Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Screen daily, Animation Magazine etc.


Berlinale film The Secret Of Kells wins at Cartoon Movie Tributes
Martin Blaney in Berlin
09 Mar 2009 14:45

Brendan And The Secret Of Kells was the big winner at this year's Cartoon Movie in Lyon, winning best European director and best producer.

More than six hundred participants voted for the Cartoon Movie Tributes which recognise companies or personalities exercising a positive and dynamic influence on the European animation feature film industry.

Irish animator Tomm Moore was named best European director of the year for his feature debut Brendan And The Secret Of Kells which had had its world premiere in the Berlinale's Generation sidebar last month.

In addition, the film's producers Cartoon Saloon, Les Armateurs and Vivi Film were voted as best European producer of the year.

The Irish-French-Belgian co-production was first pitched by Moore and Paul Young at the Cartoon Movie market in Babelsberg in 2001.

Meanwhile, the Cartoon Movie Tribute for best European distributor of the Year went to Bac Films in recognition of its particular emphasis on European animation films.

Last year saw the French distributor releasing Niko And The Way To The Stars, which posted over 700,000 admissions, and this year's releases include A Case For Friends and Jasper The Movie.

Bac Films recently picked up The Sandman And The Lost Sand Of Dreams and Journey To Saturn which screened on the evening of this year's edition of Cartoon Movie.

Animation magazine -

Cartoon Movie Wraps With Tributes, Record Attendance

Sunday, March 08, 2009
By: Thomas J. Mclean

Cartoon Movie wrapped up the first edition in its new locale in Lyon, France, by awarding tributes to the top performers in European animation, and by reporting record attendance from participants, buyers and distributors.

Attendance hit a high of 622, up 21 percent from 510 at last year’s event, which was held the previous ten years at the Babelsberg Studio in Berlin.

The number of distributors was up nearly 20 percent rising from 66 last year to 79. The number of buyers, which includes distributors, also rose more than 20 percent from 144 to 174.

The event also presented tributes to Tomm Moore of Ireland as Best European Director of the Year for The Secret of the Kells; BAC Films of France as Best European Distributor of the Year; and Best European Producer of the year to the trio of Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), Les Armateurs (France) and Vivi Film (Belgium), also for The Secret of Kells.


IFTN-

‘Kells’ Takes Top Honours at Cartoon Movie Tributes


09 Mar 2009 |


‘The Secret of Kells’ has taken the top honours at this year’s Cartoon Movie Tributes, with Director Tomm Moore being named Director of the Year and Cartoon Saloon, along with Les Armateurs and Vivi Film, being named Producer of the Year.

Organised by the European Association of Animation Film, the Cartoon Movie Tributes rewards outstanding achievements, companies or personalities that have had a positive and dynamic influence on the European animation feature film industry. Winners of these awards are selected by the industry professionals participating in Cartoon Movie 2009, the annual meeting point for the European animation industry.

Released across Ireland last weekend, ‘The Secret of Kells’ set in 9th century Ireland follows twelve-year-old Brendan who must overcome his deepest fears on a secret quest to completing an enchanting book of illuminations.

The illuminated animation is the feature debut of director Tomm Moore and is produced by Paul Young of the Cartoon Saloon – the makers behind animation series ‘Skunk Fu’.

French company BAC Films who have been involved in distributing Magma Films ‘Niko & the Way to the Stars’ were also named the Best European Distributor of the Year.






http://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&rid=4281946&tpl=archnews&only=1

Monday, March 09, 2009

Go to the Cinema!

If anyone is holding off going to see this film in Ireland, please don't !
We need people to see it this week while its on plenty of screens!
Otherwise it might only get a short run in cinemas and its really best viewed on the big screen....

Friday, March 06, 2009

So Cool! Kilkenny Cineplex today! Thanks Fabs!

Cartoon Movie Tributes

Hey guess what I just had my lunch pleasantly interupted by the announcement that I won European Director of the Year!
Also Cartoon Saloon, Les Armateurs and Vivifilm won European producers of the year!

Hooray and thanks of course to my directorial cohorts Nora , Stewie and all the crew!

