A SEVENTEEN year old Limerick girl was awarded the title of Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year 2016 at the Fresh Film Festival held in Limerick this week.
The award was presented to Rachel McGill who has been making and producing films for two years and sits her Leaving Certificate in June.
The Fresh Film Festival in existence since 1997 encourages young people to express themselves through film and in the 20 years of the film festival this is the first time that a young woman has won the title.
Rachel’s winning film was chosen from over 400 entries submitted by young filmmakers from all over the country. Set in the 1940s, ‘Poppies’ is inspired by Sylvia Plath’s poem ‘Poppies in July’.
Commenting Festival Director Jayne Foley says:
“Over the past 20 year of Fresh Film Festival the young people of Ireland have consistently submitted high quality and visually beautiful films. This year we are once again impressed by the creativity and quality of these young filmmakers.”
Rachel McGill was presented with the award and a check for €1,000 at the fresh Film Festival awards ceremony this evening, Thursday March 10 by TV presenter Steven Byrne.
