Galway Film Fleadh launches full programme of 35th edition
Posted: 27th June 2023
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is delighted to welcome the launch of the programme of the 35th edition of the Galway Film Fleadh. The festival, which takes place from 11th to 16th July, will present a diverse and eclectic line-up of film screenings, short films, masterclasses, Q&As and industry panels. 25 Screen Ireland supported films will screen over the course of the festival, including 12 feature films and 18 short films.
As previously announced, the festival’s Opening Film will be the Irish Premiere of Thaddeus O'Sullivan’ The Miracle Club. The film follows a group of Irish women across generations who embark on a bus trip to Lourdes to look for answers to very different questions at a time when the Catholic Church reigned supreme. Previously announced Screen Ireland supported films include Lisa Mulcahy's Lies We Tell, a contained psychological thriller about a gaslit's break for freedom; George Kane's Apocalypse Clown, which follows a troupe of failed clowns as they embark on a chaotic road trip of self-discovery; and Enzo d’Alò’s A Greyhound of a Girl, a delicate adaptation of Roddy Doyle's coming-of-age novel.
34 Irish films will screen this year in the Irish Cinema section of the festival, including 20 World Premieres and 7 Irish Premieres. These Irish Premieres include Ian Hunt-Duffy's Double Blind, an Irish horror which follows a group of surviving test subjects who must fight off sleep and each other to stay alive after an experimental drug trial goes horribly wrong, as well as Stephen Gerard Kelly and Garry Keane's acclaimed documentary In The Shadow of Beirut, which shows the stark reality of life of four families who fight for survival in a city on the brink.
Three Screen Ireland supported documentaries will receive their World Premiere at the festival: Donald Taylor Black's John Behan - Odyssey, which follows Ireland's best-known sculptor as he tells his story in his own words while volunteering at Camp Eleonas, a state-run centre for migrants in Athens; Gerry Gregg's Face Down, about the devastating consequences of a German businessman's kidnapping in 1970s Belfast; and Sarah Share's The Graceless Age - The Ballad of John Murry, following the American singer-songwriter as he embarks on a road trip that takes him from his haven on the cliffs of County Clare, Ireland to his native Mississippi and faces his demons.
The festival will also host screenings of three further Screen Ireland supported films: Margo Harkin's Stolen, Prasanna Puwanarajah's Ballywalter, and the 2023 Director's Cut of Joe Comerford's Reefer and the Model, which has been restored through the Irish Film Institute and Screen Ireland Digitisation Project.
The Fleadh will once again host a screening of an exciting selection of Screen Ireland shorts for their World Premieres – a mixture of short films funded under Screen Ireland’s Focus Shorts and Frameworks schemes. The films include Diarmuid Donohoe's Uroborus, Jessica Patterson's Worry World, Ciarán Hickey's Callus, Derek Ugochukwu's Pediment, Aisling Conroy's The Last Set, Matt Pidgeon's Cod & Chips, Grace Dyas' Waiting Day, Marta Sniezek & Momo Willet's Nana Dee, Éabha Bortolozzo and Jack Kirwan's BOG and Lochlain McKenna's Two for the Road. Three short films from Screen Ireland and Bow Street Academy's Actor as Creator scheme will also receive their World Premiere at the festival: Kate Stanley Brennan's PANTO, Hannah Mamalis' Baby Steps and Fionn Foley's Cantata. In addition, Screen Ireland is proud to support the World Premiere of four short documentaries by diverse young creatives of the National Film School at IADT, as well as the World Premiere of Damian Farrell and Gerry Hoban's animated short Shakes Versus Shav.
Rounding out the premieres and Q&As are a range of industry events, panel discussions and public interviews. This includes this year's Fleadh Forum, which will be on Thursday 13th July from 12.30pm this year in the Veranda in the Galmont Hotel, with panels including a TV drama case study of Kin and a practical virtual production demonstration. Full programme details and registration is available here.
Another highlight of this year's programme is the Greening our Film Industry panel, a session on the latest sustainability practices on Irish productions, to learn first-hand from key crew on their sustainability journeys. The panel will also provide update on the new European Toolkit, Screen Ireland initiatives and will look to the future in terms of what the industry can expect next. Register here.
The Galway Film Fleadh is supported by the Arts Council, Failte Ireland, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and Galway City Council. All films and events can now be booked on galwayfilmfleadh.com.