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Get thee to a Cinema!

The Secret of Kells is out on 25 prints tommorow.
I am really hoping the home crowd go to it in droves!
Its a little strange not being in Ireland this weekend but we are in Cartoon Movie
in Lyon where we are presented it in its finished form after all these years!
Here are some video interviews with the voice actors online plus some clips from the movie -

http://entertainment.ie/Movie/feature/THE-SECRET-OF-KELLS:-Video-Interviews/2/123.htm

heres a small selection of recent reviews to encourage you!-

“I loved The Secret of Kells….. it’s one of the most visually arresting animations I’ve seen, every frame is a work of art. That coupled with a perfect soundtrack and a back-drop of Irish folklore, it’s impossible not to love it.” Vincent Donnelly, Movies Plus Magazine and Movies.ie

“The film combines the visual beauty of Celtic typography with the humour of Belleville Rendezvous and the charm of Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.” Michael Dohery, The RTE Guide

“Certain to draw fans… Visually ravishing … magic” Lee Marshall, Screen International

“The film is quite simply astounding, a tour de force. Aglow with beguiling colour, and replete with an enthralling, deceptively simple narrative, it is guaranteed to fascinate children and adults alike.” Padraic Killeen, Irish Examiner

“This is a beautiful, unique project …. in addition to attractive characters and lush designs derived from the precious manuscript of the title, this is a pleasingly jingoistic reminder of a time when Ireland saved civilisation.” Hot Press, 4* review

“A Kell of a Movie…” News of the World

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

trailer projected on trinity college

anyone in dublin please watch out for the projections of the trailer on trinity college tommorow night! argh! i will miss it as i am in cartoon movie....its such a great "illuminated" publicity idea by the lads in disney/bvi!

The 1st trailer projections for KELLS (outdoor light ads) will be atTrinity fri 6th at 7pm (there is one at 6.30 but will be fully dark at7).

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

The Brendan Bus is coming!

Advertising on the back of Dublin buses. I hope I see them before they are done there run up there. Last night Nora and I attended the screening in the Cork French Film Festival. It was great and some old friends from Cork came along too.
Tonight we have the Kilkenny launch in aid of Young Irish Filmmakers.
Hooray.

Irish Examiner Review

"The film is quite simply astounding, a tour de force. A glow with beguiling colour, and replete with an enthralling, deceptively simple narrative, it is guaranteed to fascinate children and adults alike"
Irish Examiner


* Down to a fine art <https://portal.newsaccess.ie/article.php?action=download&article_id=288555&key=c5834b17d6a677df8b1c66fd6dce51df&profile_id=653&highlight_text=true>
Irish Examiner, 03/03/2009, Page: 16, Clip ID: 288555

Monday, March 02, 2009

We need YOU!



The Posters are up. The ads are on telly. The trailers are in cinemas and the press has been great here in Ireland just like in France and Belgium with some lovely reviews and general goodwill.
Trish Long, Ruth Bradley ,Richard Coralan and all the team in Disney Ireland have been doing a fantastic job on the marketing.
Brendan Gleeson , one of our finest actors has really shown us so much support and gotten behind it.


So , now its up to YOU guys! Please come out this weekend and attend the film, I hope you will enjoy it , and if you do , please tell everyone you know about it!

Kells in Kells!










On Saturday myself and character designer Barry Reynolds went to Kells where the local chamber of commerce presented me with a lovely sculpture to mark the occasion and Barry and I drew pictures for the kids all day.
I presented a short "making of" and Barry gave a demonstration on drawing the characters.
We even had some local actors dressed as monks in attendance and an exhibition of work from the film is on display in the Kells heritage centre .

Big thanks to Richard ,Jess, Kate , Amelia and the Mayor of Kells himself!

Despite there being no cinema in Kells the film will show there this St.Patricks day in the Cinemobile!!!!

I even bumped into an old Ballyfermot comrade , some enthusastic young animators and other old friends from that neck of the woods
We had a great day all in!

