The finalists have been announced for Ireland's Young Filmmaker of the Year 2019.

Lights, Camera, Action!

The announcements were made at six different regional heats across four days.

The competition, which received a record of over 1,700 entries this year, announced which short films would move on to the finals, which take place on March 27th and 28th during the Fresh Film Festival.

 Over 60 short films by young Irish filmmakers were announced as finalists and will be screened during the Fresh Film Festival, which will take place from March 25th to 30th in Limerick.

Now in its 23rd year, Fresh Film Festival encourages young people from Ireland and overseas, aged 7 to 18 years, to create, exhibit and share films.

The festival provides an opportunity for these young filmmakers to have their work seen on a cinema screen for the first time and to compete for the title of Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year.

"Ireland’s Young Filmmakers have a very interesting approach," says Jayne Foley, Director of Fresh Film Festival.

“Storytelling is at the core, because the budget is usually either low or non-existent, film-makers have to be very inventive with plot and location.”

Fresh Film Festival encourages young people to make films by hosting an annual international film festival for young people, presenting Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year Awards, acting as an advocate for young filmmakers and promoting their work worldwide.

Fresh runs a number of initiatives throughout the year, including a Hothouse programme designed to bring young people of different ages and diverse backgrounds together to share their film experiences and create new collaborative work, as well as distributing Irish films made by young people to festivals all over the world.

The Arts Council of Ireland, Limerick City and County Council and RTE Supporting the Arts support the Fresh Film Festival.

Further details are available  here