In what may have to be the last Film Festival-related item, enjoying a drink after play on Thursday a number of those working at the German Masters got chatting to some Northern Irish screenwriters and producers, in Berlin to try and raise investment for various movies they were hoping to make.
In what proved a fascinating insight into what can only be described as a niche area (Irish Gothic horror, apparently with occasional use of possessed leprechauns – maybe not doing everything possible to dispel some national stereotypes) writer Spence Wright and his colleagues (well, apart from the one who was asleep in the corner for the whole two hours) broke off from their pool game and offered up a spirited rendition of ‘Snooker Loopy’ in honour of the chance meeting to the general bewilderment of the bar staff.
Wright describes himself on Linked In as “a horror fan since I was knee high to a Chucky Doll, a child of the vhs video feeding frenzy - now a horror hound writing the scripts and living the nightmare”, and his credits include Red Mist (2008), Unsound (2011), the unforgettable Vampires v Leprechauns (2013) and Deadlocked (2013).
Some fairly obvious gags about snooker and horror, notably those involving slow play and early morning finishes, were all duly cracked.
Tournament director Mike Ganley appeared to know quite a bit about the genre – arguably a little too much – while the festival-goers regretted being tied up in meetings on Friday afternoon and unable to come along and cheer on compatriot Mark Allen against Shaun Murphy.