An Irish made film, directed by a Sligo filmmaker, described as a ‘dark Irish fairytale’ has been awarded Best Feature Film at the New Jersey Film Festival.
‘The Disembodied Adventures of Alice’, directed by Cléa van der Grijn, an award-winning visual artist and filmmaker based in Co Sligo, was awarded the accolade at the New Jersey event this week.
The film is set over the course of a single night and is at times hallucinatory and explores otherworldly scenes of kink, gender-swapping, loss, mental illness and loneliness.
Made with the support of the Arts Council of Ireland’s Visual Arts Bursary and Culture Ireland, the film has now also been officially selected by the Contemporary Irish Arts Center (CIACLA) to screen at The Irish Film Festival Los Angeles on March 16th. The film is just one of eight feature-length films selected for screening at the festival.
Van der Grijn’s process is multi-faceted, incorporating site-specific installation, large-format photography, sculpture, drawing, painting and film.
Commenting on the award, Cléa van der Grijn said: “I'm immensely proud of the creative, brave and very talented cast and crew that I have had the pleasure of working with to bring the film to fruition.
"To see it win international recognition like this at such a prestigious event as the New Jersey Film Festival is beyond thrilling, and we’re looking forward to seeing how audiences react in Los Angeles.”
As well as winning ‘Best Feature Film’ at the New Jersey Film Festival, held last week, ‘The Disembodied Adventures of Alice’ also picked up a Festival Director Citation for its cinematography, led by Sligo-based cinematographer and filmmaker Ciaran Carty.
It was also cited for Best Director; Best Screenwriter; Best Production Design (Cléa van der Grijn) and Best Performance (Senna O Hara).
The filmmaker is about to embark on a new film project called ‘Nora in Wonderland’ after the Arts Council made her the successful recipient of its 2023 Authored Works award in conjunction with the Irish Film Institute to make an artist-led feature film.
It is currently in production for release in 2025.
