Search on for Irish Adventurer of the Year
NOW going in to the seventh year of success, the Irish Adventure Film Festival is where madness meets reality, only to be projected on to the big screen.
If Westport has established itself as the Riviera of Ireland, then this festival could be described as Ireland’s adventure industry’s answer to the Cannes Film Festival. Attracting over 150 films from 34 countries, crammed in to two days of viewing pleasure, the festival plays host and homage to the best of the best when it comes to adventure films, stories and adventurers.
All films will be projected on to the big screen at the W-Cinema in Westport on March 30 and 31 next. The sole focus of this year's festival will be to showcase as many excellent films as possible with the hope to inspire more people get outside and live their own adventures, no matter how big or small.
The 2019 festival has been extended to include Friday night (March 29), for a new and exciting awards event - the Irish Adventurer of the Year Awards. The Irish Adventurer of the Year Awards will be a show of special recognition to adventurers, weekend warriors and anyone with a passion for the outdoors who has completed a notable adventure in the last two years. It’s open to individuals and teams alike.
Speaking about the Irish Adventurer of the Year Awards, Jarlath McHale, one of the festival organisers, said: “One of the festival's guiding principles is to inspire people to undertake their own adventures. No matter how small. This awards event is a way for us to recognise and celebrate those ordinary adventurers among us who have done inspiring things. It also gives us an opportunity to share those stories with the greater outdoor community in Ireland. The awards are a new part to the festival.”
Award nominations
There are six categories for anyone to enter and the winners will be chosen by a panel of judges currently working or involved in the outdoor industry. The awards are open to anyone to enter and anyone can nominate anyone or even nominate themselves.
The closing date for nominations is February 13. The categories are: Best Adventure by Land, Best Adventure by Water, Best Microadventure, Most Inspiring Adventure, Best Regional Adventure (Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connaught), and Best Overall Adventure.
The awards ceremony will be held on Friday, March 29, with the venue to be confirmed. The after party will follow in Bridge St bar on Main Street, Castlebar.
For more information about the awards and about the criteria of each category visit, www.irishadventurefilmfestival.com and click in to the link to the ‘Irish Adventure Awards’.
Film entries
Festival director Graham Clarke said they are overwhelmed by the quality and volume of film entries once again this year.
The festival programme is always highly competitive, with only 13% to 15% of films submitted making the final selection for the weekend.
Said Graham: “Helping us make that decision is a nine person selection committee based in Ireland, Wales, France and Alaska. Currently there’s over 65 hours of film submissions to watch. Overall it’s a an epic way to spend dark winter evenings!”
He said that due to high volume and quality of entries there is always a lot of pressure to screen as many as possible. For this reason the festival will concentrate solely on showing films and for the first time since its inauguration it will not host any keynote speakers.
Instead the focus will be on getting either the film maker or the stars of the show to introduce their work. Many of the films are chosen on a first screening basis so this is very exciting as you will not find them anywhere prior to the festival.
For more details, visit www.irishadventurefilmfestival.com. Tickets are available online and at the box office.