Sunday Tribune - Great Piece!

http://www.tribune.ie/arts/article/2009/mar/01/the-brendan-voyage/

Hot Press Review (bit about other films edited out)

HOTPRESS

4 STARS

Set in ninth century Ireland this extravagant animation from Kilkenny based imprint Cartoon Saloon fashions a genuine no-kidding entertainment from the origins of The Book Of Kells.

Jollied along by early Christian and late pagan mythology, Tomm Moore's good looking first feature opens in Kells Abbey where a mischievous 12-year old named Brendan (voiced by the talented Evan McGuire) scampers about under the stern gaze of his uncle, the Abbott (Brendan Gleeson). Inspired by the rock star presence of master illustrator Brother Aidan (Mick Lally), the boy is soon exploring the black recesses of the forest beyond the walls. The youngster soon befriends a mysterious sprite (a giggling Christen Mooney) and masters his fear of the dark but faerie power will not be enough to keep the encroaching Norsemen at bay. Though budgetary constraints occasionally tell when high-octane movement is required, this is a beautiful, unique project that deserves to find an audience beyond mandatory school trips to the cinema. In addition to attractive characters and lush designs derived from the precious manuscript of the title, this is a pleasingly jingoistic reminder of a time when Ireland saved civilisation. We're great, we are.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Premiere night Dublin Film Festival (just the first bit)

Premiere pics

http://entertainment.ie/caughtout/image.asp?ID=599&PhotoID=3301349167

Superstars Evan McGuire and Christen Mooney (Brendan and Aisling)

http://www.rte.ie/tv/theden/ice/icewatchtheshow_avlong.html?2330650,240,230

some video from Sunday night

http://entertainment.ie/jdiff/

Gala screening

Still recovering from Sunday night it was a great buzz.
We all really enjoyed it and are really excited about Disneys plans to promote it over the next few weeks , watch out for the buses and projected images in Trinity college.
A big online thanks to Grainne Humphries and all at Jameson Dublin Film Festival
and to everyone who was in attendence on Sunday night.
It was lovely to meet the young actors , Evan Mc Guire and Christen Mooney again.
And Brendan Gleeson and Mick Lally have been so supportive helping to spread the word.

We saw the first billboards up on the way out of Dublin coming home which was a great buzz too!

Irish Times on line comment!

There was one chink of glorious light this weekend. We went to see The Secret of Kells (see the website for accompanying book here) last night, the closing film in the Dublin Film Festival. It is the first full-length Irish animation and co-directed by Kilkenny man Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey. It was stunning. A cascade of light and colour and wonder burst from the screen. And a beautifully-measured tale about the creation of the Book of Kells in 6th century Ireland. Gorgeous ornate animation with unmistakable (and unforgettable) Celtic motifs. Great voices from actors Brendan Gleeson and Mick Lally and two child actors. Amazing.

In an atmosphere of communal despair, this amazing work showed what is, and can, be possible. It was the first ‘yes we can’ moment I have experienced since the beginning of the year.

Please go and see it when it opens. It’s uplifting.



http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/politics/2009/02/23/neverending-unrelenting-misery-and-a-chink-of-wonder/#more-221

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Irish Premiere Tommorow Night

Gulp! Its gonna be great! But I'm all butterflies in anticipation!
Can't wait to see so many people from the production who will be there , as well as
all the actors and musicians and friends and families.
It sold out really quickly , so thats a good sign I think!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Twitch Review copied and pasted !

BRENDAN AND THE SECRET OF KELLS Review

Posted by Todd Brown at 10:31am.

Posted in Film & DVD Reviews , Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Continental Europe & Russia, UK, Ireland, Australia & New Zealand.

If you’re thinking to yourself that basing a children’s film around the creation of a famously illustrated Bible is an odd thing to do, well, you’re mostly right. It is kind of odd. And in lesser hands than director Tomm Moore and co-director Nora Twohey’s, doing so very likely would have resulted in a barely watchable history lesson. But by focusing less on the book - which, conspicuously, is never referred to as being a Bible within the body of the film - and more on the child who would eventually complete the years of labor that went into its creation, Moore and Twohey have instead created a charming, gorgeously realized fable about the power of imagination and art to thrive even in the most hostile times.

