National Film student takes Irish cinema to the big screen in America
The All American High School Film Festival which hosts its annual prestigious weekend of events, prides itself in being a celebration of international cinema. This year uniting over forty countries. Representing Ireland were four Irish film directors, Eve Duffy, Rhianna Woods, Max Hendrickson and Michael Antonio Keane, a second year IADT National Film Student student whose directorial piece “Like A Bolt From The Blue” shortlisted for the best drama award, made the final program of just under three hundred films out of the whopping thousands entered worldwide.
The trip was kindly supported by Fresh International Film Festival, who greatly contributed towards attendance of the Irish Filmmakers at the festival.
“Like A Bolt From The Blue” a ten minute drama filmed in and around Dún Laoghaire, centres on a young conflicting teen couple, who must learn to forgive one and other in order to heal and grow. Keane, nominated back in March, for best director at the RTÉ Ireland’s Young Filmmaker Of The Year Awards, won himself a jury award in June of 2023 for direction at the Student World Impact Film Festival (US) and since took to the skies with his film, reaching audiences in New-York where his piece screened at the AMC Movie Theatre in Times Square New-York as part of the best drama selection, exclusively inviting himself, and, his fellow Irish filmmakers to attend the glamorous Teen Indie Awards at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn.
Michael’s inspiration came from his experience with relationships in his past but also curiosity to the world around him “There comes a point where I had to write something I had not written before and which, you know my own interest in a particular subject such as relationships within my life inspired me and that’s why I suppose eventually most filmmakers approach wider topics of all kinds”
Director and Writer Keane encourages as many people as possible to take the time to watch and value the film, to maybe learn something from it, written comments of feedback are warmly appreciated and always welcome.