IFB Congratulates Galway Film Fleadh Award Winners 2016
The Galway Film Fleadh wrapped last night following six days of Irish and international film premieres, screenings, workshops and discussions. The annual awards ceremony took place last night with a number of IFB-funded films picking up key awards.
The joint winners of Best Irish Feature were The Young Offenders and A Date For Mad Mary. The Young Offenders was directed by Peter Foott and produced by Peter Foott, Julie Ryan and Cormac Fox. A Date For Mad Mary was directed by Darren Thornton and produced by Ed Guiney and Juliette Bonass.
IFB Chief Executive James Hickey commented: “These awards are testament to the continuing excellent health of Irish film. I'm delighted that the joint winners of the Best Irish Feature are both from first time directors that we have supported.”
He went on to say: “The richly deserved award for Seána Kerslake’s breakthrough performance in A Date for Mad Mary comes on the back of strong reviews from the recent Karlovy Vary Film Festival. We look forward to seeing The Young Offenders received by Irish cinema audiences this September”.
The Award for Best Animated Sequence in a Short Film went to The Lost Letter, directed by Kealan O'Rourke and produced by Brian Willis. Second to None was a double winner, picking up The Don Quijote Award for Best Animated Short Film and The James Horgan Award for Best Animation, with the latter award meaning that it will qualify for Academy Award consideration. Second to None was directed by Vincent Gallagher and produced by Damian Farrell.
The award for Best International First Feature was presented to Moon Dogs which was directed by Philip John and produced by Kathy Speirs, Jacqueline Kerrin, Dominic Wright and Suzanne Reid, while the winner of Best Irish First Feature is Sanctuary.
The Best Irish Feature Documentary award went to Frankie Fenton's It's Not Yet Dark, produced by Leslie McKimm and Kathryn Kennedy. In second place was Bobby Sands: 66 Days directed by Brendan J. Byrne and produced by Trevor Birney. The prize for Best Cinematography in an Irish Feature went to Kate McCullough forIt's Not Yet Dark.
This year, Galway Film Fleadh nominated five rising stars in the fields of producing, acting & direction, for the new talent award. The winner of The Bingham Ray New Talent Award was Seana Kerslake (A Date for Mad Mary).
The Galway Hooker Award was presented to Jim Sheridan.