INDUSTRY EVENTS AT THIS YEAR'S JOHN FORD IRELAND FILM SYMPOSIUM

This year's John Ford Ireland Film Symposium in Dublin from June 6-8th will feature Free Industry Events including Ford Producers Panel and Directors Hub as part of the weekend's events.

The Ford Producers Panel will feature key industry figures from across the UK and Ireland and will focus on the challenges of making independent films in both the UK and Ireland, and getting them out to the wider international market.

Confirmed Panellists include:

David Collins (Chair) – Founder and Managing Director of Samson Films, one of Ireland's most prominent film producers, his credits include the Academy Award winning Once, I Went Down, Grabbers, Run & Jump, The Sea and Asylum.

Laura Hastings Smith – London based, she has produced films such as Steve McQueen's Hunger, the upcoming Macbeth with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, X Plus Y with Sally Hawkins and the BAFTA winning television drama Top Boy.

Andrew Reid – Head of Production at Northern Ireland Screen, Andrew's credits include the BAFTA winning Hunger, Good Vibrations, The Mighty Celt, Five Minutes of Heaven and the upcoming High Rise, starring Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons.

James Flynn – Managing Director of Octagon Films, James has produced films such as Veronica Guerin, PS I Love You, King Arthur, Calvary in addition to high end television dramas including Penny Dreadful, Vikings, The Borgias and The Tudors.

Sue Bruce Smith – Head of Commercial and Brand Strategy at Film 4, she has worked across titles such as 12 Years A Slave, The Iron Lady, Hunger, Submarine, Shame and Seven Psychopaths.

The Ford Director's Hub will once again explore and examine Ford's lasting body of work which still proves a strong influence on modern-day filmmakers. The line-up will debate and discuss the skills and expertise of Ford's greatest films, providing a mix of insight and lively discussion into Ford's lasting legacy.

Featuring a unique panel of diverse filmmakers from across the industry including:

Whit Stillman - Academy Award nominee, director and screenwriter, Whit Stillman is one of American independent cinemas most distinctive and unique filmmakers, best known for his films Metropolitan, The Last Days of Disco, Barcelona and Damsels in Distress.

Ben Wheatley - Wheatley has directed some of the most acclaimed UK films of recent years including Down Terrace, Kill List, Sightseers and A Field in England winning comparisons to film masters such as Stanley Kubrick and Mike Leigh

Kieron J Walsh – IFTA nominated director of When Brendan Met Trudy and Jump, co-founder of Blinder Films.

Alan Moloney – Managing Director of Parallel Films, producer of Byzantium, Albert Nobbs, Intermission, Haywire, Breakfast on Pluto and Treasure Island.

Both events are Free and can be registered at through here.