6th Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival 10th - 14th June 2011
Guth Gafa 2011 once again opens a window to the world - personal and cultural stories, climate justice, eco-terrorism vs. green activism, human rights and a call to action on social issues and societal responsibility.
The 6th edition of the Guth Gafa Film Festival will be as breathtaking and challenging as ever, with the very best award-winning international and Irish feature documentaries presented by their filmmakers. We are pleased that the little sea-side village Gortahork in Donegal will once again turn into a meeting point, and a melting pot, of film fans from Ireland all over the world.
This year's Guth Gafa programme includes 25 of the world's finest feature documentaries, a focus on North-American films dealing with environmental justice and fighting ‘the Man', a Climate Action initiative, short documentaries of young film students, some high-profile industry events, and most important, a lot of fun!
Presenting the Republic of Ireland premiere of Sundance World Cinema winner Position Among The Stars by the well-known director Leonard Retel Helmrich (The Netherlands) this year's award-winning international programme highlights include the winner of the 53rd Dok Leipzig Festival Golden Dove, Vodka Factory by Jerzy Sladkowski (Sweden, 2010), the Irish Dancing World Championship documentary Jig by Sue Bourne (UK) presented in the Official selection of HotDocs 2011, the creative documentary-fiction film My Avatar and Me by Bente Milton (Denmark, 2010), HotDocs winner 2011 Our Newspaper by Eline Flipse (The Netherlands).
Guth Gafa will show an important selection of 25 outstanding films to open a window to our festival audience with a focus on environmental, social and human rights issues in Ireland and globally.
Environmental Justice
In 2009, acclaimed environmental scientist James Lovelock predicted that we have just 10 years left until vast areas of our planet will be uninhabitable. (The Vanishing Face of Gaia - A Final Warning)
With the touching documentary There Once Was an Island by Briar March and Lyn Collie (New Zealand) Guth Gafa presents a film that shows how Lovelock's predictions are starting to manifest through the huge impact of climate change. The film tells the story of a unique Pacific Island community facing the first devastating effects of climate, including terrifying floods. The film looks at the heartrending decision the islanders have to make to stay with their island home and see it slowly disappear, or move to a new and unfamiliar land, leaving their culture and language behind forever.
What do people do, when the law prevents them from protecting themselves? The award-winning Irish documentary The Pipe by Risteard O'Domhnaill (2010) presented in the Official competition at the Toronto Film Festival 2010 tells the story of the small Irish village Rossport that stood up to Big Oil in the Shell to Sea campaign.
Climate of Change by Brian Hill (USA) premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2010 and narrated by Scottish actress Tilda Swinton is focusing on the efforts of everyday people all over the world who are making a difference in the fight against global warming.
Wiebo's War by David York (Canada, 2011) received Honourable mention from the feature-length jury at HotDocs 2011 and tells the story of a devout Christian Community, at war with the Canadian gas industry and their wells placed near the family farm leaking hydrogen sulphide. Wiebo Ludwig's family blame the gas industry for the death of their livestock and stillbirths and miscarriages of their children and engage in their own form of revenge.
The 2010 Oscar-nominated documentary Gasland by Josh Fox (USA, 2010) that had its world premiere at Sundance 2010 uncovers a trail of secrets, lies and contamination of the largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history across the United States.
A new documentary Windfall by Laura Israel (USA, 2010) that premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival observes the deeply divided residents of Meredith, New York - an Upstate farm community in decline - as they debate the pros and cons of allowing wind turbines on their land.
Better This World by Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega (USA, 2011) is a dramatic story of idealism, loyalty, crime and betrayal. The film goes to the heart of the War on Terror and its impact on civil liberties and political dissent in post-9/11 America.
More films and programme highlights will be announced in the next few weeks.
In the tradition of Guth Gafa, all directors will be invited to attend and present their films, and to discuss their work in post-screening debates.
At Guth Gafa, there will also be a selection of family and children's screenings, including a specially curated programme of animations for children from the archives of the prestigious National Film Board of Canada.
As every year, Guth Gafa will in addition to the regular screenings and discussions host an Industry Programme for film professionals and students with panels, debates and masterclasses. This year there will be a panel of high-powered North American documentary funding experts from The Sundance Documentary Fund, The Tribeca Film Institute, POV Documentary Channel, Hot Docs Pitching Forum and Chicken & Egg Pictures. And award-winning director Leonard Retel Helmrich (Position Among the Stars) will lead one of his acclaimed 2-day workshops on Single Shot Cinematography.
Climate Action 2011 - Turning The Tide: A Day of Films and Talks Inspiring Change
Despite the recession, and a massive cut in our budget, Guth Gafa is extending to a 5 day event this year. This is in no small part because of the tremendous support of our festival-goers over the last 5 years. The festival will commit, in addition to its main programme, 2 days to highlight Environmental Justice and Climate Adaptation issues, with screenings discussions, theatre and music performances.
This Climate Action 2011 Event will take place on the 13th and 14th June, and address the importance of environmental justice issues in Ireland and globally. The Climate Action 2011 initiative is produced in partnership with the recently set-up Centre for Social Action Media (The SAM Centre) in Donegal and is Guth Gafa's cultural and artistic response to climate change and environmental injustices.
More information about Climate Action 2011 @ our website www.guthgafa.com
"The Next Generation" - a new Student Film programme
Since beginning in 2006, it has been important to Guth Gafa to offer a platform for young filmmakers to make their first contacts and learn from experts at our industry events.
With this in mind we are planning to include, in this year's festival, a new programme of outstanding short documentaries made by young film students called "The Next Generation". We think that it is even more important now in times of economic difficulties to support the upcoming generation of documentary filmmakers. Therefore we will show, parallel to our official line-up, a curated programme of 8 to 10 excellent short documentaries of young film students to our Irish and international audience. It is a great first opportunity for young directors to present their films on screen and discuss their work afterwards.
"The Next Generation" programme will be competitive with prizes for the winning film. An international jury of 3 attending industry experts will choose the best of these student documentaries, and the winner will get free production equipment and post-production time for their next film.
Guth Gafa are also partnering with Tyrell and AVID who are holding their own student competition. The winning documentary film from the AVID/Tyrell competition will premiere in Guth Gafa's "Next Generation" programme.
More information about "The Next Generation" programme @ our website www.guthgafa.com
As ever, Guth Gafa is more than a film festival - our visitors and guests can enjoy excellent international cuisine at our Festival Café and have a pint in one of the local pubs with their legendary Gaeltacht hospitality and traditional music. During the day, outings to Gaeltacht islands, Glenveagh National Park, Mount Errigal and Hornhead are offered to our guests, and for the more adventurous, Guth Gafa have partnered with Jaws Watersports in Dunfanaghy, and Gartan Outdoor Centre in Churchill, for surfing, kayaking, rock climbing and windsurfing outings. Later, the nights come alive with world-class live music set to rock on until the early hours in the Guth Gafa Festival Club.
Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival is proudly supported by Bord Scannán na hÉireann, IFTN, RTÉ, The Arts Council, TG4, Údarás na Gaeltachta, FÁS/STI, The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Donegal County Council, and other industry partners.
For full details of our programme, special industry events and weekend packages, please visit www.guthgafa.com or call our festival team on 074 9180730.