Young Brendan is an orphan living within the Abbey of Kells, a middle ages Irish monastery populated by monks whose lives are meant to be dedicated to the preservation and duplication - by hand - of books containing the whole of human knowledge at the time. Preserving knowledge is an important task at the best of times and particularly so at this particular age, a time when Viking hordes were storming the shores of Ireland and laying waste to whatever they came across. But, more than mere copyists, the monks of the Abbey were artists, men known as Illuminators thanks to their unique ability to create elaborate calligraphies and illustrations within the text to carry the meaning even to those who could not read. Brendan’s childhood was one surrounded by myth and story and art, a nearly ideal environment for a child with a curious mind and a bit of skill with a quill.

Unfortunately, Brendan’s childhood was also spent surrounded by one enormous wall. The Abbot of Kells, you see, terrified of the oncoming Viking raiders, has diverted virtually all of the Abbey’s resources away from the art that was supposedly their primary occupation and put them, insteaed, into fortifying the Abbey against future invasion. Though well meaning the Abbot verges on obsessive when it comes to the completion of his wall and young Brendan, alas, has never been allowed to set foot outside of its boundaries.

Life for Brendan changes dramatically with the arrival of Brother Aidan, a living legend among Illuminators, widely considered to be the very finest artist of his generation and the man currently in charge of work on the fabled Book of Iona - a book now roughly two hundred years in the making, a book supposedly so beautiful that it possesses nearly supernatural power. Iona sacked by raiders, Aidan has now brought his work with him to Kells and it takes mere moments for him to recognize a kindred spirit in Brendan and to take the boy under his wing. Lesson one? You will learn more from a day spent in the forest than from a lifetime behind walls and so Brendan is sent out into the woods - without the Abbot’s knowledge or consent - to find the oak berries that Aidan needs to create his inks. It is a dangerous, wild place, but also a beautiful one - a place that Brendan navigates only with the help of a forest spirit he meets and befriends there ...

Immediately engaging and gorgeously realized, Brendan and the Secret of Kells avoids the limitations of a ‘historical’ movie, instead casting itself as a coming of age adventure, with its young hero forced to make his first steps on his own, making his own decisions about right and wrong and finding the strength in himself to face up to his fears and foes both magical and frighteningly real. It is a film about being bold enough to create and the fallacy of simply trying to preserve.

The debut feature from Irish animator Tomm Moore - the film also had significant backing from France and Belgium - immediately establishes Moore as an absolute master of his craft - a story teller and visual artist who absolutely deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as masters such as Michel Ocelot and Sylvain Chomet. His world is richly detailed and strikingly unique, folding traditionally Irish influences into a riot of color and detail that dazzle the eyes while the deceptively simple story goes to work on more subtle levels. His characters are just as richly detailed as his visuals, the messages simple and universal. This is no less than the arrival of a major new talent.

Gwan the Cats!

David O'Reilly (a talented young Kilkenny man who used to work with us and hang out in our studio during his teenage years )won the Golden Bear in Berlinale.
His beautiful and touching short "Please say something" really impressed everyone who saw it on the HUGE screen in Berlin.
Here we all are with our hip scarfs in Berlin ! A fine bunch of Kilkenny Cats.
Congratulations David!

Comics in shops!


Thanks to Annes pal for taking these snaps!

Twitch Review

Wow! Another very nice review. Its very gratifying!
So happy people are enjoying the movie.


http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/brendan-and-the-secret-of-kells-review/



P.S. only niggle is the slight mispelling of my co-director Nora's surname its Nora TWOMEY (a fine Cork name it is too ) !

sure its great just to be nominated!

The European Association of Animation Film has announced this week the nominees selected for the Cartoon Movie Tributes 2009. The winners will be announced at the Centre de Congrès in Lyon on 7 March.

The nominees are:


Best European Director of the Year

* Thorbjørn Christoffersen, Craig Frank and Kresten Vestbjerg Andersen (Denmark) for «Journey to Saturn»
* Jacques-Rémy Girerd (France) for «Mia and the Migoo»
* Tomm Moore (Ireland) for «The Secret of Kells»

Monday, February 16, 2009

Bums on seats

C'mon everyone in Belgium and France! Encourage everyone to go to see this film! Bring your Granny!

some translations of French press! (thanks Anne!)

