It was inevitable that when all the film industry folk got together for the launch of the Cork Film Festival on Monday evening, the speeches and much of the social chit-chat was nearly drowned by the sound of mobile phones. It seems that the closer you get to Spielberg status, the more umbilical the link with the mobile phone.
Award-winning documentary maker Alan Gilsenan, whose first feature film All Soul's Day will premiere at the festival, chatted with one of the film's actors, Eva Birthistle. Alan is working on a new series of Home Movie Nights for RTÉ but pointed out with a slightly mischievous air that he supposed he should also finish All Soul's Day before its opening night. Graham Jones was the director who came to everyone's attention when he requested that every Leaving Cert student should donate a pound to help him make his film, How To Cheat in the Leaving Certificate. Donations duly came in, along with other funding, and the film is now completed and has been greeted with critical acclaim. For Graham though, this is only the start.
"It's showing in San Francisco on October 6th and after that, in Stockholm. I really want loads of people to see the film and I'm looking forward to its Irish release next year. What I'm really hoping is that it inspires loads of media debate; the Chris Barry phone show, The Irish Times letters page, the lot," he grins.
Maybe he should have chatted with John O'Regan, the newly appointed director of Kenny Live. After working for years with Granada TV in Manchester, directing everything from Bosnia coverage to the Richard And Judy Show, John did not just slip away from the company without farewell. On his final news broadcast, he changed the name on his directors credit to John O'Revoir.
There was a gang of comedians present, many of whom appear in Mark Staunton's Separation Anxiety. The film, which also features the director's sister, model Marie Staunton in her first acting role, functions as a roll-call of Irish comedians, with Barry Murphy, Dermot Carmody, and Kevin Gildea all popping up. Jason Byrne, an Irish hot-shot on the English comedy trail, was also there. He had just learnt that he will support Ardal O'Hanlon in a major new comedy festival, Murphy's Unplugged, this November. Other funny men in the festival will be Fantasy Football star, David Baddiel; Perrier nominee Johnny Vegas, and the ever-controversial Denis Leary.