Three Screen Ireland supported films to Premiere at 35th Galway Film Fleadh
Posted: 6th June 2023
Galway Film Fleadh has announced today three World Premieres and three Irish Premieres which will screen the 35th edition of the film festival taking place from 11th-16th July in the Town Hall Theatre and Pálás Cinema. We are delighted to announce that three Fís Eíreann/Screen Ireland supported films will be screening at the festival.
Lies We Tell, directed by Lisa Mulcahy, will receive its World Premiere on the 15th July at 9.30pm at the Town Hall Theatre. A contained psychological thriller about a gaslit girl’s break for freedom, the film stars Agnes O'Casey, David Wilmot, Holly Sturton and Chris Walley in this story of an orphaned heiress who must fight her guardian for her inheritance— and her life. Lies We Tell is written by Elisabeth Gooch, inspired by the novel Uncle Silas by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, and produced by Ruth Carter of Blue Ink Films. The film has been boarded by Break Out Pictures and will be released across Irish cinemas this October.
Also announced today is the World Premiere of Apocalypse Clown from director George Kane. The film follows a troupe of failed clowns as they embark on a chaotic road trip of self-discovery after a mysterious solar event plunges the world into anarchy. Jenny (Amy De Bhrún), a conspiracy clickbait reporter, is looking for a way to broadcast the truth to the whole world. The Great Alphonso (Ivan Kaye), a pompous ex-TV clown celebrity, spots his chance to resurrect his career and reclaim the fame he so craves; while Bobo, Pepe, and Funzo, desperately try to escape the wrath of some vengeful human statues. Apocalypse Clown will premiere on the 14th July at 9.30pm at the Town Hall Theatre. Apocalypse Clown was produced by Morgan Bushe and James Dean for Fastnet Films in co-production with Namesake Films and Cloé Garbay and Beata Saboova of uMedia. Ed Caffrey and Rupert Preston of Vertigo Releasing, Patrick O’Neill of WildCard Distribution, Celine Haddad of Screen Ireland and John Gleeson and Oisín O’Neill of BCP Asset Management serve as executive producers. Production investment was provided by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, RTE, Section 481, Vertigo Releasing, BCP, the Belgian tax shelter and Screen Ireland.
Irish Premieres at the festival will include one Screen Ireland supported film: A Greyhound of a Girl, Enzo d’Alò’s animated adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s delicate coming-of-age novel. The family animation follows 11-year-old Mary who loves to cook and dreams of becoming a great chef. Her beloved grandmother, Emer, encourages her to make this dream come true. With a cast that includes Brendan Gleeson, Sharon Horgan, Rosaleen Linehan and Charlene McKenna, the film received its World Premiere in February this year at the 73rd edition of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) and will screen in Ireland for the first time on 16th July at 3pm at the Town Hall Theatre.
Further films announced today include the World Premiere of Stephen Wallis' The Martini Shot, which follows an ailing movie director as he begins to shoot what he believes to be his final work of art, and the Irish Premieres of Vuk Lungulov-Klotz's Sundance award-winning Mutt and Chandler Levack's directorial debut I Like Movies.
Speaking about the programme for the 35th edition of the Fleadh, Director of Programming, Maeve McGrath said:
This has been a wonderful year for watching films while programming for the Fleadh. The feature film programme has films from 36 countries featuring world and Irish premieres. We are introducing new sections with a focus on Architecture on Film, Defender and The Artist On Film alongside our favourite sections such as Irish Cinema, World Cinema, Peripheral Visions, Generation and What the Fleadh?!
With the 35th edition of the festival in July, we are keen to look back at films that have shaped the Galway Film Fleadh over the years while also focusing on the themes that current film makers are shaping into stories for the screen. Stories of lost love, the environment, war, coming of age, fighting for freedom, artists and their lives and work, the architecture that surrounds us and the music we listen to, all feature in the 2023 programme.”
Full programme details will be announced on Tuesday 27th June with hundreds of events including screenings, Q+A’s and filmmaker interviews, panel discussions, and more. Find out more about the festival here.
The Galway Film Fleadh is supported by the Arts Council, Failte Ireland, Fís Eíreann/Screen Ireland and Galway City Council.