Young film makers jet off to New York

BROTHERS Joel and Nathan Somerville have recently returned from New York, where they were thrilled to meet Hollywood superstar Liam Neeson.

The Lisburn brothers were in New York for Cinemagic’s fourth New York Festival after scooping the top prize in the 18-25 years category of Cinemagic and Titanic Belfast’s filmmaking competition ‘Castaway’.

This competition, judged by Oscar winning screenwriter, Julian Fellowes, was themed on Titanic and organised to coincide with the opening of the Titanic Belfast visitor attraction, in April of this year. New York Film Academy sponsored the competition with a scholarship for the winners.

The filmmaking duo also participated in a week long intensive filmmaking course at the New York Film Academy.

The fourth Cinemagic New York Film Festival opening was marked with a special reception in New York City’s Hearst Tower, with Liam Neeson, a patron of the award winning young people’s film festival and young filmmakers from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The opening reception was attended by invited guests and festival partners and the talented young filmmakers screened a New York premiere of their short film ‘But What If?’.

Cinemagic worked in partnership with a number of film, television, arts and young peoples’ organisations in New York that include Sesame Workshop, HBO, New York Film Academy, Ghetto Film School, MOMA, and Manhattan Center, to entertain and educate young people through film, by offering them the opportunity to attend educational screenings and talks, industry workshops and special events with film and television professionals.

Speaking at the event, Liam Neeson, said: “Cinemagic is a great organisation providing educational and cultural opportunities for young people on an international scale and bringing them together to inspire and motivate. For the last 22 years they have delivered some incredible work and I am very proud to be associated with them.”