Ken McGuire

Tag: ifta

  • IFTA Wins For Secret Of Kells

    The Secret Of Kells

    THE SECRET of Kells bagged itself two more awards in advance of the Oscars next month, this time picking up the Best Animation award and Rising Star award (for director Tomm Moore). The feature-length animated movie was also in the running for Best Irish Film, the award won by The Eclipse.

    Win or lose at the Oscars, The Secret Of Kells has firmly installed Cartoon Saloon on the global animation map and is proving wonders for the Kilkenny company. It’s Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature has seen some of the Kilkenny crew travel to the US for a few intensive weeks of promo and pitching and has also seen then the movie gain a limited US cinema release.

    The lads (Tomm and Paul) are blogging their Oscar journey, keep up to speed on Tomm’s blog.

    Onwards and upwards (and good luck on the 7th!).

    Check out the full list of winners at the IFTAs here.

  • IFTA nod for The Secret Of Kells

    THE SECRET of Kells has been included in the shortlist for Best Film at the 7th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards. The product of years of hard work by local studio (Kilkenny) Cartoon Saloon, the animated feature has been going great guns on the international film circuit over the past year so it’s no surprise to see it included in the running for the IFTAs.

    This vibrant animation is a spirited retelling of the provenance of Ireland’s mosted cherished artefact, the Book of Kells. With the Viking hordes approaching, the monks of Kells are forced to turn their attention from transcripbing manuscripts to building barricades. The future of the precious book is in jeopardy and it falls to Brendan, young nephew of the abbot Cellach, to save the day.
    The Secret of Kells is Cartoon Saloon’s first feature film and was directed by Tomm Moore with Nora Twomey as his co-Director.

    Congratulations to Tomm, Paul Young (producer, who is also working with us at The Devious Theatre Company in the upcoming Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay) and all involved both in Ireland and overseas on the continued success of the movie.

    If you’re interested in hearing from the director himself, I produced a series of podcasts for the Kilkenny Arts Festival last year, one of them being a post-screening Q&A session with director Tomm Moore. Grab it here via iTunes.