This Tuesday (16th July) one team will be named winner of the 11th installment of the 48 Hour guerilla filmmaking competition; they will have been selected from 800 entries, so it will be quite an achievement.

The word from the international judging panel is the films featured in the grand final (written, shot and edited in 48 hours) are as good as the short films playing in festivals around the world.

Rialto Channel is giving you the chance to make up your own mind. The Rialto Channel 48 Hour Grand Final Special screens on Saturday July 27 at 7.55pm, and throughout August all the grand finalists will be playing on Rialto Channel. In the meantime, good luck to all the finalists - we’re looking forward to an exciting and entertaining evening on Tuesday.

Here are my weekly highlights for the week.

This Tuesday (16^th July) one team will be named winner of the 11^th installment of the 48 Hour guerilla film-making competition; they will have been selected from 800 entries, so it will be quite an achievement.

The word from the international judging panel is the films featured in the grand final (written, shot and edited in 48 hours) are as good as the short films playing in festivals around the world.

Rialto Channel is giving you the chance to make up your own mind. The Rialto Channel 48 Hour Grand Final Special screens on Saturday July 27 at 7.55pm, and from August all the grand finalists will be playing on Rialto Channel. In the meantime, good luck to all the finalists - we’re looking forward to an exciting and entertaining evening on Tuesday.

Here are my weekly highlights for the week.

Love/Hate Series 2

Starring: Robert Sheehan & Aidan Gillen

Created by: Stuart Carolan

Screening: Every Monday evening at 8.30pm

Award winning Irish crime drama Love/Hate returns to Rialto Channel, with Series 2 as brutal as ever. With slick production values and a top cast this gritty crime drama takes us into Dublin’s criminal underworld, where drugs and violence are part of everyday life. Starting a year after series 1 ended, young Darren Treacy (Robert Sheehan) is trying to keep clear of his old gang boss John Boy Power (Aidan Gillen). When a full-scale war breaks out between rival gangs personal debts are called in, and once again Darren finds himself at the side of his old mentor. Love/Hate is well written and acted, but this hard-hitting drama is not for the faint hearted.

The Swell Season   

Starring: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová and Catherine Hansard

Directed by: Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins and Carlo Mirabella-Davis

Screening: Thursday 18^th July, 8.30pm  

Once is my kind of musical, and if like me you’ve wondered what happened to the song writing duo and stars of this Oscar winning film then The Swell Season is for you. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová’s on-screen romance in Once lead to a real life romance, and the success of the film meant the duo spent the next couple of years touring the world. As we discover in this intimate black and white documentary, life in the limelight has proved as challenging as it is rewarding. Filled with performances and the duo’s music, this is a must for fans of Hansard and Irglová’s divine music.

Bernie

Starring: Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey

Directed by: Richard Linklater

Screening: Saturday 20^th July, 8.30pm

A small town real-life murder is the inspiration for this collaboration between School of Rock director Richard Linklater and actor Jack Black. Black plays Bernie, a lovable member of a small Texas community arrested for killing his elderly companion Marjorie Nugent (MacLaine). A deliciously wicked black comedy, Linklater’s unconventional approach mixes documentary, drama and comedy, and includes using actors and non-actors to tell the story. A mockumentary is not a respectful approach to telling Marjorie’s story, but it certainly is entertaining. Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine are on fire together, but the real stars are the locals of Carthage, East Texas and their priceless honesty and understated wit.