Seagate to sponsor Foyle Film Festival

One of Ireland’s most exciting annual celebrations of the art of cinema, the Foyle Film Festival, is going from strength to strength this year with the support of a new main sponsor – Seagate Technology, one of the largest employers in the north-west of Ireland.

The 16th Seagate Foyle Film Festival will run from November 21 to 30. The theme this year is ‘Celebration’ and the programme promises a feast of film, fun and cinematic brilliance.

Hundreds of contemporary and cutting-edge films screened across six venues. Master-classes in the arts of special effects, directing and acting, as well as panel discussions involving high-profile personalities on various aspects of media, will pack the ten days of the Festival period. During this time, international and national competitions will take place, showcasing the work of new filmmakers and animators.

This year Seagate is taking over as main sponsor of the Foyle Film Festival following two years of support as sponsor of the festival’s technology strand.

Explaining the company’s commitment to supporting one of the biggest cultural and community events in the north-west, John Spangler, plant manager of Seagate’s Springtown facility, said that such a partnership with the Festival is a logical one, as both Seagate and the film industry ‘turn on ideas’.

He added: “Seagate is the entertainment industry’s leading supplier of disc drives. Nearly every major film made today employs digital storage technology for visual effects, digital imaging and editing. The products used in this environment need to be fast and reliable, offering the highest quality possible with minimal errors. Since the inception of recording and editing on PCs, Seagate has been the hard disc drive brand of choice for audio-visual professionals.

“The creativity of Seagate’s research teams and the products that result are at the core of the digital storage technology on which so much of modern life depends.

“Our support for the Foyle Film Festival reflects our commitment to good corporate citizenship in the communities in which our employees live. It is great to have an opportunity to highlight the significance of our technology to the film industry through our association with a festival of this calibre.”

The 16th Seagate Foyle Film Festival starts on November 21, but before that there will be the launches of the festival programme – events that themselves have become established as highlights of the cultural year and attended by well-known names from the world of film.

(GB)