Télérama - Cécile Mury
"Le récit alerte, tour à tour cocasse et émouvant, ne cesse de surprendre, d'éblouir. Une vraie révélation."
"This lively tale, switching from entertaining to moving, never stops to surprise, to amaze. A true revelation."

Le Monde - Isabelle Régnier
"L'univers visuel est d'une telle splendeur qu'il mantient son spectateur dans un état de reve éveillé, du début à la fin."
"The visual context is so splendid that it keeps the viewer in a daydreaming state, from start to finish."

Première - Didier Roth-Bettoni:
"Ce conte recèle de richesses visuelles - les dessins, d'inspiration celte, sont splendides - et thématiques (...). Merveilleux!"
"This tale is full of visual wealth - drawings, from celtic inspiration, are splendid - and of thematic wealth (..). Wonderful!"

Le Parisien - Renaud Baronian:
"Personnages, décors et lettrines virevoltent en permanence, occasionnant un exquis tournis chez le spectateur, grand ou petit."
"Characters, backgrounds and illumination twirl around all the way through the movie, provoking an exquisite dizziness in all viewers, grown-ups as well as little ones."

L'Express.fr - Christophe Carrière:
"Chaque image est une fete pour les yeux, convoque une idée, éveille une pensée...".
"Each frame is a feast for the eyes, appeals an idea, awakes a thought...".

Jean Baptiste Ven Damme

The man, the legend , JB is in town for the Premiere and hanging out in the studio this week. Tis great to see him and check out the beautiful work he's been doing!

http://thedoberman.deviantart.com/gallery/#_newest


some man for one man!

happy birthday production baby

Oilver McGrath , the production baby was 1 year old on Saturday!
Apparently he spent the day charming the ladies of Berlin.

Coraline

Last night I saw Coraline as part of the Dublin Film Festival, what a gorgeous movie!
Neil Gaiman did a Q+A afterwards which was interesting too.
I really hope we continue to see such innovative and unusual films being made .

And great music by Bruno Coulais! Ahh sure he only works on classy films I suppose ;)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

where its due...

I noticed in that interview posted below that one very important member of the design team was not mentioned.
This was an unintentional omission.
I've posted before about Barry Reynolds' work finalising the main character designs and designing all the other characters in the film. His sense of design unified the characters and was very important to the final look of the film.
He was involved in the initial visual devlopment of "Rebel" back in 2000 and I asked him to come back and join the team in 2005 to help pull all the development work I'd done with Ross Stewart together into the final designs.
He also did most of the designs for the characters that were added during storyboards and the final designs for all the secondary characters.
The only exception being that Jean Baptiste Van Demme made the Viking designs and model sheets .
However , it was mainly Barrys work on the model packs we used in all the countries involved in the production.
Barry was also the one responsible for checking that all the layout posing was on model and he did a huge amount of the layout posing on the film.
It was great to have someone with such a natural flair for design to pull everything together.

But I suppose I can never give enough credit to ALL the artists who poured their talent and energy into this production.
Like all animated features this film is the product of a lot of peoples talent and energy.
We have a credit list of about 200 people on this film and I am indebted to everyone of them for the commitment and hard work they have poured into this production.

I was the overall Director and worked on this project in its various forms for most of my twenties, and its a source of great pride that the initial designs and visual development we began in Ballyfermot college in 1999 evolved , thanks to all the crew who contributed over the years into something so much greater than I could ever have achieved alone.

It would be great to publish an "art of" book to showcase all the beautiful artwork and artifacts created by this talented team over the years.
If only we could find a willing publisher......;)

Belgian press on Digital Graphics site!

http://www.digitalgraphics.be/?page_id=138&lang=en

Late Late Show


the feb13th episode about 6 mins is the brendan gleeson interview and 20mins in to the show there is a scene from Kells.

Sound of Brendan and Pat to plug it!

