Ballymoney lad selected as film consultant

12-year-old Philip Doherty from Ballymoney was one of the 25 who participated in the 2011 Cinemagic Young Consultants programme in Odeon Cinemas, Belfast.

A pupil at Loreto College Coleraine, Philip was selected on the basis of a film review he wrote and an application he submitted which detailed his love of film and reviewing movies.

He explained: “My mum saw it advertised on Twitter. I was looking for something to do over the summer and jumped at the opportunity.

“As part of the application I had to write a film review and was lucky enough to be chosen.

“I reviewed Inception because it was a really smart film and I liked the way I had to think a lot through it.”

2011 marks the 21st Cinemagic Film Festival and plans are under way to create a very special festival programme that will include over 170 film screenings from around the world and over 70 different workshops, competitions, masterclasses and exciting film related events for schools, young people (aged 4-25) and families. The Festival will culminate with a gala awards ceremony in Belfast City Hall where the winning films in the festival will be announced and young talent recognised.

Over the course of a three day workshop at the end of July, the Cinemagic young consultants worked with the Cinemagic team in Odeon cinemas Belfast, to help steer the choice of films for the 21st Anniversary Festival, as they watched and critiqued films from around the globe.

Philip continued: “We were asked to mark the films out of one to ten for directorship, special effects, mood nd direction.

“We were hoping to get a tour of the projection room, but due to power cuts two days in a row, it was too dangerous and we didn’t get to see it. But that didn’t matter as it was such a brilliant experience.”

Chris Shaw, Cinemagic Film Programmer added: “The Cinemagic Young Consultants programme is a great opportunity for young film fans to meet other likeminded people and have fun deciding the content of the largest film festival for young people in the UK and Ireland. Cinemagic is dedicated to providing new and exciting opportunities for young people with all interests in film, whether they want to enjoy new films or take their interest to a new level and explore career paths in the film industry.

“The young film consultants had the opportunity to watch and review films that they would not normally have access to and they were provided with lots of opportunities for discussion and debate. The panel will also help with the marketing and promotion of festival events from September to November and we are looking forward to working more with our 2011 consultants over the coming months.”