A taste of Dublin 1997

THE latest film from Abel Ferrara, a fictionalised film on the life of Pier Paolo Pasolini and documentaries on Krzysztof Kieslowski and on insect life are among the first titles confirmed for the 1997 ACCBank Dublin Film Festival, which is scheduled to run from March 4th to 13th.

The Ferrara film, arguably his best to date, is The Funeral, a riveting moral drama set among New York gangsters in the 1930s and starring Christopher Walken, Vincent Gallo, Isabella Rossellini, Annabella Sciorra, Benicio Del Toro and in the performance that won him best supporting actor at Venice this year, Christopher Penn. Walken and Del Toro also turn up in the cast of Basquiat, Julian Schnabel's film of the provocative artist, Jean Michael Basquiat, who died in 1988, at the age of 27. Jeffrey Wright plays Basquiat and the cast also includes Dennis Hooper, Gary Oldman, Willem Dafoe and as Andy Warhol, David Bowie.

The festival will screen Larry and Andy Wachowski's Bound, a vigorous modern day film noir with a strong lesbian twist involving Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon, and Anna Benson Gyles's Swann, based on the novel by Carol Shields and starring Miranda Richardson and Brenda Fricker. The Pasolini film is Aurelio Grimaldi's fragmented Nerolio, and the Kieslowski documentary, I'm So So, is directed by his former assistant, Krzysztof Wierzbicki.

Confirmed titles also include the new Claire Denis movie, Nenette Et Boni, which took prizes at this year's Locarno Film Festival for best film, actor (Gregoire Colin) and actress (Alice Houri), and the documentary,

Microcosmos, very well received at Cannes, which takes a close up view of a variety of insect and fauna life.

Next year's Dublin festival, the 12th, will be, programmed once again by Martin Mahon: The festival has a new administrator in Aine O'Halloran and a new chairman in Lewis Clohessy.

Christmas gift vouchers which may be exchanged for festival tickets are now on sale in various denominations at HMV stores or by credit card sale from the festival office on (01) 679 2937.

THE end of year US awards season kicked off on Tuesday with the National Board of Review putting forward some surprising choices. Their award of best film went to Scott Hicks's fine Australian movie, Shine, which opens here on January 3rd.

Best actor went to Tom Cruise for his performance as a sports agent in Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire, which also took the award of best breakthrough performer for Renee Zellwager. In Variety this week the leading US critic, Todd McCarthy, described Jerry Maguire as "an exceptionally tasty contempo comedic romance" and "smartly written and boasting a sensational cast". As for Cruise, McCarthy said: "One can truly credit him with a fine performance".

Best actress went to Frances McDormand for Fargo (see Video page), and Joel Coen was named best director for the same film. The best supporting actor award went to young newcomer Edward Norton for Primal Fear and the Woody Allen musical, Everyone Says I Love You. Best supporting actress was shared between Juliette Binoche and Kristin Scott Thomas for their performances in Anthony Minghella's film of The English Patient.

The board's top 10 films of 1996 were, in order of preference, Shine, The English Patient, Secrets & Lies Everyone's I Love You, Evita, Trainspotting, Sling Blade, The People Vs Larry Flynt, Breaking The Waves and Jerry Maguire. In the foreign language film category, the board picked five films - Ridicule, Les Voleurs, Bitter Sugar, La Ceremonie and Kolya.

KENNETH BRANAGH's eagerly anticipated epic film of Hamlet will have a charity premiere at the Belfast Waterfront Hall on Tuesday, January 21st. With a running time variously calculated at between 238 and 246 minutes, Hamlet is the longest major American or British film since the 243 minute Cleopatra in 1963, and it is the first film to be shot on 70mm since Ron Howard made Far And Away in Ireland and the US four years ago. A 150 minute version of Branagh's Hamlet will be released soon after the full length version.

In addition to directing Hamlet and adapting it for the screen, Branagh takes the title role and he is joined in a stellar cast by, among others, Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, Derek Jacobi, Richard Briers, Billy Crystal, Gerard Depardieu, Charlton Heston, Jack Lemmon and Robin Williams.

Proceeds from the Belfast premiere will benefit the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action and the Ulster Youth Theatre. Tickets are £25, £15 and £10 and are available now from the Waterfront Hall, and Grand Opera House box offices.

IN its first non English language Neil Jordan's Michael Collins has taken $1.5 million in its opening week at 128 cinemas in Italy. Its strong showing puts it at the top of the Italian box office where it made as much money as the second and third placed films put together - The Nutty Professor and Crash.

Jordan's film has passed the £2.8 million mark at the Irish box office, eclipsing runner up box office champion Independence Day and leaving only Jurassic Park to overtake. The next major openings for Michael Collins will be in Australia on St Stephen's Day.

UNUSUALLY, Australia is one of the 39 countries which have submitted national entries for the 1997 Oscar for best foreign language film. Australia's entry is Floating Life, directed by Clara Law. Although history has shown that anything can happen in this category, the other front runners for the final shortlist of five nominees includes such formidable contenders as Sergei Bodrov's Prisoner Of The Mountains (Russia), Patrice Leconte's Ridicule (France), Jan Sverak's Kolya (Czech Republic), Aki Kaurismliki's Drifting Clouds (Finland), Bille August's Jerusalem (Sweden) and Jaco Van Dormael's The Eighth Day (Belgium).

And good news about the Oscars ceremony on March 24th next - Billy Crystal returns as the show's compere, having done such a witty and polished job presenting the ceremony in from 1991 to 1993.

APPLICATIONS are now invited for the 1997 Jesuit Film and Video Awards for young people working on themes of social injustice. The competition, which offers over £4,250 in prize money, is open to all full time third level students, as well as anyone aged between 18 and 25. For rules and entry forms, contact the Jesuit Communication Centre, 36 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2.

SHOOTING finished on Wednesday in Galway on the short film, Brood, a unique short film in that it is the first to be based on an Irish poem, according to its producer Tomas Hardiman. Written by, the young Galway poet, Ian Kilroy, Brood is a described as "a powerful poem depicting the generation that grew up in Ireland since Pope John Paul II's historic visit in 1979."

The film is directed by actor Frankie McCafferty and features Dawn Bradfield, Enda Kilroy, Elizabeth Byrne, and Tommy Tiernan. It is designed by artists Smith and Joe Saflund. The lighting cameramen is P.J. Dillon and the original score is being composed by Joe Wall, formerly of The Stunning.