http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrfDAIqn6KE
Irish short animation film Irish Folk Furniture has won the top award at the Sundance Film Festival
By Genna Patterson
Irish Folk Furniture won Best Animation at the Utah Sundance Film Festival this week. The eight-minute film is a stop motion animation about old furniture salvaged from farmhouses, repaired or fixed and given back to the owners. The short features the owners’ interviews about each item has been available to watch for free on YouTube since of the start of the Sundance Film Festival.
The quirky film was made by Tony Donoghue and took ten years of research. It was made with a €150 camera bought on eBay. The movie was selected from 65 shortlisted movies, out of 8000 applicants.
“This is a bit of a surprise,” Donoghue said when he collected the award according to The Irish Times. President of production for Funny or Die, Mike Farah, presented the award and explained why it was a winner; “We found this film full of life and told with simplicity.”
The film was funded by the Irish Film Board and focuses on people in Donoghue’s locality in Tipperary. The film sees sixteen pieces restored to their former glory and the story behind how the owners came to have them.
James Hickey of the Irish Film Board said; “Sundance is one of the most prestigious and competitive film festivals in North America. Tony is a very talented filmmaker and we are delighted to see him receive the international recognition he deserves for his short film. We look forward to working with him in the future as he develops his career further.”
