John Naughten, company secretary(Naughten Corporate Services), Mike Dowling, company member, Maurice Galway, company director and David Chippendale, company director, photographed at last nights Dingle Film Festivals first AGM.

Having received confirmation from leading music producer Geoff Wonfor that he will direct a documentary on the festival next year, Dingle Film Festival are now calling for submissions. Time is of the essence as a date changed is also announced. We found that holding the festival in September meant we clashed with Toronto Film Festival which was proving a major obstacle in securing Irish film prints and major celebrities, says Dingle Film Festival director Maurice Galway. The festival will now be held in March 2010.

Geoff Wonfor, who directed and produced the acclaimed Beatles Anthology, voiced an interest in making a film when he attended the festival as a guest in September and was impressed by the beauty of the area and the passion of the people involved. The idea was made concrete last month when he returned to Dingle with American writer Diane Namm. Wonfor has promised to make the documentary in the format of tributes to well known films, and intends to involve Irish cameraman Eugene O Connor, who has worked on several music films and videos as well and writing and directing the TV series Killinascully.

In addition to avoid clashing with other major film festivals, Maurice continues, the new festival dates of 18th to 21stMarch 2010 will allow the festival to promote Dingle as a destination at the beginning of the tourist season and at a less hectic time for local businesses.

So with less than five months to organise a programme the pressure is on. The Festival 2010 will also include a nod toward the Irish in the gangster genre, as found in films such as , Public Enemy, The Departed, Godfellas, Veronica Guerin, The Cotton Club and Millers Crossing.