A screen near you: why the Strypes, Eugene McCabe and Jinx Lennon want you at Clones Film Festival

To kick off an experiment in supporting local film festivals around the country we set Clones Film Festival a challenge: you have 90 seconds to give us ten good reasons to visit Clones Film Festival in Monaghan. The video above, made with a few celebrity friends, is their answer. The video was shot and edited by the Clones Film Festival team over three days.

Kicking off next Thursday, October 24th, it's the 12th year of the event and, according to organisers, it isn't slowing down. "It can be a tough job to bring people to this quiet Border town," says Geraldine Zechner, one of the team behind the event, "but the trip more than pays back in friendly company, great films and a fantastic atmosphere".

The programme is strong, with a large Irish contingent, and Irish shortsVolkswagen Joe and The Gloaming take the main slots on opening night. Other highlights include The Conjuring, Lore, Jump, the Irish Pub and Beyond the Hills. (see our reviews)

An editing masterclass will be run by Sean Mackenzie (Amish: a Secret Life, Arena: the Many Lives of Richard Attenborough) and Fergal McGrath (Channel Four's Cutting Edge and Dispatches among others).

The Francie Awards for best film and the 48-hour short film challenge return and winner of the best short and short documentary will be selected from the short film programme running each day.

The Irish Times didn’t review every film on the programme but we’ve linked here to those that we did and if the high number of three-, four- and five-star reviews is anything to go by, you don’t want to miss it.

See the full programme at clonesfilmfestival.com

If you are involved with a local film festival and would like to take part in the Screen Near You video challenge, email Gary Quinn, Features Digital Editor on gquinn@irishtimes.com