Nenagh Arts Centre host children's film festival

From June 12th to 14th, Nenagh Arts Centre brings 37 films to the homes of children all over Ireland as part of its online inaugural children’s film festival. 

The Nenagh Children’s Film Festival is the result of the coming together of a group of passionate individuals connected to Nenagh Arts Centre. The government’s guidelines on mass gatherings presented a challenge to Nenagh Arts Centre. Instead of postponing the festival, the team saw an opportunity to bring these films into homes around the country through a Virtual Festival platform. 

Of adapting the festival for online, festival director Eva Birdthistle said: “We were originally hosting the festival in the Arts Centre. However, as this was no longer a possibility so we had to find the best resource to not only give an exceptional experience to our audience but also protect the work of our film makers. It was a steep learning curve on matters such as geo-blocking to Ireland, which allows us to share outstanding films with our Irish audiences, some of which are premiers.” 

The three-day film festival will include student screenings, feature films, short films and animations as well as film and animation based workshops. These six workshops, all of which are suitable for children, are organised in association with Cruinniú na nÓg, a national day of creativity for children and young people. Cian Laffey presents a recorded workshop on how to go about creating a storyboard. Alan Nolan teaches you how to draw a villainous space dog. Giles Brody demonstrates the fundamentals of storytelling for animation.

Having accepted submissions from all over the world, the festival is set to showcase a diverse international line up of films. The screening of films from countries such as Ireland, Germany, Russia, Israel and so many more demonstrates the creativity of the team at Nenagh Arts Centre to bring people together through film during a time when we must stay apart. 

Films to be screened during the festival include ‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed,’ one of the oldest surviving animated features in the world. Explore the tale of the unlikely friendship of ‘The Snail & The Whale’ from the company who brought you ‘The Gruffalo’ comes the story of Zog, one accident-prone dragon. 

The Arts Centre’s mission to develop a creative culture that puts children at the centre, supports the development of our youth and fosters an appreciation of Ireland’s diverse culture. 
Nenagh Children’s Film Festival launched this year and hopes to showcase films to a young audience for many years to come.

HOW TO BOOK YOUR PLACE FOR A WORKSHOP 
All the films and workshops are free. To book go to www.nenagharts.com