The 46th Murphy's Cork film festival will open on October 7th with the Irish premiere of Disco Pigs by Kirsten Sheridan, which marks her feature film debut. Ms Sheridan has a string of international awards to her name, including two at previous Cork festivals, for short films.
The original Disco Pigs stage play by Enda Walsh was premiered in Cork in 1996 by Corcadorca. It went on to the Dublin Fringe Festival, where it won "best production" the following year. It was also a success at the Edinburgh festival, receiving the Scotland on Sunday critic's award.
In 1998, Disco Pigs toured the UK to critical acclaim. It tracks the lives of two people born on the same day in the same hospital, moments apart. Their lives crisscross and interweave in a dangerous parallel. The film stars Cillian Murphy, who appeared in the original Corcadorca production, and Elaine Cassidy.
Liam McGrath's new documentary, Seven Days One Summer, will also be premiered at this year's festival. Many will remember a previous McGrath documentary, Southpaw, which told the story of young Irish traveller Francie Barrett, who represented Ireland in the 1996 Olympics.
The latest documentary accompanies author Paul Coelho on a trip to the grotto in Waterford, where, during the moving-statue hysteria of 1985, three local youngsters, Barry Buckley, Tom Cliffe and Ursula O'Rourke, claimed to have seen visions of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
Buckley subsequently lost his life in a motorcycle accident. His parents claimed he had foreseen his imminent death.
The festival will host the 2001 international short film conference, which will include delegates from 30 film festivals around the world. A selection of the best in Irish short-film making will be shown. The festival will also focus on black South African film in association with the Capetown film festival and on Australian animator, Adam Elliot.