Hello Angels

The Olympics may have been something of a disaster for US television network NBC, but that doesn't mean American moviegoers have been flocking to the multiplexes instead. A 25 per cent decrease in autumn box-office grosses, on the heels of a 5 per cent summer decline, means only a barnstorming Thanksgiving can prevent Hollywood recording its first annual decline in takings since 1991. It's a sign of the times that one of September's highest-grossing movies was the reissued, re-vamped 27year-old horror movie, The Exorcist. Having held back on attractive autumn releases in anticipation of an Olympic frenzy which never arrived, the studios are pinning their hopes on a November release-slate which includes such hoped-for blockbusters as Charlie's Angels and 102 Dalmatians.

The next Adult Education Programme in the Irish Film Centre will be a seven-week course on the development of American independent cinema, starting next week with John Cassavetes, and moving on to cover such independent film-makers as David Lynch, Spike Lee, Stephen Soderbergh and Quentin Tarantino. The course, which includes screenings of such groundbreaking films as Shadows, Eraserhead and Reservoir Dogs, takes place on Tuesday nights, starting on October 10th at 6.30 p.m., and costs £60 (£50 concession rate). For further information contact the Education Department at the IFC. Tel: 01 679 5744

If, as some predict, the next wave of truly independent films is breaking on the Internet instead of in the cinema, then Get a Life, Harry, an interactive movie currently running at itsyourmovie.com, may be a harbinger. Led by Simon Beaufoy, Oscar-nominated writer of The Full Monty, Get a Life, Harry allows viewers to choose what happens next to the central character, to contribute their ideas and to pick their favourite plotline. After that, they will be offered regular choices which can drive not only the main story but also many other aspects of the drama. Further interactivity will come from a bulletin board on which viewers can post their comments on any part of the drama, while regular contests will give them the chance to win small parts in the film, or possibly even to direct a segment. Given that problems with films are often ascribed to too many cooks spoiling the broth, one wonders what sort of movie will emerge in the end.

Fintan Connolly's low-budget Dublin thriller, Flick, which recently finished its Irish run, has been selected for inclusion as part of this year's AFI Fest in Los Angeles, the city's largest and most prestigious film festival. AFI Fest combines its film programming with special events, capturing the cultural diversity of Los Angeles while providing new film-makers with an avenue of exposure to the film industry. There were more than 1,400 entries for approximately 70 slots, and Flick has been selected as part of the European Film Showcase.

The Arts Council has announced its Film and Video Awards for 2000, with a total allocation of £120,000 awarded to 13 projects in the categories of short drama, experimental film/video and community video. In the experimental category, the top award of £15,250 went to Jaki Irvine for The Silver Bridge, a non-narrative piece loosely based on the gothic novella, Through a Glass Darkly, by Sheridan le Fanu. Other awards in this category went to Mic Moroney, Paul Rowley and Amanda Kay Dunsmore.

In the short drama category, the largest sum, of £15,000, went to Cathal Black for the black comedy The Evangeliser, with other awards going to Ian Fitzgibbon, Brian Kelly, Barry Dignam, Karl Golden, and Aideen Kane with Jenny Roche Conroy. There were two awards in the community category, to the Linenhall Arts Centre in association with the Westport Refugee Support Group, for a video diary of an asylum-seeker's experience of life in the west of Ireland, and to Muireann de Barra and the SAOL Project for a community-based video project.

The announcement of the awards coincides with the departure of Mary Hyland from the position of film officer with the council. With changes due in the structure of film and video support in the next 12 months, it would be a timely moment for the council to consider finally appointing a full-time film officer.