IFB Features at Galway Film Fleadh
From opportunists with their eyes on a cocaine haul, to Irish troops in the Congo, the Fleadh programme of features includes an ecclectic cast of characters.
The world premiere will take place of The Young Offenders, a hilarious comedy inspired by Ireland's biggest cocaine seizure of €440 million off the coast of Cork in 2007, which follows two Cork inner-city teenagers as they embark on a 160km road trip on stolen bikes in the hopes of finding some unrecovered bales. Directed by Peter Foott, the film co-stars the stand-up comedian PJ Gallagher (Naked Camera) and Hilary Rose (Republic of Telly).
Darren Thornton's debut A Date for Mad Mary meanwhile is a pitch perfect snapshot of modern Ireland featuring a breakout performance from Seåna Kerslake. Richie Smyth's stunning The Siege of Jadotville sees Jamie Dornan as Irish Commandant Pat Quinlan as he leads his Irish Battalion in a tense stand-off against local troops and French and Belgian Mercenaries in the Congo in 1961. Friday, July 8th will see the world premiere of Liam Gavin's unique occult horror A Dark Song.
The Festival will close with Len Collin's Galway-produced Sanctuary. Set in a world of people with intellectual disabilities, Sanctuary is a touching and funny love story about Larry and Sophie, two people who long to be together in a world that does everything to keep them apart.
Part fiction, part documentary, part speculative essay on the contemporary world, Fiona Tan's History's Future is about one man's odyssey through a Europe in turmoil - and through his own mind. We then take a journey into a very modern ‘Heart of Darkness' with two desert-bound mercenaries in Simon Dixon's gripping debut Tiger Raid. Other Irish co-productions in the programme include The Last King, L'Accabadora, Absolution and Moon Dogs.
Galway Film Fleadh 5-10 July 2016. Tickets now available: www.galwayfilmfleadh.com