Killarney

<h3>With 15 physical events and 30 online screenings this year&#8217;s Kerry International Film Festival (KIFF) was yet another resounding success.</h3>
The KIFF team were overwhelmed with the level of interest and support they received over the four days of the festival.
KIFF has gone from strength to strength over the past 12 months and they recently generated the largest number of film submissions in the festival’s history to date. Audiences were treated to a variety of screenings in Cinema Killarney as well as virtually online, and events included the opening night celebration in Randles Hotel Killarney, the IFTA Networking event in The Plaza Hotel, the awards ceremony in J.M. Reidy’s and the closing screening FOSCADH (Shelter) being showcased in Siamsa Tíre Tralee.
Speaking about the success of KIFF 2021, Director Eibh Collins said that they are &#8220;overjoyed to have been able to return to Killarney and Tralee with KIFF this year&#8221;.
&#8220;It has been terrific to see filmmakers, audiences from Kerry, Ireland and even further afield, sponsors, and local businesses coming together to support the festival and to celebrate the power of cinema to connect people, either virtually or in person.&#8221;
Another important highlight was the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) networking evening which took place at The Plaza Hotel on Friday.
Hosted by CEO of IFTA, Áine Moriarty, the event outlined the plans that are taking place to showcase Kerry as one of Ireland&#8217;s most spectacular filming locations for international and Irish productions and opportunities for new film business in the future.
&#8220;The film industry in Ireland is growing exponentially and Kerry has the ability to attract a substantial part of this business into the country and we can all work together to make this happen,” Áine said.
The event included speeches by Chief Executive of Kerry County Council Moira Murrell and Kerry Arts Officer Kate Kennelly. Siobhán O’Sullivan, Screen Kerry, also gave an exciting update on the film industry in Kerry and its future. Additionally, Director and Film Editor, Emer Reynolds, whose most recent project ‘Joyride’ was filmed in Kerry, also spoke about her experience of filming in the county and the wealth of opportunities for filming throughout the Kingdom general.
The KIFF 2021 Awards Ceremony took place on Sunday in J.M. Reidy’s Killarney.
There was the introduction of the Taking Flight Award, sponsored by Kerry Airport, to celebrate emerging talent in film.
<h3>KIFF 2021 AWARD WINNERS</h3>
BEST INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORT 
Habit 
Director: Kevin W. Koehler 
Producer: Jeff Kopchia, Matt Dooley, Nathan Scherrer, Jonathan Craven, Ben Piety, Kim Koehler
BEST IRISH NARRATIVE SHORT: 
Debutante 
Director and Producer: Kamila Dydyna 
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: Best Foot Forward 
Director: Seán Hart 
Producer: Bill McHugh and Seán Hart
BEST STUDENT SHORT supported by SCREEN IRELAND 
Another Day in 98 
Director: Timotej Baca 
Producer: Jan Jakub Osiński and Ashling Sugrue
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE 
The Passion 
Director: Mia Mullarkey 
Producer: Roisin Geraghty 
Composer: Anna Mullarkey
BEST OF KERRY 
Harvest 
Director: Tristan Heanue 
Producer: Ronan Cassidy
BEST ANIMATION 
Nightlink 
Director: Aidan O&#8217;Sullivan 
Producer: Greg Connolly
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE 
Who We Love 
Director: Graham Cantwell 
Producer: Edwina Forkin, Graham Cantwell and Alan Fitzpatrick
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE 
Only I Can Hear 
Director: Itaru Matsui 
Producer: Mayu Hirano, Kengo Toyoda, Paul Cadieu and Nancy Guerin
SCREENWRITING AWARD &#8211; BEST SCRIPT &#8212; Sam Killian for SO LONG, DOG.
Special mention for former KIFF Script winner Cathriona Slammon for STORK.
TRUA AWARD &#8211; Producer Zlata Filipovic
TAKING FLIGHT AWARD &#8211; Introducing our new Rising Talent category, the TAKING FLIGHT AWARD proudly supported by Kerry Airport &#8211; Writer/Director Katie McNeice
MAUREEN O’ HARA AWARD – Kathleen Kennedy (Announced October 11)

Massive support for this year's film festival

DOWNLOAD AND XPLORE