Films chosen for first film festival

18 FILMS SELECTED TO BE SCREENED AT INAUGURAL WEXFORD FILM FESTIVAL

‘MIDNIGHT Show’ starring local actor John Crosbie is one of 18 films that has been selected for the inaugural Wexford Film Festival.

The festival, which will make its debut from November 25 to 27 in Wexford Arts Centre, was organised by Screen-based filmmaker Dave McGlone. It aims to shine a light on independent films and promote Wexford as a location for filmmakers from across the globe.

Following an entry process, the films that will be shown during the festival have been selected and announced. These include ‘By Any Means’ – a film about a celebrity kidnapping which will make its world premiere at the Wexford Festival. ‘Shiloh’ by Mark D Williams, which tells the true story of a Native American female boxer Shiloh LeBeau as she competes for the 2016 Ringside World Championship, will also be screened over the weekend. John Togo and Ed Asner of CSI Miami fame will also make an appearance in film ‘Blood Brothers’.

To shine a light on films that stand out in particular categories, there will be awards given for best film, best short film, best actor, best actress and best director during the festival. There will also be a screenplay competition sponsored by screenwriting software company Final Draft, along with certificates of merit.

Several panels and workshops for filmmakers will also be held during the course of the festival and dates, times and topics will be announced at a later date.

‘We have film directors and actors flying in from places like New York and Vancouver for the festival and it promises to be quite the weekend,’ said Dave.

Through organising the festival, Dave’s ultimate goal is to establish the festival into an internationally-recognised event.

‘We want to make it a big festival on the circuit. We want people to say “let’s go to the Wexford Film Festival”,’ said Dave. ‘ The goal is to make it big enough so that films that win awards will become Oscar-qualifying films. But that is something that is way down the line at the moment.’

Tickets for the film screenings are currently on sale from the Wexford Arts Centre and online.