Or: Cold feet on the red carpet.

Here’s a fact: Chuck Taylors with leaky soles are not the right footwear for the red carpet. Especially when it’s around 2 degrees Celsius and icy rain is lashing down. And even more so when you are supposed to stay on the carpet, armed with an umbrella to escort all stars and VIPs into the cinema. And some will come late. Very late.

But I will not complain too much, because it was the official Jameson Gala Night at Lighthouse Cinema, and we were welcoming actors Patricia Clarkson and Doctor Bashir from Deep Space Nine errr Alexander Siddig. Fittingly the featured movie in which both are starring was Cairo Time, a drama set in sunny, hot Cairo. The best contrast possible to miserable Dublin on a February evening.

Volunteering on the red carpet wasn’t that bad as I said, most people really liked the fact that two handsome boys (me and fellow volunteer @paddy2K ) were doing their best to protect them from the rain. At least for the 4 meters from the beginning of the red carpet to the entrance of the cinema. What it looked like after people entered the cinema can be seen on JDIFF TV. And hell, there were even some (2, actually) autograph hunters lining the red carpet. Ah, the glamour of a film festival. Did I mention the fact that I did not feel my feet for the rest of the evening?

Here are some impressions, courtesy of entertainment.ie. You can actually make out two green Jameson-umbrellas in the back.

Or: hard times bring out the best in people. And volunteers.

Volunteers are at their best when they become real grunts. Imagine: a cinema full of people who are enthusiastic about the movie they’ve just watched and don’t want to leave, a Q&A-session with the same people and the director from Spain, the need to get all these people (plus the director) out in under 2 minutes, and the need to clean the whole cinema in under 1 minute. And then imagine 200 unhappy people (including a Latvian director and his whole family) queing outside said cinema because the movie they want to enjoy was supposed to start 10 minutes ago. But JDIFF-volunteers are tough cookies. We’ll get the people out, clean the cinema and shoo the people in, all while ripping of tickets, handing out audience award ballots, helping elderly ladies and babies and smiling and saying “enjoy the film!” – while we are thinking “GUNG-HO! GUNG-HO!”.

But after all the madness has ebbed away and the gun smoke is gone, I always appreciate the fact that our great venue captains (brilliant people all of them, whatever the venue) allow volunteers to sneak in and watch a movie in between shifts. Like this I was able to watch the surprisingly good German movie “Same Same but Different” – based on a real-life story of a German backpacker falling in love with a prostitute from Cambodia. Well worth a look, therefore I hope it will be shown in Irish cinemas after the initial festival run.

Here’s one of the songs from the Soundtrack, “Heaven can wait” by Charlotte Gainsbourge & Beck with scenes from the movie:

There are two great things about volunteering for the JDIFF. The first thing is that you are virtually in the middle of things. One the one hand you are not really “working” (as you are not paid) for the festival, and do not have the responsibilites of all the volunteer captains, box office people and production managers -so there’s plenty of things to see and do in between your shifts. For example to see how tiny Colin Farrell is in real life (and I did not even had to wear a tie to be at the opening gala) And on the other hand you are not a visitor and member of the audience, so you do represent the festival and are involved in the realisation of the festival, which mosty takes place in dirty basemenst or boring break rooms without much glamour. Brilliant.

The second thing for me is the discovery of new films. I’m not that much of a film buff myself, but I’m always surprised of the quality of movies shown at the festival. And even though I have my main picks, I always discover new movies when on shift or through recommendations from other volunteers. My first discovery this year is the opening film of the festival, Neil Jordan’s Ondine.

Not that I expected the opening movie to be a total blackout, but the last Neil Jordan movie I watched must have been Michael Collins – so I was a bit unsure about the whole mermaid/fairy tale-story of the movie. But even as the unromatic naysayer that I am I have to confess I loved the movie. It thoughtfully plays with the whole idea of a real-life fairy tale, without ever becoming fantastic or supernatural – and the great cast, above all the brilliant Alison Barry makes the film really enjoyable. Plus, a movie that was scored by Kjartan Sveinsson of Sigur Ros and that features songs by Lisa Hannigan can’t be bad, can it?

Yes, it is that time of the year again. Like last year, I’m planning to entertain you with my adventures as a volunteer for the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. The Festival officially opens on February 18th; so from then on you’ll get regular updates on what it’s like to rip of tickets, collect sticky rubbish from under cinema chairs and meeting the occasional celebrity, all while serving in one of the many venues of the festival. Plus also try to provide some insight on this rare occasion that World Cinema and Hollywood make a stopover in Dublin.

Whereas last year’s motto was “finding favourite films”, this year the festival seems even more diverse with spotlights on Korean, Russian and of course Irish cinema. And it is officially dedicated to one of it’s founders, Michael Dwyer, who passed away recently.

Among my personal picks this year are:

City of Live and Death - a Chinese movie about the so called “Rape of Nanking” in the Sino-Japanese war in 1937, directed by Lu Chuan. Warning: graphic images in the trailer!

Capitalism – a love story – Michael Moore’s inimitable look on capitalism and world economy.

Same Same but different – German director Detlev Buck tells the story of a German backpacker who falls in love with a Cambodian prostitute.

And last but by no means least: Valhalla Rising – Nicholas Winding Refn’s (Bronson) grimy Viking movie:

Please stay tuned for more movie madness on this channel errr blog.

