The Dingle Film Festival and The Peck Family are delighted to announce the recipient of this years Gregory Peck Award: For Excellence in the Art of Film as being Jim Sheridan, Director, Producer, Executive Producer and Writer. The Gregory Peck Award will be presented to Mr. Sheridan by Anthony Peck, who will be traveling from Los Angeles to the festival to represent the Peck family at a ceremony in The Phoenix Cinema, Dingle on Friday 11th September at 8pm.
Following a distinguished career in the theatre between the 1960s and the 1980s, Jim Sheridan wrote and directed his first critically acclaimed feature My Left Foot in 1989. He followed this in 1990 with The Field which he also wrote and directed. In the same year he wrote the screenplay Into The West which was directed in 1992 by Mike Newell. In 1993 he wrote, produced and directed In The Name of the Father and in 1995 he wrote and produced Some Mothers Son, which was directed by Terry George. In 1997 he wrote, produced and directed The Boxer and in 1999 he produced Agnes Browne, directed by and starring Angelica Huston. He is also executive producer of Borstal Boy, On The Edge and Bloody Sunday. His film In America which he produced, directed and wrote was released in 2003. In 2005 he directed and produced Get Rich or Die Tryin. His latest film Brothers is due for release in 2009.
The Peck family are delighted that Mr Sheridan has agreed to receive the Award in Gregorys name this year. His work is singular and remarkable, as are his contributions as a filmmaker of power and versatility. The peck family and the Dingle Film Festival rightly see Jim Sheridan as the personification of an Award that would make its namesake very proud.
Jim Sheridans films have achieved popular and critical acclaim throughout the world. His films have garnered sixteen Academy Award nominations and have won two Academy Awards as well as numerous prestigious international awards. Jim Sheridan lives in Dublin with his wife Fran. They have three daughters, Kirsten, Naomi and Tess, who have collaborated with their father.
Our entire family is extremely pleased that Jim Sheridan will be so deservedly honored with the Gregory Peck Award For Excellence in Film, said Mrs. Veronique Peck. Gregory greatly admired Jim's films and his dedication to his craft. My husband always thought of himself as a story teller, and in that sense he would be gratified that such a preeminent teller of stories as Jim would be recognized with this honor, and in his beloved County Kerry.
I am honoured to receive award and follow in the footsteps of Gabriel Byrne. Gregory Peck was a great man to know and was always welcoming at his home with Veronique and Cecilia and Anthony. Jim Sheridan
I had the pleasure of welcoming Jim to Dingle once before and look forward to doing so again, the festival is honoured to have Jim as this year's Gregory Peck Award recipient. Maurice Galway, Festival Director.
Last year was the first year that this prestigious Award was presented and it was given to Gabriel Byrne, as the highlight of the Festival. The Festival was a resounding success in every sense - artistically, critically, educationally and filled with enthusiastic capacity audiences at every event. Gabriel Byrne received the Gregory Peck Award as the highlight of the Festival, and international and Irish filmmakers such Garrett Brown, Barbara Kopple, and Ned Dowd were also on hand to enlighten audiences at screenings and seminars. Veronique Peck, her son, Anthony, and daughter, Cecilia, attended and all actively participated in the programmes. Sir Alan Parker and Sarah Miles attended the festival in 2007.
This years Festival will take place from September 10-13 2009 in the wonderful picturesque town of Dingle, situated on a peninsula on the south west coast of Ireland.
This year Festival highlights include a broad music in film programme, a comedy programme, educational and shorts programmes, a workshop programme as well as a visual arts programme.
Within the music programme are such gems as the 10-hour Beatles Anthology set within the new Festival venue of a marquee in the garden of the Festival hub, the Garden Cafe. This is one of the music documentaries being screened in honour of Festival friend Chips Chipperfield, Producer. Others include the wonderful and eye-opening documentary The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector and interviews with Arena Director Anthony Wall and Beatles Anthology Director by Dingle's own Philip King.
Comedy gems include the wonderful Withnail and I, The Big Lebowski and combining comedy and music, the classic Buster Keaton movie Steamboat Bill Jr will open the Festival accompanied live by acclaimed musician and composer Peter Blanchette who has been specially commissioned to compose the piece.
Art enthusiasts will be excited to hear that Sarah Maple, Marysa Dowling and Amanda Coogan are all included in the visual arts programme.
Each evening will culminate in a Festival Club which varies from night to night.
Dingle Film Festival is an intimate boutique Festival which offers warm hospitality to its guests and already has a reputation for providing a programme that is fresh and exciting. Dingle Film Festival attracts both national and international guests and many talented and successful people from the film industry will again be on hand this year and actively taking part in all the Festival has to offer.
