Look Out! The Kinsale Sharks are Coming- with Academy Award winners in tow!
Starting as a humble fish shop in Cork city, the Kinsale Sharks have transformed into to an internationally renowned festival showcasing the diversity of the digital age. This widely renowned festival in Kinsale has evolved into an event that acknowledges the convergence of disciplines in the creative world. The Kinsale Sharks is yet another gem in Cork’s creative crown of jewels!
Multi-award winning radio writer and producer Paul Burke hosted a workshop at Kinsale, and one of the UK’s most acclaimed art directors, Alexandra Taylor taught an art direction master class. The Kinsale Sharks offered these workshops and master classes, to entertain, inspire and educate its guests..
Festival highlights this year included the addition of an extra day for the inaugural Shark Shorts and Music Video categories, Baz Ashmawy as the MC for the gala dinner and Awards show, and a showing of the Academy Award winning short The Phone Call, followed by a Q&A session with writer/producer James Lucas. Film in Cork can offer you the inside scoop on Lucas’ production journey right here…
Lucas described his 4 year journey ‘from the surreal to the real’ which brought him from putting pen to paper to receiving an Academy Award. He revealed that director Mat Kirkby was resolute on casting Sally Hawkins for the role and when a window of opportunity opened between Blue Jasmine and Godzilla, they scheduled a four day shoot. The core of the film was then shot in only five or six takes, with Kirkby using various techniques to extract the necessary depth of emotion from the actors. Although the film was initially rejected from numerous festivals, it went on to win 17 international film festival awards, including, of course, the coveted golden statue!
The experience of the Oscars itself is as fanciful as one would expect, according to Lucas: Brushing shoulders with the stars, the imploding and exploding rush when the winner was announced, not to mention the numerous business meetings lined up during their stay in Hollywood. Lucas urged all writers and directors to always be prepared for opportunities to arise, and to ensure you have scripts lined up and projects planned for when these lucky breaks appear. According to Lucas- being perseverant and prepared is the key to success! Check out the trailer for the Phone Call here.
As well as these workshops, the festival’s organisers are keen to get those in the film industry mingling and networking. Director of the festival, Peter Brady, points out: the Kinsale Sharks is ”unlike some of the other big festivals, where it’s a sea of people, a mass of sideshows and the whole thing gets lost.” In the idyllic surroundings of Kinsale, global creatives have an opportunity to meet and greet, have a chat, swap a card and dive into the nitty-gritty of the creative world.
The Kinsale Sharks was originally established as a TV commercial awards festival in the early years of RTE. It now caters for the wealth of diversity in the advertising world, including digital, ambient, design and promotional media. Known internationally as ‘Kinsale’, the festival is now in its 53rd year, and is the second oldest creative international festival in the world. Without a doubt, ‘Kinsale’s’ key to success is its’ fantastic ethos of rewarding creativity, promoting free thinkers and supporting emerging voices throughout the years.
The Shark Awards took place earlier this month and you can find more information about them here.