Short film by Irish film-maker wins him major award in US

A young Irish film-maker has won an international film award for a short film.

John Corcoran (28) was awarded Best Director of a Short Film in the International category of the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.

Virtues of a Sinner was the only Irish short selected for the festival and it competed against films and animation from all over the world.

It was written by Corcoran, and was produced by Jim Colgan, Gráinne Bennett and Rebecca Flavin.

The comedy drama centres on how God's angel and Satan's angel might decide the fate of deceased souls. It features three Irish actors, Ned Dennehy, Karl Shiels and Pat McGrath and was produced as part of a training programme run by Screen Training Ireland for an editing course.

Corcoran wrote the film on a Friday, cast it on Saturday and Sunday, crewed and designed it on Monday and shot it on 35mm the following Wednesday in the space of nine hours.

His first short film, Poultry in Motion, was the Audience Award Winner at the Corto Imola Film Festival in 2002.

The New York festival showcases over 300 films from around the world, including features, shorts, documentaries and animations.

Previous festivals have included the work of Abel Ferrara, Meryl Streep, Chad Allen and Christopher Walken.