Galway Film Fleadh will move 2020 edition online
Posted: 11th May 2020
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland welcome the news that the Galway Film Fleadh will take place this July, with the festival making the decision to present the 2020 edition online.
Following the announcement from the government that cinemas will remain closed until August 10th and large gatherings will not be allowed for some time, the Fleadh have partnered with a leading streaming service to provide a seamless, secure and easy-to-use online experience for audiences and filmmakers alike.
Said the Fleadh’s Programme Director Will Fitzgerald, “Moving the Fleadh online doesn’t mean replicating the event in a digital space but reimagining it to be the best online experience possible. There will be a reduced, more focused programme because we don’t want to split audience attention when we don’t have a physical event space keeping us all together. We want to give every film their moment in the spotlight and make every selected film part of a united conversation.”
The festival's short film programme will continue to drive the discovery of new talent and the Fleadh have clarified that the winning Best Short Film Live Action and Best Short Animation will go straight on to the long list as per previous years. The Deadline for Short Film Submissions has been extended to Friday 22nd May.
‘Coming Together’ will be a key theme of this year’s festival, with twelve guest curators from festivals across Europe contributing to the event. Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture and Galway Film Fleadh are delighted to present the official launch of Peripheral Visions, which will see the Irish premieres of European films from France, Poland, Switzerland, Iceland, Finland, Germany, Greece, Spain, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Canada.
The festival’s online edition will feature live-streamed filmmaker Q+A’s, audience participation via social media and conferencing software such as Zoom, as well as live-streamed masterclasses, panel discussions, the Fleadh’s industry meetings, and maybe even a virtual Rowing Club during social hours!
Films can be streamed via the Film Fleadh website, to audience members’ preferred devices including Smart TVs, laptops, phones and tablets. As a further security measure, and to preserve something of the national flavour of the Galway Film Fleadh, films will be geo-locked to an Irish audience, with a limited amount of tickets sold.
The Galway Film Fleadh is supported by the Arts Council, Galway 2020, Screen Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen.
The Galway Film Fleadh will take place online from July 7th at www.galwayfilmfleadh.com.