The IFI Stranger Than Fiction Documentary Film Festival is moving to 15th-18th April 2010 from its previous calendar position in June. The new Festival Programmer Niall Macpherson said ‘Stranger Than Fiction has a great reputation and really loyal and engaged audience so I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to programme the festival and take it in new directions. This year’s festival will be focusing on four clear programme strands: International – the best new documentaries from around the world; Irish – new home-grown films from Irish documentary filmmakers; Archive – classic Irish documentary sourced from the IFI’s Irish Film Archive and; Retrospective – a focus on the work of an influential documentary filmmaker.’
Niall will be taking over from outgoing Festival Director James Kelly who after three very successful years working on the festival has decided to focus his full-time energies on his own production company Feenish Productions (www.feenish.com) and was thanked by Sarah Glennie, IFI Director, for his considerable achievements in the role.
The IFI are looking for submissions of short documentary films (maximum of 15 minutes) in the following categories for possible inclusion in the festival:
Short Irish Films
Short International Films
Submissions should be addressed to the Submissions Co-Ordinator, IFI Stranger Than Fiction, Irish Film Institute, 6 Eustace Street, Dublin 2 and must arrive before the final closing date of 26th March 2010 with the non-refundable entry fee of €25 in order to be considered for inclusion in the festival (Early Bird Special! Entry is free if submissions are received by the 10th March 2010).
The judges will present an award for Best Film in both categories.
In 2009 IFI Stranger Than Fiction continued to go from strength to strength. The programme featured eighteen of the best feature-length documentaries from around the world, two programmes of IFI Irish Film Archive material, and a great selection of Irish and International shorts. International guests included directors Mike Bonanno (The Yes Men Fix the World), Rick Minnich (Forgetting Dad) and Sean Farnell, Director of Canada’s Hot Docs Documentary Festival.