Gealic Games Promo CompetitioN!

http://museum.gaa.ie/plugins/newsfeed.cgi?rm=content&plugin_data_id=26564

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Belgian telly!

http://video.rtlinfo.be/video/13055.aspx

Don't forget to go several times my French,Flemish and Belgian friends!

(you need to search for brendan et le secret de kells on that site to see the clip)

french press - lots of stars! nicey one!

http://www.allocine.fr/film/revuedepresse_gen_cfilm=110254.html

photos from Belgian Premiere

http://www.thetopofmusic.be/fotoalbum/album.php?page=album&boek=brendan/08022009premiere&vanafFoto=30
man I wish i had been there ....but I was in Berlin instead!
Looks like a great night

some press

I thought it might be good use of this blog to put up some of the press we've gotten so far and links to interviews and stuff.
Anyone in Ireland should watch the Late Late Show this week as Pat has a great show lined up and the voice of Abbot Cellach , Brendan Gleeson is on .....




Vincent Donnelly, Movies Plus magazine and Movies.ie

“I loved THE SECRET OF KELLS, the movie has a magical other-worldy feel that reminded me of Hayao Miyazaki's movies (such as Spirited away) It's one of the most visually arresting animations I've seen, every frame is a work of art. That coupled with a perfect soundtrack and a back-drop of Irish folklore, it's impossible not to love it.”

Michael Doherty, The RTE GUIDE

“The film combines the visual beauty of Celtic typography with the humour of Belleville Rendezvous and the charm of Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.”



Lee Marshall in Berlin
09 Feb 2009 18:02

Dir: Tomm Moore. Ireland-France-Belgium. 2008. 78mins.

Visually ravishing and doused in Celtic magic, Irish animated feature Brendan And The Secret Of Kells takes as its plot source and stylistic inspiration the eighth century Book of Kells, an intricately illuminated Latin gospel that is widely considered to be Ireland's greatest national treasure.

Brendan is certain to draw fans in the 5-11 core audience, although though its weight of exposition and hand-drawn 2-D animation style may make it a niche product rather than a marquee title outside of its home territory. The US could prove to be an exception, though, where its huge diaspora Irish community will make it a key market.

The film's historical anchor is the most prevalent of various theories about the origin of the Book of Kells – that it was begun on the abbey of Iona in Scotland, and later taken to the Abbey of Kells in County Meath, where monks continued the intricate and time-consuming work of illustration. But pretty much everything else in the story is either invented or rooted in legend.

Our hero is child-monk Brendan, a red-haired lad whose curiosity keeps leading him into scrapes that incur the wrath of his stern uncle, Abbot Cellach. The other monks – an international bunch, bringing home just how cosmopolitan European monasteries were in the so-called Dark Ages – tell Brendan in reverent tones about the greatest illustrator of them all, Brother Aidan from Iona.

And soon enough sprightly old Aidan turns up in Kells with his cat Pangur Ban, fleeing with his precious book from the evil, Minotaur-like Northmen, who are pillaging their way through Scotland and Ireland. Helping Aidan to finish the book despite the disapproval of his uncle (for whom the only useful job is building walls to keep the invaders out), Brendan strays into the forest in search of ink pigments, and is saved from danger by a white wolf who turns out to be Aisling, a mischievous, impulsive girl-sprite.

Director Tomm Moore and his team really excel themselves in these forest sequences, where Irish monasticism meets Busby Berkeley. At times, motifs from megalithic passage graves and Celtic jewellery float in the background like micro-organisms under a microscope, or fall in the form of snowflakes. Perspective is flattened out, and Brendan and Aisling are framed inside branches, just as Biblical characters were framed inside the opening letters of illuminated manuscript pages.

Occasionally, the action spreads across the screen in three separate frames, reminding us that the spatial narrative techniques of Medieval painting and modern graphic novels are not far removed.

Kids weaned on Pixar may look down on Brendan, but as with Miyazaki, it's a parental duty to drag them along to this captivatingly original take on Old School animation.

