First Cut! Youth Film Festival marks its 10th edition with an exciting new partnership with Ballymaloe. The iconic East Cork restaurant, shop and cookery school has come on board as the lead sponsor of the four-day festival, which runs March 6-9 in the beautiful seaside town of Youghal. First Cut! is an international festival that screens work by young filmmakers ages 12-24, alongside panel discussions, workshops and presentations by leading industry professionals.

The First Cut! production team met with Fern, Rachel and Wendy Allen at Ballymaloe House to announce the sponsorship today. Joined also by Cork Film Festival’s CEO and Producer Fiona Clark, the event marked 10th birthday new partnerships. Earlier this year First Cut announced a new collaboration with Cork Film Festival, with a curated a screening event and special CFF award at the Regal Cinema (Saturday March 9th at 4pm).

“As we celebrate our 10th festival we are delighted to be partnering with Ballymaloe. They are a model of success, quality and creativity. First Cut is going from strength to strength, our focus is on providing a quality experience for talented young filmmakers and our audiences. We look forward greatly to next week’s exciting events in Youghal.” said festival director Mary Mc Grath. “This generous support from Ballymaloe allows this dynamic youth film festival to continue to successfully grow. We look forward to bringing more young filmmakers from all over Ireland and Europe to two great venues this year, the Mall Arts Centre and the Regal Cinema.”

Speaking about the sponsorship Fern Allen added, “Ballymaloe House, Shop and Cookery School are thrilled to have the opportunity to support the art of filmmaking at the 2019 First Cut! Youth Film Festival. Ballymaloe shares the festival’s ethos for providing a vibrant environment for creative young audiences to take inspiration from the experience of their contemporaries and has a long history of supporting the arts”