THE Fresh Film Festival’s annual horror filmmaking workshop ‘Fresh Blood’ will take place at Tait House Community Enterprise this Saturday and Sunday.
A timely Halloween event, ‘Fresh Blood’ is an intense weekend of horror filmmaking, where participants explore the horror genre with screenings of short films, discussion, and exercises to develop a horror story for the screen.
The two-day event will help participants creating an original short film with the help of a team of professionals and it culminates in the shooting of an original short film in the grounds of Tait House.
Open to anyone between the ages of 13-19 with an interest in horror filmmaking, this year’s theme is ‘Behind the Mask’ – recognising that the faces of others can be masks hiding unknown terrors.
Fresh Film has helped many young Irish filmmakers start their careers, including Conor McMahon who made his debut in the world of film back in 1997 when he placed second in Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year Awards with his trilogy of horror films, including one called ‘Maniac’.
“I think Fresh Film for me was really important early on in my career because as a young filmmaker at the time I was just making short films, and I didn’t really know other people who were making shorts as well, so it was a great feeling to have all of us come together and see what other people were doing,” said Conor.
“I also won an award at my first Fresh International Film Festival and it gave me something I could be proud of and helped knock away the doubts I felt about what I was doing. I think that’s really important when you’re younger and you’re thinking of going down this path.”
Since the debut of his first film, Conor has had a successful career as both a director and editor of movies and tv shows and has won various awards for his work, including best short at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain and first prize in the Kodak Commercial Awards in London.
The workshop costs €20 per person; for more information, or to book a place, email [email protected]
The call for entries for Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year 2020 is also now open. Closing date is Friday, January 24. Details at www.freshfilmfestival.com
by Kathy Masterson
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