Fancy yourself as a film critic? Like to spend two days at this year's Cork Film Festival? You can be a film critic and attend the festival in a Transition Year competition being run by Education and Living and the Cork International Film Festival.
All you have to do is go to see a film currently showing in a cinema and then write a newspaper-style review of that film of not more than 250 words. Reviews will be read by a panel of judges including festival director Mick Hannigan; festival education advisor Edie Demas; Ella Shanahan, editor of Education & Living and Michael Dwyer, film critic of The Irish Times. The winning young critic will be invited to attend the Film Festival's schools' programme from Thursday, October 16th, to Saturday, October 18th. He or she will also be invited to special festival events including Saturday's panel discussion on the role of the critic. If living outside the Cork area, the winner will be stay with a local family with a Transition Year student, who also will be invited to attend these events. "We were looking for a way to make contact with teenagers before the festival," says Demas. "It's a national initiative as opposed to just a regional one.
"As festival education advisor, one of my aims is to heighten awareness of what young people consume visually," she says. "Teenagers today have a much wider range of media exposure than ever before. We want to stimulate young viewers, to get them to think critically about what they watch and receive.
"It's really important that we don't allow them become passive consumers because they're bombarded with visual images. The critic's award will challenge young people into becoming critical viewers and my hope is that they will know when to turn off the television."
The schools' programme has been expanded this year, she explains. "There is a wider range of activities. Last year's workshops were overbooked, so we've taken care not to let this happen this year."
The deadline for submission of reviews - which must be accompanied by the ticket stub from the cinema where you saw the film - is October 1st. The winner will be notified by October 7th. Entries should be sent to:
Cork Film Festival, Hatfield House, Tobin Street, Cork. Mark envelopes for the attention of Edie Demas, Young Critic's Contest.
