We went to Fuck Buttons after our Still Films/Darklight Christmas Party. Great night.

I have been quite busy and creative lately, so excuse my absence. I also have been reading instead of going online at night - who would have thought that this past time would induce sleep and relaxation?

A great festival this year - high lights include Crispin Glover' s (AKA Crispy Lover, as we fondly called him) slide show performance, Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg (currently showing at the I.F.I.) and Paddy Considine's Screen Training Ireland masterclass. Paddy was in conversation with Michael McElhatton, well known here for his portrayal of Rats in Paths to Freedom. This Q+A should soon be available on Paddy's website which is run by the lovely Gareth Roberts - it also includes a forum where his films are discussed and Paddy is even on there himself...Have a look here:Paddy Considine

I am delivering a mash-up of my favourite YouTube clips at the Darklight Film Festival Launch at Filmbase, tomorrow evening, at 9pm. Expect clips like the one below and music videos I have already critiqued on this blog. The YouTube salon was an experiment in a communal screening environment inspired by Web 2.0 (user controlled content), and might be a hint of how we enjoy our social cinema time in the future. The director Eoghan Kidney is the driving force of The You Tube Salon at Darklight.

Anamnesis (2008) is screening on Sunday June 29th at 2pm at The Light House Cinema, Market Square, Smithfield, as part of the Dark Shorts programme at this years Darklight Film Festival. I have fond memories of the 2006 festival, as my experimental short Covered Road (2005) was the winner of Best Irish Short. My grin was so big that evening that I looked like a South Park character. (not Cartman)

Last Saturday went very well. I made people dance which is only a good sign. I had my set quite organised (since I am beginning this new venture) but altered it considerably when people began dancing with gusto. I shall upload a mix of this set over the next few days - my main focus this week is Darklight festivities.

Words cannot express my excitement regarding Paddy Considine's special Darklight/Screen Training Ireland Masterclass at Darklight 2008. He also is introducing a screening of Shane Meadows' modern masterpiece Dead Man's Shoes, which he co-wrote and stars in. The screening also features Considine's directorial debut Dog Altogether - see clip below. I wrote about the visceral qualities of Dead Man's Shoes in a January post called Docu-fiction and it would appear that Dog Altogether contains similar attributes. Joining Considine at Darklight '08 is Barry Ryan, the Head Of Production of Warp's new offshoot Warp X, who will be participating in a low-budget filmmaking symposium. Darklight have not announced their full programme yet, but their new website with programme highlights can be seen here - Darklight

In addition, I have a plan - which is to get Paddy to autograph my DVD cover of A Room For Romeo Brass and a graphic novel I have of Dead Man's Shoes. Subsequently I will either faint with shyness or babble insanely about how much I liked his mustache in Hot Fuzz.