The first Dingle film festival got under way last night with the blessing of some big film names.
Thirty-seven years after playing Rosy Ryan, Sarah Miles was back on Inch beach on the Dingle peninsula re-enacting a scene from Sir David Lean's epic Ryan's Daughter which, when released in 1970, put the Gaeltacht town on the tourism trail and the film map.
Maurice Galway, founder and director of the festival, said he believed Dingle had "the potential to become another Cannes.
"It has the beauty, it has the film history - not just Ryan's Daughter but Far and Away as well as other lesser-known but highly regarded short films have been made here," said Mr Galway.
Film director Alan Parker, who is performing the official opening, is adjudicating, along with the producer Colin Vaines and the film director Ruairí Robinson.
The festival has received some funding from the Arts Council, but local businesses have also responded generously, Mr Galway said.
Some 22 guests of the film festival are being accommodated by Benner's Hotel and the Skellig Hotel free of charge.
"Local businesses have been tremendous. They love the idea and think it is a winner," Mr Galway said.
Ryan's Daughter, which also starred Robert Mitchum, Trevor Howard and John Mills, is a film which has been credited with transforming and stimulating the local economy.
Extras, mostly native Irish speakers from Dún Chaoin, were employed on the set during the shooting, and a whole village was built.
The weekend will include a discussion chaired by Sarah Miles on what the film meant to local people.
Almost €4,000 in prize-money is being awarded, and categories include best short, best first and best new media film. There will be screenings of well-known films, along with workshops, in the course of the festival.
Full details are on www.kerryiff.com