Delighted in me bones that IN RIBBONS will screen at the prestigious Women Deliver World Conference 2016, which takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark from May 16^th – 19^th. This global conference unites thousands of world influencers, policymakers, activists, journalists, and young people from over 150 countries to spotlight solutions and focus on how to make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) matter most for girls and women. Founder Jill Sheffield and CEO Katja Iverson articulate concisely the aim of the conference, “Our message is simple and powerful: Sustainable development is possible only when girls and women are healthy and thriving. Women deliver so much more than babies. They deliver for themselves, their families, their communities, and their societies. When you invest in girls and women, there is a ripple effect and everybody wins.”

Screening at the Arts and Cinema Corner, an initiative which aims to transform a section of the conference into a creative space for showcasing international artists and creative work, I can’t articulate enough what an absolute honour it is for all involved to be part of a conference that advocates for women’s rights, health and well-being in such a prestigious and meaningful process. And it is such a credit to the conference organisers through their recognition and showcasing of how the medium of film can have a place in expressing the profound and the important through the universal language of visceral image and action. The only Irish film to screen amongst an amazing selection from all over the world, it will be shown on Wednesday,18^th May. In addition to lunchtime workshops with world-renowned directors, producers, and poets, partial film screenings will run consecutively throughout the three days.

An Independent production, part personal money, part crowdfunded and also part funded through a bursary award from Kildare County Council Arts Service, IN RIBBONS is beautifully directed/edited by Marie Valerie Jeantelot. Starring Patrick O’Donnell, Geraldine McAlinden, Melissa Nolan and Rebecca Waldron, line produced and set design by Tom Dowling, sound and music by Neil Horner and cinematography by Basil Al-Rawi, the theme of the film is resilience and through a highly visual and sensory narrative, tells the story of a little girl’s journey to an orphanage in 1960’s Ireland. The film continues to screen at festivals worldwide and has won coveted awards including the Jury Prize at the Worcestershire Film Festival 2015, Best Experimental Film at both the Los Angeles Cinefest, February 2016 and The Seadance Film Festival, Spain 2016, and was also awarded Best Director [Marie Valerie Jeantelot] and Best Sound [Neil Horner] at the Wolves Independent IFF in Lithuania, 2016.

More information on the conference can be found on their website