The 2005 CINEMAGIC Film Festival kicks off in style with Special Screenings, Talent Labs, Masterclasses and a Gala Awards Ceremony with amazing prizes.

CINEMAGIC is hosting its 17-Day Festival from 17th November-3rd December 2005 at Village Cinemas and W5, Visitor Attraction of the Year, at the Odyssey, Belfast. The Festival Programme includes an impressive array of international exclusive screenings, big movie premieres, special guests, director’s discussions, competitions, masterclasses and talent labs in all aspects of television and filmmaking.

The Festival will be launched in Belfast on the 23rd September followed by launches in Galway, Cork, Dublin, Dundalk, Edinburgh and London.

Cinemagic is delighted to announce a world exclusive appearance at the festival by Lisa Henson, Chief Executive of the Jim Henson Company, to mark the 50th anniversary of the much loved and internationally respected animation film company. Lisa will be leading a discussion on the history of the company and her father’s incredible achievements in the industry.

Other special guests include Belfast born Radio 1 DJ, Colin Murray, who will host an anecdotal evening following a screening of his favourite movie Blazing Saddles as part of the Talking Movies season.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS (Open event – free entry)
Endemol/Initial Chief Executive, the indomitable Malcolm Gerrie responsible for reality TV hit Big Brother, and many documentaries and entertainment programmes will be delivering a keynote speech along with film critic and Radio Five broadcaster, Mark Kermode and the Executive VP of Marketing for Warner Music, John Reid. The keynote speakers will provide top tips on how to make it in the industry and the event is open to anyone interested in the media profession.

CINEMAGIC AUTUMN SCREENINGS
Cinemagic launches its annual film festival with a special preview screening of Walt Disney Pictures’ new computer animated blockbuster, Chicken Little with the voices of Zach Braff and Patrick Stewart, which goes on general release in the UK later in the year. Cinemagic will also host more special screenings including the Roman Polanski film, Oliver Twist, and the UK preview of MirrorMask featuring the voice of Rob Brydon, as part of the Jim Henson 50th Anniversary celebrations. Other films featured during the festival include classics such as It’s A Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz and Chicken Run as well as cult movies such as the Oscar nominated Hotel Rwanda and Moulin Rouge.

TALENT LABS, December 1st & 2nd, 2005, 18-25 year olds
Cinemagic have pulled together an outstanding array of TV, Film and Music industry professionals to take part in its two-day Talent Labs with young people from all over Ireland and the UK this autumn.

Among the 14 visiting professionals are actors, Max Beesley, Maxine Peake and Dexter Fletcher who will be running acting workshops: Music Director Hamish Hamilton who has worked with Oasis, U2 and Madonna; Neil McCallum, Commissioning Editor of T4/C4; Barry McIlheney, Chief Executive, Emap who will be holding a publishing and magazine journalism class; Maria Moore, Make-Up Designer and Stylist; Marc Mallet, Citybeat Radio presenter; Peter Hoar, Television and Film Director; Ruth McCance, Screen-writer and script-editor as well as workshops with festival regulars Dermot O’Leary (presenting), Phil Mount (production), Una Maguire (publicity) and Banjax (animation). A full list of the Talent Labs available is attached with biographies of professionals leading the classes.

MASTERCLASSES, September 22 – January, 2006, 10–18 year olds
The autumn schedule of masterclasses continues with acting workshops hosted by Suranne Jones, Michelle Ryan, Mikyla Dodd, Kelvin Fletcher, Adele Silva, Brooke Kinsella: a Talk Sport masterclass with BBC NI’s, Denise Watson and casting classes with renowned UK Casting Directors John and Ros Hubbard. At the end of the casting workshops John and Ros will select five young people who will be invited to join the Hubbards’ casting directories and will be assisted in finding a London agent. Following Denise Watson’s sports presenting masterclass one lucky young person will get the chance to work at Rally Ireland, in October, experiencing behind the scenes programme making and live coverage of the event.

PITCH IDOL, December 3rd, 11am-4pm, (Free Event)
The ever popular Pitch Idol is back and Cinemagic are offering young people the opportunity to pitch a television or film concept to a panel of industry professionals. BBC Commissioning Executive for Entertainment, Suzanne Gilfillan will be joining Fedelma Harkin and Brian Henry Martin on the discussion panel facilitated by Screenwriters Inc. One lucky winner will be invited to London to spend a week alongside Suzanne in the BBC’s nerve centre of Entertainment Commissioning at Television Centre.

TALKING MOVIES
A series of FREE talks, screenings and discussions exploring some of the finer aspects of the filmmaking process from various different viewpoints including: the Dialogue Coach; The Producer; News Journalism; How to get started in Film Making; The history and origins of film; Student and teacher workshops (screenings of Hotel Rwanda and The Miracle of Bern) and simply celebrate the excitement and love for film. Sessions are designed to not only educate but inspire and motivate Cinemagic audiences. Colin Murray and Lisa Henson’s discussions are included in this section of the festival.

CINEMAGIC AWARDS, December 3rd
The climax of the two-day Talent Labs will culminate with The Cinemagic ‘Oscars’ which will give 14 lucky Talent Lab participants a chance of a lifetime! Each professional will choose one person from their class who has excelled during the two-day talent labs and they will receive a Cinemagic Award for excellence. Watch this space for the special prize details!