Production companies
Cartoon Saloon
Les Armateurs
Vivi Film
France 2 Cinema

International sales
Celluloid Dreams
(33) 1 49 70 03 70

Co-director
Nora Twomey

Producers
Didier Brunner
Viviane Vanfleteren
Paul Young

Tomm Moore

Screenplay
Tomm Moore
Fabrice Ziolkowski

Art Director
Ross Stewart

Editor
Fabienne Alvarez-Giro

Music
Bruno Coulais

Voice cast
Evan McGuire
Mick Lally
Christen Mooney
Brendan Gleeson
Liam Hourrican


A true delight to watch

Truly magnificent, magical and captivating all in one. This is the most amazing animation film I have ever been fortunate enough to watch.

von Stella Woeste, 15

"You must go where I can not. Pangur Bán, Pangur Bán..." The fairy child with the soft and melodious voice befriends the young Brendan who lives behind a strong wall with his uncle, Abbot Cellach who watches over Brendan's education. The wall is there to protect its inhabitants from the dangerous men from the north, the vikings who have already burned several villages, killing every man, woman and child. When Brendan wanders where he should not, he meets the fairy child and begins on his hunt for a secretive crystal that will enlighten him on finishing a book. The book of Iona for his new friend, Brother Aidan. That's where all the adventure begins.

This movie is absolutely beautiful. It is a work of art in itself and is a true delight to watch. This is one of those rare films that don't even need any dialogue, leaning back and just watching the colors proves to be sufficient enough. Not only is this movie made of wonderful pictures and colors that is eye candy in itself, it also contains a lot of emotions. It is like being on an emotional rollercoaster. One moment you are laughing with mirth at a crude joke and the next you are gasping in shock at a dark and scary scene. Tragic, sad moments prove to be tear jerkers in a way only a cartoon can make one feel, but the darkness is mirrored by light and funny moments that give this film a lot of charisma.

The music accompanying the film and especially the part where the fairy child sings, "You must go where I can not," is absolutely enchanting. This is a whole new level of animation, and I am positively surprised since I am usually a little skeptical about the amount of emotion an animated movie can bring across - I am completely blown away, and anyone who is in the mood to watch a beautiful, well drawn, imaginative and fascinating movie with just the right amount of comedy and tradgedy, should watch it. The creative artist, director and all the people voicing the characters in this film deserve more than a round of applause. This proves that animation can deliver a whole new perspective on life in its most precious form.


I love these reviews from Berlin because hey are written by young people who are the actual target audience!

http://www.jungejournalisten.berlinale.de/index.php?id=10&lang=e&parameters=a%3A1%3A%7Bs%3A2%3A%22id%22%3Bs%3A2%3A%2258%22%3B%7D



This is a video interview with me from the Paris promo trip, I was asked to speak in Irish at the end but got a bit muddled from thinking half in French and English all week!


http://www.premiere.fr/Cinema/Exclus-cinema/Interview-cinema/Brendan-et-le-secret-de-Kells-Interview-video-du-Realisateur/(gid)/1515543

Its OUT!



Hard to believe it but today the movie is opening in cinemas in France, Belgium and beyond!
Please go!
No, go twice!

Thursday, February 05, 2009

iphone snaps

me in abbey
auvers town hall that vincent painted
katia outside the pub her kilkenny man works in now in paris
Didier in Angouleme

comics exhibition in Angouleme

snaps from the iphone

kitchens at the abbey
dinner at the abbey!
delphine and delphine in paris at screening of all new french trailers!
me about to go french tv
marie laure has cool boots
trish and paul move a lot when they talk!
breakfast in Auvers (Annie had Celtic Hearts playing as well!)
Dinner in the abbey
jean paul at the entrance to the abbey
Didier Brunner and Jean Paul
Dinner on "Disney day"
Yves and me strangely happy at Vincent van Goghs graveside
Jean Paul at the abbey
screen at the abbey
audience at the french premiere (can you spot Michel ocelot?)
Mireille in Angouleme (she approved this pic)
fontevraud abbey
premiere in Angouleme two gurning sound designers!
Elsa (from Paris) and Elisabeth (from Kilkenny) at the screenings for Image par Image
Richard the Lionheart
Marie Laure and Frits in Brussels