in stop-motion animation or seeing the latest film premieres, Cinemagic international film and television festival is back this autumn with a bumper programme.
The 34th Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival for Young People returns from September 30 to October 31, with over 150 films and a host of masterclasses with leading names from the world of film and television.
Movie highlights include the Northern Ireland Premieres of the heart-warming Danish animation Rosa and The Stone Troll, The Inventor, which brings the world of Leonardo Da Vinci to life in a new stylised animated feature voiced by Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley and Marion Cotillard, and the adventure-filled Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie.
Young Irish actress, Alisha Weir, star of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical visits for an In Conversation Q&A, before a screening of the hit film, and film critic Mark Kermode returns for his annual film night to discuss the movies of the year along with his festival movie pick for 2023 The Amazing Mr Blunden.
Festival goers will also have the chance to experience a thought-provoking world cinema programme that spotlights youth issues and social issues.
A host of familiar faces from the world of television and film as well as leading behind-the-scenes professionals will be visiting the festival to offer young people insight and inspiration.
Visiting film professionals who will inspire young filmmakers in the Career Crafts workshops include: directors Daniel Gordon (Hillsborough, George Best: All by Himself) and Cathy Brady (Wildfire); Producer David Parfitt (Shakespeare in Love); screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh, who is currently working on Back to Black, the biography on the life and music of Amy Winehouse; and Northern Ireland’s Oscar, BAFTA and IFTA winning director, Ross White, (An Irish Goodbye).
Read more:
Northern Ireland-set An Irish Goodbye tipped for Oscar and Bafta success
Weekend Q&A: Screenwriter and director Cathy Brady
Cinemagic patron of 20 years, Dermot O’Leary, returns to the festival to host a presenting masterclass. Others involved in the Talent Lab Masterclasses are Radio 5 LivepPresenter, Nihal Arthanayake, Cinematography and Directing with Mark Nutkins and Dee Koppang O’Leary, and Scriptwriting for Television with Ivor Baddiel, whose credits include Mock the Week, The X Factor and The Voice.
Young people will also be given the opportunity to grill political news journalist Jon Sopel, who will host an in-conversation event on his career that has brought him from the steps of Downing Street to inside the White House press briefing room.
The Talking Media programme also features talks from the Oscar-winning Visual Effects company Framestore, and Mackinnon and Saunders, the internationally acclaimed company famous for bringing some of the world’s best-known animated characters to life – including the Academy Award-nominated Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and Netflix’s hit The House.
Fans of The Moomins, will be thrilled as Cinemagic welcomes director Darren Robbie for three award-winning episodes from the acclaimed Moominvalley series.
Another highlight of the jam-packed programme is a screening and Q&A with the creators of The Sound Collector (ITV), a beautiful stop motion animation series narrated by Keira Knightley, which explores the beauty of nature.
:: For the full festival programme visit Cinemagic.org.uk.
