Home | KIFF - Kerry International Film Festival

KIFF REVEALS CHOICE

Documentaries

Irish shorts

International shorts

student shorts

Kerry shorts

animations

film scores

Welcome to Kiff

We hope you and yours are safe. It is a strange time, calling for patience, solidarity and societal self-reflection. There is a good chance we can emerge from this, wiser and better positioned to create a more sustainable and fairer future. Let’s hope so.

In some ways a film festival may seem irrelevant, but in this new context, a film festival becomes even more important, a pointed way for people to get together, to watch films and celebrate human endeavour. Stories help us understand the world we live in. They help us evolve.

With this is our hearts, submissions have been open since May and we are excitedly watching a steady stream of yet-to-be-discovered gems come in.

We can’t wait to be blown away by what we unearth. In terms of how exactly these gems will be showcased, we feel it is prudent to watch how the film festival landscape develops over the coming weeks, especially in terms of government directives.

The future is unknown but based on discussions with our key funders and partners, we are planning away.

Hopefully, KIFF will be able to announce the exact shape of our 2020 event very soon.

We’re going to celebrate our 21st edition having faced and survived our toughest year yet. But survived we have because films matter.

See you in October. We will have the hand sanitizer ready!

jessie buckley honoured with the maureen o' hara award 2020

KIFF is delighted to announce that actor Jessie Buckley is the recipient of this year’s Maureen O’ Hara award. The Killarney native will be accepting the accolade in October in celebration of her exceptional work in both film and the arts. The much-coveted award is offered exclusively to women who have excelled in film and KIFF are privileged to be presenting the award to Jessie Buckley on what would have been Maureen O’ Hara’s centenary year.

KIFF will be presenting the Maureen O’ Hara award to Jessie Buckley via an online interview which will be available on the website and additional social media platforms throughout the festival. There are also plans to host a physical presentation in the future.

Upon receiving the KIFF 2020 Maureen O’ Hara award, Jessie Buckley said: ‘It means so much, when your own people and own country get behind you like this and say you’re doing alright kid, that means a lot.’

Now celebrating its 21st edition, KIFF is a much-beloved festival that celebrates shorts, features, live film scores and other industry events. It is listed as one of the Top 100 festivals in the world on Film Freeway where it currently holds a five-star rating. Long may it shine!

All About Eibh

KIFF are delighted to be working with Eibh for the second year. Formally the manager of IndieCork and Irish Film London, Eibh, as well as being Head of Programming for Kerry International Film Festival, is the short film programmer for the Oscar-qualifying Galway Film Fleadh and the Deputy Director for Irish Screen America. And as if that’s not enough, Eibh is also a preselector for a collection of International festivals including Encounters Short Film Festival. You’d be hard-pushed to find a human alive that’s seen more short films than our Eibh. She has also curated and coordinated dozens of Irish Focuses for a selection of major international festivals and film markets. A passion of hers is supporting Irish film & filmmakers by connecting compatible audiences festivals and organisations.

Winners 2019

BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT – The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Bailey
BEST ANIMATION – Mind My Mind by Floor Adams
BEST IRISH NARRATIVE – A White Horse by Shaun O’ Connor
BEST KERRY SHORT – The Space Between Us by Elaine Kennedy
BEST STUDENT SHORT– Starry Night by Emma Smith (Special mention for Ciúnas, for its subtle and nuanced directing.)
BEST FEATURE – Kilimanjaro Mama by Malcolm Willis
BEST DOCUMENTARY – Heyday – The Mic Christopher Story by Alan Leonard
SCREENWRITING AWARD: Two Bed Terrace by Cathriona Slammon.

Best International Short

Title: The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
Writer/Director: Elisabeth Tova Bailey
Synopsis: When a woman is bedridden by a mysterious pathogen, a forest snail unexpectedly takes up residence on her nightstand. Together, the woman and snail share an intimate journey of survival and resilience. Their captivating and graceful explorations expand the boundaries of the bedroom. An intimate and surprising live-action story. Adapted from the award-winning nonfiction memoir of the same title.

Best Animation

Title: Mind my Mind
Writer/ Director: Floor Adams
Synopsis: Chris, an autistic young man who camouflages his obsession with dive bombers, gets by with the help of Hans, the little guy who lives in his head and translates Chris’s social scripts for him. When zoologist Gwen invites Chris to meet her favourite chameleon, Chris and Hans move expeditiously ahead with a flirt script… but then the chameleon dies and Gwen needs Chris to go off-script.
Producers: Willem Thijssen, Tom Van Gestel, Floor Adams

Best Irish Short

Title: A White Horse
Director: Shaun O’ Connor
Writer: Paul Cahill
Synopsis: 1970s Ireland. A young female patient has escaped a psychiatric hospital and rings home from a telephone box… but her parents are waiting for the call.
Producer: Sinead Barry

Best Kerry Short

Title: The Space Between Us
Director: Elaine Kennedy
Writer: Emmet Kelly
Synopsis: A family drama between three estranged siblings who are forced to reconnect when a tragedy occurs in their family. The story explores the wide range of emotions they have toward each other, present and past, and what their relationships will look like moving forward.
Producers: Emmet Kelly, Elynia Betts

Best Student Short

Title: Starry Night
Director: Emma Smith
Writer: Rachel Moloney
Synopsis: Teenager CARA has just received a dream opportunity to study fashion in London – but there’s a hitch: her mother passed away a year ago, her dad is a drunk, and Cara is now the sole carer for her three younger sisters. JEANIE, Cara’s best friend, pushes her to put herself first and escape a lifetime in the flats. Cara desperately searches for somebody, anybody, to take in the kids – from her pompous aunt SHERYL, to junkie DAVIE, anyone will do. Or will they?

Best Feature

Title: Kilimanjaro Mama
Director: Malcolm Willis
Synopsis: The film follows Louise Quill from Tralee, as she shares her story of why she decided to set up Tir na nÓg orphanage in Africa, what drives her and the impact it has had on her own health and wellbeing. Documenting the journey from Ireland to Tanzania, this is the story of one woman’s dogged determination to give the children of Kilimanjaro the best possible chance to overcome the tough life they have been dealt.
Producer: Brian Hurley

Best Documentary

Title: Heyday – the Mic Christopher Story
Director: Alan Leonard
Synopsis: Celebrating the legacy of a prodigiously talented Irish singer-songwriter, Heyday charts Mic Christopher’s musical journey from Grafton Street busker to The Mary Janes and rock stardom to the near-fatal accident that radically changed his world view and ignited a drive to create a brighter, more uplifting body of work before his untimely death in 2001.
Producer: Niall Carver

Best International Short

Title:The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
Writer/Director: Elisabeth Tova Bailey
Synopsis: When a woman is bedridden by a mysterious pathogen, a forest snail unexpectedly takes up residence on her nightstand. Together, the woman and snail share an intimate journey of survival and resilience. Their captivating and graceful explorations expand the boundaries of the bedroom. An intimate and surprising live-action story. Adapted from the award-winning nonfiction memoir of the same title.