At the Sharks, we think maybe our greatest achievement is how we manage time, or to be specific, your time. We know people don’t want to be constantly knackered, running from talk to talk, to awards, to pub to…(puff) …another talk to… (pause for sit down)… etc. But we also know we have to offer our delegates some substance. Solution? We simply concentrate on quality and we think we manage each year to pull it off.
In the past 10 years for example our Judges have included – Chacho Puebla, John Pallant, Richard Flintham, Jeff Kling, Mathew Bull, Emma Pueyo, Dan Harrison. As for our speakers? Try Simpson’s writer-producers Mike Scully and Mike Reiss, Rocky Horror Show writer Richard O’Brien and Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal to name just a few. We’ve looked hard at the time delegates have and try to pack as much in while still allowing time to chill, chat and catch their breath.
Our Jury Criteria
One of the things we have tried to do with our juries is make them as relevant as possible. Now we understand that ‘relevant’ could sound like one of those bits of advertising blarney that people often say/use when they haven’t got anything specific to say, but honestly, we really mean it.
And what do we mean by relevant? Well it would be easy each year to go for ‘famous names’. Advertising ‘names’ who produced their last great ad in 1987 (and have since lived on the proceeds). But we don’t, we choose people at the top of their game who are doing it now. Also our jury is not splintered, they all arrive in Kinsale, view the best work together and judge only on the strength (or weakness) of the work (nb: never because he used to work there and fell out with the feller who used to be his boss, but went out with the girl… well you get the idea). Basically, your work will be afforded the respect it deserves. We take your work very seriously and would simply never allow it to be judged on anything but it’s merits.
