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)