Monday 4th & Tusday 5th, 10am, The Regal Cinema

Animation plays a major part in First Cut! Youth Film Festival because nothing conveys the magic of cinema like animation. That’s why we open the festival every year with a programme dedicated to animation for a local primary and secondary school audience.

Schools Workshop Screening

This year First Cut! Youth Film Festival provided animation workshops to over 300 young people in twelve schools in Youghal and Midleton: Bunscoil Mhuire, Gaelscoil Choráin, Kyle National School, Kilcredan National School, Clonpriest National School, South Abbey National School, Inch National School, Pobalscoil na Tríonóide, St. John The Baptist National School, Midleton College, St. Colmans Community College and Midleton Educate Together National School, plus Greywood Arts Youth Club.

In Youghal, working with tutors Lisa McDonald, Bekah Bustos and Shane Joyce the workshops covered all the basic principles of pixilation animation.

In Midleton, Flip Fest with animator Belinda Walsh enabled participants to create their own hand drawn flip books and optical toys.

The resulting short animations get their first screening today!

First Cut! would like to thank all participating schools for their support of these workshops which were made possible through the generous support of The Arts Council, Cork County Council, Youghal Credit Union and National Youth Film and Animation Network, NYFAN.

And Our Feature Presentation…

A Greyhound of a Girl 

Meet Mary O’Hara! She is a sharp and cheeky 12-year-old Dublin schoolgirl and the Young Chief with Big Dreams!

This beautiful animated film takes us on a heartwarming journey with Mary who has a passion for cooking that’s as big as her dreams! Join her and her super cool grandmother, Emer, as they cook up a recipe for adventure.

This movie was brought to life by the fnatstic team at JAM Media’s studios in Dublin and Belfast as well as other animation production companies across Europe.

This is not just a movie, it’s a magical experience for young people of all ages!

Our Wonderful Tutors

Belinda Walsh is a visual artist who graduated from Crawford College of Art and Design. Her special interest is in the use of stop motion animation techniques as a wonderful platform to encourage children and adults to communicate stories, ideas and concepts. She is one of the founders and coordinators of Midleton Arts Festival.

Lisa McDonald is an Irish animator and director. She graduated with a First Class Bachelor of Honours Award in Animation from IADT. She has spent the past six years studying both animation and fine art and finds her passion as a filmmaker in the combination of the two. She has now honed her focus to experimental, stop-motion animation and visual design.

Rebekah Bustos is an IADT Design for Stage and Screen graduate working professionally as a Production Designer/Art Director and Visual Artist in Ireland. She works closely with those she collaborates with to create striking sets and designs that accentuate the visuals of a project.

Shane Joyce is an emerging midwest based filmmaker and cinematographer. Having shot and directed multiple award winning short films he has recently finished shooting his first feature length documentary. With hopes to start a production company he is eager to develop his craft, collaborate with new directors and artists to create meaningful projects and relationships.