Hollywood success for Mullingar filmmaker
Mullingar filmmaker Noel McIntyre has won three awards in Hollywood for his documentary, ‘I Created You’ featuring Mullingar wood carver Richie Clarke.
Invited to Tinseltown for a screening of his 20-minute short film, Noel wined and dined with the likes of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at a gala dinner at the Consulate General of Ireland, where he made “some fantastic contacts” with the movers and shakers in the film industry.
While in Hollywood, he sat on a panel of filmmakers and industry heads, as well as attending a screening of his film in the famous Raleigh Studios, next door to Paramount, and he took home awards for Best Newcomer, Best Sound Design and the Ink Tip Bursary.
“I was told it just doesn’t happen this way, that you don’t just make your first film and end up in Hollywood, I can’t really believe it,” Noel told his audience at home via Facebook Live.
“My message is that you don’t need to go film school, you don’t need the best gear – if you have a story to tell, you can tell it on film and you can end up in Hollywood!”
Some 3,000 films were submitted for the Culture and Diversity Film Festival worldwide and of those, just 31 were selected for screening the weekend before last.
“The [Raleigh] theatre was full, there was super high definition screens and sound. I have to say when the film came on I got emotional, it was a special moment. It just looked so good, the sound was good, the score by the RTÉ Studio Orchestra – everybody was so complimentary on the score,” Noel said of the film screening.
“I met loads of people, it was just amazing. It’s quite apparent why people come out here, they come out here because if you want to make a movie, if you have any kind of a budget at all, you come out here and meet the people because the people are here – the directors, script writers, actors, producers.
“If you’ve got anything to offer, you’ll be picked up.
“The bottom line is I’m coming home to Mullingar with three awards – Best Newcomer, Best Sound Design, and I picked up an award called the Ink Tip Award – it’s going to open more doors. It’s just amazing stuff.”
Noel’s trip to Hollywood coincided with world film premières of Maleficent 2 and The Joker, and so he got to see stars such as Angelina Jolie and Joaquin Phoenix walk the red carpet.
Noel plans to arrange a screening in Mullingar for ‘I Created You’ in the coming weeks and hopes to invite some of the film makers he met on his US trip to visit and enjoy the hospitality of his home town.