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22/06/2004
NI film wins top award at international festival
Following its general release on Friday June 18 ‘Freeze Frame’, the first feature film from Northern Ireland born duo Michael Casey and John Simpson, received the top honour at the Taormina Film Festival in Italy over the weekend.
Director John Simpson received the Grand Jury BNL Award for the Best First Film and prize of €25,000.
Others honoured by the Taormina Festival for cinematic excellence this year include Roman Polanski, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith.
Co-funded by the NIFTC and shot entirely on location in Belfast’s disused Crumlin Road jail, 'Freeze Frame' stars British comedian Lee Evans as a paranoid murder suspect who videotapes himself around the clock so that he will have a rock-solid alibi if he’s ever accused of another crime.
NIFTC Chairman Colin Anderson commented: “Congratulations to John Simpson, his producer Michael Casey, and everyone involved with Freeze Frame. It is fantastic that the first feature film genuinely created in Northern Ireland for more than a decade has won an award of this status. The NIFTC backed Freeze Frame with funds provided by the National Lottery, and this award is a wonderful indication that it was a very worthwhile investment.”
Established in 1955, the Taormina Film Festival is one of Italy's oldest and most prestigious festivals and has contributed to the discovery of some of the world's most respected filmmakers.
(GB)
Director John Simpson received the Grand Jury BNL Award for the Best First Film and prize of €25,000.
Others honoured by the Taormina Festival for cinematic excellence this year include Roman Polanski, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith.
Co-funded by the NIFTC and shot entirely on location in Belfast’s disused Crumlin Road jail, 'Freeze Frame' stars British comedian Lee Evans as a paranoid murder suspect who videotapes himself around the clock so that he will have a rock-solid alibi if he’s ever accused of another crime.
NIFTC Chairman Colin Anderson commented: “Congratulations to John Simpson, his producer Michael Casey, and everyone involved with Freeze Frame. It is fantastic that the first feature film genuinely created in Northern Ireland for more than a decade has won an award of this status. The NIFTC backed Freeze Frame with funds provided by the National Lottery, and this award is a wonderful indication that it was a very worthwhile investment.”
Established in 1955, the Taormina Film Festival is one of Italy's oldest and most prestigious festivals and has contributed to the discovery of some of the world's most respected filmmakers.
(GB)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:Mainly dry with sunny spells on Friday, cloudier at times in the south. The chance of the odd afternoon shower developing in the south and east. Maximum temperature 20 °C.Tonight:Any afternoon showers soon dying out to leave a dry evening with clear spells at first, but coastal low cloud, mist or fog then spreads in from the northwest. Minimum temperature 8 °C.
