The 11th Jameson Dublin International Film Festival got off to a cracking start last night, as the red carpets were laid out for the first of the famous folk who will be invading the city over the next eleven days.
To open the festival this year, JDIFF Director Grainne Humphreys could not have picked a better movie to get everyone in the cinematic mood. Broken was equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, and you can read more about it in Gav's review here.
Once everyone was settled in to the Savoy Screen One, Grainne introduced us first to the director of the movie, Rufus Norris, who waxed lyrical about loving his visits to Dublin, wishing to ingest some of the cities natural creative genius, and he then introduced us to the stars of the movie, Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy, as well as the writer, fellow Irishman Mark O'Rowe.
Once everyone had said their hellos, Grainne reminded us that Roth hadn't been to the JDIFF in 12 years, since he presented his directorial debut "The War Zone" there. She then informed us that Roth would be receiving a Volta Lifetime Achievement Award, handing the statuette to Murphy to present to him. Murphy then gave a heartfelt, funny speech about loving Roth's body of work, the dream come true of getting to work with him, and Roth's ability "to always be telling the truth to the camera." Roth received the speech and award with humorous humility, returning the compliment to Murphy, declaring him "one of THE great actors working today."
Then it was on with the film, and the night ended in The Church on Mary Street, where the cast and crew mingled with the audience, and the Jameson flowed late into the night. A fantastic start to a fantastic festival; here's to the next ten days!
