THE SEVENTH Junior Dublin Film Festival, which started on Sunday, is expected to attract more than 8,000 young people (and some adults too) to its screenings. It will run until Friday, December 6th. According to Alan Robinson, festival administrator, "this is the biggest year yet."
The festival's audiences ranges from pre-schoolers to late teenagers. Schools throughout Dublin city and county bring groups along. Film is not on the school curriculum, so many teachers like to view films with their students "in a slightly educational context", Robinson says.
Education packs are sent out to teachers who have booked with the festival, giving them a chance to prepare their students in some way for the particular film they are going to see.
This year the festival's Family Gala screening will be of The Boy from Mercury, an Irish-made film about an eight-year-old boy who thinks he's an extraterrestrial.
The workshops that run during the two-week event are aimed at teenagers who are "beginning to think of a career in film", with guest speakers including Dave Fanning, Roddy Doyle, Jim Sheridan and Paddy Breathnach. The topics under discussion will range from film criticism to documentary film-making, from screen-writing to animation.
Still on matters celluloid, the Film Institute of Ireland is offering teachers and their students a chance to attend two free screenings of Danny de Vito's adaptation of Ronald Dahl's Matilda, before the film goes on general release - on Saturday, December 14th at 11.30 a.m. and on Monday, December 16th at 11 a.m.
Any teacher who is interested in going along with a group of students is advised to contact the institute (tel: (01) 679 5744) as soon as possible to make a booking. Those who attend will be given a free study guide, which can be used in the classroom. Penguin Books have also supplied a limited number of copies of Dahl's novel, which will be provided on a first-come first-served basis.