As an unexpected event prevented me from attending my last shift as a volunteer and delayed my posting here, I’ll just give you a short impression of what happened last week. A bigger and better researched post will follow once all has settled – and of course after today’s closing of the festival.

My personal highlight of the festival is definitively the screening of Sacha Gervasi’s incredible incredible documentary “Anvil! The story of Anvil!” and the incredible incredible live performance of the band directly after the show in front of the screen. An extraordinary event for everyone who attended the show. Some impression are here.

Thanks to entertainment.ie for the pic.

As everyone is watching tonight’s closing movie, “The Secret of Kells” at the Savoy while I am writing this post, I’ll now prepare to head off for the closing party of the festival. And with us having won the Irish blog awards there’s more than one reason to celebrate.

Damn it. My team actually made it last in yesterday’s volunteer’s movie quiz. But at least we got the questions about German movies right, and were awarded with some nice Gran Torino longsleeves.
So far it’s been great to work for the festival – I’ve met loads of movie enthusiasts (festival visitors and volunteers), some starlets, interesting French movie directors and a lady who insisted on getting her personal programme and a bottle of water back after both were discarded accidentally. Thankfully my venue captain Anna reacted quickly and peace was restored so everybody could go back to one of the important things in life, watching movies.

Today’s shift will have yours truly attending the screening of the Irish Film Board Shorts at the IFI:

The Irish Film Board and the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival are pleased to present this showcase of new work in the short film format. The programme features both established and up-andcoming filmmakers and exemplifies the diverse range of talent, technical expertise and innovative styles which have already been recognised both in Ireland and internationally.

But as stated earlier, my personal highlight will be the screening of “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” at Cineworld, especially as the band and director Sacha Gervasi will be attending. Horns up!

PS: Neil Gaiman likes being in Dublin, seemingly.

As promised, I’d like to give you an update on the Jameson Dublin Film Festival.

Most of the opening night I was handing out free whiskey to all kinds of movie- and TV-related guests of the aftershowparty at the official Festival-Pub, Ron Blacks. And therefore missed the defile on the red carpet at the Savoy, where Irvine Welsh confirmed that there are plans to make a movie of the sequel to “Trainspotting”, “Porno”. I really would love to see Robert Carlyle reprise the role of  Begbie again…

Generally I’m always surprised how closely most of the arts are connected, especially literature and film – I don’t think that screenwriters could do without books or short stories providing the basis for most movie-plots. On that topic: another famous fiction author, Neil Gaiman attended the Irish premier of “Coraline 3D”, a stop-motion animated movie based on one of his books at Movies @ Dundrum yesterday.

My other shift last week was at one of Dublin’s oldest cinema’s, the time-honoured Screen Cinema on Townsend Street. As this was the first time I actually attended a screening there (one has to confess that the outer appearance of the place is not very convincing), I was surprised by the cosy atmosphere and old-worldliness that is persisting there despite the worn-down facade – perfectly fitting atmosphere for the French and Turkish movies that were shown. I attended the screening of “The Grocer’s Son” of French director Eric Guirado, a movie that surprised as one of the small hits of the festival already – there’ll be more to come from this director, that’s for sure.

Today I’m looking forward to watch “Exterminating Angels”. And this one at the Screen again.

As some of you may now, this year’s Jameson Dublin Film Festival has started today; and this year yours truly will work for the festival as a volunteer. Therefore over the next ten days I’m planning to share my experiences with you, and maybe I can even sneak in one interview or two. And of course some gossip, who knows who I’ll be meeting while ripping of tickets

But the festival is not mainly about stars, but movies:

Here are just a few of the highlights for opening weekend……

Dive in to Documentaries
Experience a new world with our opening weekend documentaries including Creative Chaos (13th @ 4pm), Pirate for The Sea (14th @ 4:40pm), Bigger Stronger Faster (15th @ 6:10pm).

Turkish Delights
Get a taste of the Eastern delights at the festival with Dot (14th @ 2pm), Havar (15th @ 6:10pm) and Takva (15th @ 8:45pm).

Not Just Another Manic Monday
Get the week off to a good start and beat the Monday blues with Snow (16th @ 6:30pm) and Exterminating Angels (16th @ 8:45pm).

Guaranteed Irish
Come and see whats on offer from some of the shining lights of Irish film with Christine Molloy & Joe Lawlors Helen (15th @ 4pm), and John Crowley’s Boy A (16th @ 6:45pm).
Going, going, gone..

I am really looking forward to the ecletic mix of European and American movies, with not few classics and Cannes-winners featured. My personal picks for the festival are:

“I sell the dead”. A 18th century grave-robbers tale featuring Ron Perlman and Dominic Monaghan.
“Exterminating Angels (Les Anges Exterminateurs). Controversial French director and writer Jean-Claude Brisseau created a wild mix of sexual tension and suspense in this thriller from 2006.
“Anvil! The Story of Anvil”. As the old metalhead that I am, no one’s gonna stop me from watching this extraordinary documetary about one of the most understimated bands in Rock. Hellyeah.
And last but not least “Tokyo!”, a cinematic triptych of three Tokyo-set stories filmed by three different directors, one of them the brilliant Michel Gondry.

So, see you at the movies!