This September we will celebrate our ninth year of The Annual Irish American Movie Hooley at Wilmette Theatre just outside Chicago.
This film festival was founded to discover new talent, particularly Irish American talent. We are the only Irish American film festival in the world. And we’re hoping to discover the next John Ford, Preston Sturges, or James Cagney, who epitomized the romantic Irish-American sense of identity and legendary storytelling.
Unfortunately, we don’t get many submissions from Irish American filmmakers. But the Irish American films we’ve been lucky enough to premiere in the past have all come through New York City and readers of The Irish Echo
If you are filmmaker, and you are Irish American, why aren’t you submitting your film to this festival? Sure we ain’t Sundance, or Toronto, or even Tribeca, but we will fly you to Chicago for the weekend, put you up at the luxurious Chicago Hilton on The Magnificent Mile, and treat you like royalty for the entire weekend, including plenty of booze and food and craic! And your film will be reviewed in the all the Chicago press. And you will have the time of your life. Watch our testimonial reel of filmmakers who have been with us at our website here.
And to make it even easier, I will waive all submission fees that come directly to my email, hiberniantransmedia@gmail.com. Just send me a link to your film and we will take a look and you could be sitting pretty on Friday night September 22nd when we premiere your masterpiece to the world.
John Wayne and James Stewart in the John Ford-directed 1962 release "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
But do it now, because we will be choosing that film before the end of June. All work submitted should represent the best of the Irish American experience on screen. If the filmmaker is not Irish American, then the content must be Irish or Irish American related. Work submitted that features a script, producer, or lead actor who is Irish American will also be considered.
Spielberg, Scorsese, or Tarantino couldn’t get into our Hooley if they wanted to, but Murphy, Kelly, or McCarthy we want to hear from you!
See you at the movies!
