THE director of the Beara Film Fest Ger O’Leary has returned from the 77th Cannes Film Festival where he was promoting both his own festival and Beara as a film location.
Actor and director Ger described the trip as the experience of a lifetime. ‘I’ve never witnessed anything like it. It’s a totally different world there, with super yachts, sports cars, and all the glamour. I walked the red carpet, and that alone as an actor was a dream come true.’
His visit was a success, and Ger hopes that over time it will put Beara on the map in the film world. ‘I attended Cannes primarily to promote the Beara Film Fest and film – not just on the Beara Peninsula but the wider Cork area – to a worldwide audience and I’m glad to say my trip was successful.’
The Beara Peninsula is no stranger to movie making, with two Neil Jordan-directed films set in the area, and more recently the short film Two For the Road was filmed in the area was longlisted for an Oscar, which Ger says was a huge help in meetings he had with multinational film companies. ‘Two for the Road was such a huge success and a great selling point for Beara. The general reaction to what we’re doing with the Beara Film Fest was huge, they loved the whole concept of what our festival is about in promoting the art of film.’
Whilst Ger is adamant the main ethos of the Beara Film Fest is to promote the work of Cork based filmmakers, he is also hoping to introduce an international element and picked up a French short film which will be screened at this year’s Beara Film Fest.
The 2024 Beara Film Fest will take place on July 6th at Scoil an Croí Ro Naofa, Castletownbere.
