By Paul mcelwee
The Mid Ulster Film Festival took place over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend and was, as usual a huge success. The festival, in its fifth year, was held in the picturesque An Creagan Visitors Centre between Omagh and Cookstown. The beautiful surroundings and the wonderful sunny weather made sure that people were able to enjoy the event rain free.
As usual, the festival was ripe with the rich pickings of features, shorts and documentaries that have made it successful in the past.
The opening night brought a wealth of talent to the centre – all before the opening film was shown. With a ceremony opened by local funny man Kevin McAleer and chairman of Omagh District Council, Cllr Bert Wilson, there was no shortage of pre-film entertainment. A sumptuous spread was laid on for the many guests who packed into the centre. Music was provided by Keith McDermott on jazz guitar and Italian pianist Alberto Gariglio. Outside, a Philippine dance troupe of children wowed the crowd with their moves. Also a burlesque troupe from Belfast helped provide the entertainment and laughs from the watching crowd, including myself.
The opening night film, La Vie En Rose, tells the tale of the life of the 'Little Sparrow' Edith Piaf, and it played to a packed cinemobile. Featuring a wonderful Oscar-wining performance by French actress Marion Cotillard, it told the ups and downs of the French songstress, and was greeted with rapturous applause at the end. The night ended with a late supper of crepes that everyone stuck around to enjoy.
On the Saturday, shorts from all over the world took centre stage in the Red Room, situated in the centre itself, while the cinemobile showed documentaries and features. One of the stand-out documentaries was The Journey, about a young man who was in care, going back to study his time in children's homes and how he tries to come to terms with his life through poetry. It was also an indictment on how children's services are run in Northern Ireland. Also 'Route Irish', about the anti-war movement in Ireland was well received. The documentary director, Brian Dick was in attendance.
Colin Peck, a cameraman from Northern Ireland, was also in attendance to speak about his time in the various war zones he has been in through the years. The war theme continued in the night's feature, Days of Glory, a brutal, brilliant film about African soldiers fighting for the French in World War 2.
For those who wished to stay in the sunshine there was a martial arts display by local martial artist, Master Dannio Alchino, demonstrating breathing techniques, fitness training and self defence. Dannio has been a martial artist since childhood and has branches in 13 countries worldwide, and is a master in drunk boxing, Shaolin weapons and monkey boxing. To continue this theme, martial arts legend Don 'The Dragon' Wilson was in attendance, and one of his many films was shown for his fans.
On Sunday, features from round the world were shown. Spain, Argentina, Ireland and the UK were among the countries that brought their wares to the festival, and not one disappointed in my mind. Family breakdowns and shady deals were only two of the issues dealt with in the features.
The final film of the festival, 'She Should Have Gone To The Moon', was an engrossing tale about the Mercury 13, a group of women in 1960's America who trained as astronauts, in particular Geraldine 'Jeri' Truehill Sloane. An almost full attendance sat in silence as the film told the story of these brave women. And the audience got their chance to show their appreciation for the main protagonist of the story, when organiser Mary Mullin rang her and a round of applause resounded down the phone.
Among the guests present were the producer and director of the closing night film, Ulrike Kubatta and producer Mark Lonsdale were in attendance all weekend. Also, the subject of the documentary 'Woman' was at the centre for the opening ceremony, Bouthaina Shaaban, an activist for women in Syria, came to show her appreciation.
"I would like first of all to thank the organisers of this wonderful festival for inviting us here. I have only been here a few hours but I feel that I have been here for a thousand years. The people are so welcoming and so friendly," she said.
The final act of the weekend was to announce the winner of the 'Pitching Power' competition. This gave the chance for budding film-makers to pitch their idea to professionals in order to win Final Draft software, £500 prize money and the chance to meet with one of the development executives from Northern Ireland Screen, to try and make their dream a reality. The lucky winner was Fiona Collins who got the wonderful prize.
The festival was a massive success, thoroughly enjoyable, with packed out screenings. There's no doubt that this festival will go from strength to strength for many years to come, with bigger and bigger films coming to entertain the people of Tyrone and beyond.
