The Dublin Film Festival will not take place this year. The event is undergoing "a process of renewal and reinvigoration", in accordance with a recent strategic review, according to its board of directors. They are confident of its return "in the early spring of 2003".
Founded in 1985, the festival suffered a series of problems in recent years. There have been three programme directors over the past four years. Declining attendances created financial problems and there were difficulties with venues and with the festival's shifting place in the international film festival calendar.
The board has employed Ms Andrea Corbett as its new chief executive. An Englishwoman who moved recently to Dublin, Ms Corbett holds an MA in Film and Television Studies from the University of Westminster. She has been head of exhibition at the London Film and Video Development Agency, and immediately before her new appointment, was director of the East End Film Festival in London.
The board of directors issued a statement yesterday.
"To provide the planning and development time necessary for the new chief executive to undertake the renewal process with maximum effect, the next Dublin Film Festival will take place in the early spring of 2003," it said. "The Arts Council has kindly agreed to provide grant aid for 2002 to the festival to facilitate the process. Further funding has been pledged to the festival by a number of agencies, including RTÉ."