The first Offline Offaly Film Festival, which took place from November 18th to 21st in Birr proved to be an overwhelming success and there was also a local triumph in the Short Film Making Competition. Carla Mooney from Portarlington, Co. Offaly won the prize of €1,000 and a guaranteed slot at the Galway Film Fleadh 2011.
With only 48 hours to complete their films there was some intense shooting, acting and editing. The Judges Kate O’Toole, Chairperson of Galway Film Fleadh, Miriam Allen, Director of Galway Film Fleadh and James Fair, Film Lecturer from Staffordshire University agreed that The Sandeman Man, Directed & Produced by Carla Mooney deserved the prize for Best Short Film. The Sandeman Man, a short film that tells the story of the mocking and non-belief of a local farmer which results in a chilling truth.
For more details, go to the link below and become a fan of The Sandeman Man on Facebook:
http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/The-Sandeman-Man/160452343992366
Details on the Offline Offaly Film Festival:
http://www.offlinefilmfestival.com
Carla talks about the Offline Offaly Film Festival:
I was absolutely delighted to take part in the Offline Short Film Competition new opportunities have arisen after meeting with other professionals at the festival. So I have to say it has overall been a very positive experience.
I was thrilled, after receiving the news that the script, which my dad David Mooney wrote, was accepted into the festival. However, I had less than a week to prepare for the production. The competition began at 9am Friday 19th and we had until 9am Sunday 21st to have a completed film ready to be judged and screened for that afternoon. On Monday 15th I had no Director, Crew or Cast and I knew it would be a big challenge. As I had never Directed before I hadn’t contemplated on Directing as well as Producing but with the minimal amount of time I had I made the decision to Direct. As you can imagine for my Directorial debut at a 48-hour film competition, it was a big risk but I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve. When it was announced on Sunday 21st, at Birr Theatre, that The Sandeman Man won I was truly honored to share the prize with the cast & crew. Mr. Garret Daly, Director of Photography and Production Manager Ms. Ana Catarina Margarido Ferreira were an amazing team to work with they also wore multiple hats on-set. Mr. Ross O’Connor, Composer, and Ms. Nadia Macari, Make-up Artist, were also great assets to the Production. It wouldn’t have been possible without them and the rest of the crew, which I managed to get at last minutes notice. The cast, whom I auditioned locally in Birr were superb! The principal actor Seymour Kenny is a wonderfully interesting, talented, charming gentleman to work with. I would definitely love to work with him again. The rest of the cast were non-actors, who all did an out-standing job. As they were non-actors it allowed for a very natural performance between the characters, it especially helped that a relationship was already established between them, as some of the men were already good friends. As there was no time for rehearsals, I gave the characters who had some lines, direction into what I wanted to achieve within the scenes. I gave them freedom to play within each scene & it really allowed for a very fine authentic, natural performance on screen. At times I’d allow the camera to roll on before calling cut because what ignited from their interaction was hilarious. Of course it was near impossible to refrain from laughing during some scenes, when I’d call ‘cut’ the cast & crew would crack up laughing. We had some very funny moments!
The most difficult part was the editing process. After 4 days of development, pre-production and two intense days of shooting we started editing with the great Editor Mr. Paul Henderson, from 8pm Saturday night straight through to 8.30am Sunday morning. By that stage I think I was delirious I didn’t care if we won or not. Prior to winning there was already a huge sense of achievement within the cast & crew. To get the film in on time for the screening was the win for us, the prize was an added bonus. It’s a good thing I strive on challenges and obstacles. It’s what makes the long road to success all that more worth while. If something was easy or I didn’t find it challenging I think I’d run a mile.
