The new Irish film, I Went Down, swept the board at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain, taking three major prizes and a commendation at the festival's closing ceremony on Saturday night. The film's director, Mr Paddy Breathnach, pulled off a unique double by winning the festival's New Director's prize, which is worth $170,000 and goes to a film by a first- or second-time director. Mr Breathnach won the award in 1994 for his first film, Ailsa, and with I Went Down this year he becomes the first film-maker to win the lucrative prize twice.
"I felt we had a chance of winning something because the film went down so well with the audience," Mr Breathnach told The Irish Times last night. "They got all the jokes, and the reviews in the Spanish press were very enthusiastic. I was fairly gobsmacked when I heard I'd won the New Director's prize a second time. I certainly wasn't expecting that."
The San Sebastian jury, which was chaired by Zhang Yimou, the Chinese director who made Raise The Red Lantern, voted I Went Down their Special Jury Prize, effectively the runner-up award after Claude Chabrol's Rien Ne Va Plus, which took first place. The award was accepted by Mr Breathnach, Mr Rob Walpole, who produced the film, and Mr Conor McPherson, its screenwriter. In the process they beat new films by such established directors as John Sayles and Alan Rudolph.
I Went Down took a third prize when its 25-year-old writer, Mr McPherson, received the best screenplay award from the Spanish Screenwriters' Guild. And the film received a special commendation from the International Critics' Jury. "It's all a huge boost for everyone who worked on the film," Mr Walpole said.
Adding to the good news from San Sebastian, which is ranked among the world's top 10 film festivals, came an invitation on Friday to show I Went Down at the leading US festival, Sundance, in January.
A black-humoured road movie, I Went Down features Brendan Gleeson and Peter McDonald as two inept minor Dublin criminals. It has its Irish premiere at the Savoy in Dublin next Thursday night and goes on wide release across the country on Friday.