The 2018 Galway Film Fleadh takes place 10 – 15 July and brings with it a feast of films from all around the world.
Below we preview the Irish films on offer for your consideration.
The Belly Of The Whale (Morgan Bushe)
Tue 10 July / Town Hall Theatre / 19:30
Two down-and-outs bonded together in misfortune devise a plan to rob a small town amusement arcade.
CAST: Lewis MacDougall, Pat Shortt, Lauren Kinsella, Michael Smiley, Art Parkinson, Peter Coonan
Irish Talent: Way Out West
Wed 11 July / Town Hall Theatre / 11:00
A programme of shorts showcasing film from the West of Ireland.
Keepers of the Flame (Nuala O’Connor)
Wed 11 July / Town Hall Theatre / 13:45
A universal story of generations dealing with the consequences of war and civil war; of what is remembered and what is forgotten.
Unquiet Graves (Seán Murray)
Wed 11 July / Town Hall Theatre / 16:00
The story of the Glenanne Gang details how members of the RUC and UDR, (a British Army regiment) were centrally involved in the murder of over 120 innocent civilians during the recent conflict in Ireland.
The Camino Voyage (Donal O Ceilleachair)
Wed 11 July / Town Hall Theatre / 18:00
Four men embark on an extraordinary version of the Camino – in a traditional boat – in this inspiring, and often dangerous, 2,500 km modern day Celtic odyssey all the way from Ireland to Spain.
Sooner or Later (Luke Morgan)
Wed 11 July / Pálás Screen 3 / 18:00
Thaddeus and Sally are sick of the nursing home, so the two decide to take matters into their own hands and escape to a cottage on the Kerry coast. There, they will have a nice, enjoyable weekend, and then they’re going to commit suicide.
CAST: Aeneas O’Donnell, Anna O’Donnell, Peter Shine, Muireann Ni Raghlaigh
Lomax in Éirinn (Declan McGrath)
Wed 11 July / Pálás Screen 1 / 20:00
Clannad’s Pól Brennan explores how American song collector Alan Lomax came to Ireland on the first stop of a mission to save the folk music of the world.
The Science of Ghosts (Niall McCann)
Wed 11 July / Pálás Screen 2 / 20:00
An observational drama centring on well-known Irish musician Adrian Crowley.
The Devil’s Doorway (Aislinn Clarke)
Wed 11 July / Town Hall Theatre / 22:30
In the fall of 1960, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton were sent by the Vatican to investigate a miraculous event in an Irish home for ‘fallen women’, only to uncover something much more horrific.
Irish Talent: New Shorts One
Thu 12 July / Town Hall Theatre / 10:00
The first programme in a series of live-action shorts presents nine films in a mix of traditional narrative and experimental storytelling.
Irish Talent: New Shorts Two, Documentaries
Thu 12 July / Town Hall Theatre / 12:00
A collection of short documentaries featuring intimate portrayals of both subject and artist.
The Man Who Wanted to Fly (Frank Shouldice)
Thu 12 July / Pálás Screen 1 / 12:00
The Image You Missed (Donal Foreman)
Thu 12 July / Town Hall Theatre / 14:00
An Irish filmmaker grapples with the legacy of his estranged father, the late documentarian Arthur MacCaig, through MacCaig’s decades-spanning archive of the conflict in Northern Ireland.
Coast to Coast (Siún O’Connor)
Thu 12 July / Pálás Screen 2 / 12:00
The Coast to Coast journey begins at the mouth of the Boyne in Mornington on Ireland’s Ancient East and ends at the Cliffs of Moher.
Good Favour (Rebecca Daly)
Thu 12 July / Pálás Screen 1 / 14:00
Hear My Voice (Brendan Byrne)
Thu 12 July / Pálás Screen 3 / 14:00
A cinematic tribute to those who suffered loss as a result of the Northern Irish conflict (1968-1998). Timed to mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the film is inspired by artist Colin Davidson’s elegiac exhibition of paintings, Silent Testimony.
The Life After (Brian Hill & Niamh Kennedy)
Thu 12 July / Town Hall Theatre / 15:45
Looking specifically at the women (mothers, sisters and daughters) who lost loved ones at the hands of both the RUC and IRA, the documentary shines a light on a modern-day war that is often forgotten and particularly poignant in light of today’s Brexit negotiations over a hard Irish border.
IFI Local Films for Local People
Thu 12 July / Thoor Ballylee / 15:00
The Curious Works of Roger Doyle (Brian Lally)
Thu 12 July / Pálás Screen 1 / 18:30
We Ourselves (Paul Mercier)
Thu 12 July / Pálás Screen 3 / 19:00
An unconventional drama about isolation and belonging, about being alone with one’s own thoughts while being part of a shared experience, culture and nation.
CAST: Caitríona Ennis, Gavin Drea, Seána Kerslake, Paul Reid, Catherine Walker, Aidan Gillen, Declan Conlon
Irish Talent: New Shorts Three
Fri 13 July / Town Hall Theatre / 10:00
The third programme of live-action shorts explores the parallels of problems in a variety of settings: modern times to troubled pasts, urban and rural, natural and supernatural.
One Million American Dreams (Brendan Byrne)
Fri 13 July / Town Hall Theatre / 13:45
The story of one of New York’s darkest secrets: An island whereone million Americansouls are buried.
Irish Talent: New Shorts Four
Fri 13 July / Town Hall Theatre / 12:00
This selection of seven shorts ranges from modern drama and comedy to films celebrating the cinematic convergence of individual art forms.
Shelter Me (Zahara Moufid)
Fri 13 July / Pálás Screen 2 / 15:00
Around Here (Martin Beirne)
Fri 13 July / Town Hall Theatre / 16:00
I, Dolours (Maurice Sweeney)
Fri 13 July / Town Hall Theatre / 18:00
A cinematic yet intimate and complex portrait of Dolours Price, militant IRA activist, hunger striker and dissident Republican who two years before she died gave a filmed interview on condition that it would not be broadcast in her lifetime.
Cellar Door ( Viko Nikci)
Fri 13 July / Town Hall Theatre / 20:00
Racing from young love to tortured loss and back again, this story follows Aidie – a fighter inside and out – as she searches for her son while in the grip of the Church. With a unique point of view on a familiar trauma.
CAST: Karen Hassan, Catherine Walker, Mark O’Halloran
Irish Talent: New Shorts Five
Sat 14 July / Town Hall Theatre / 10:00
Five short films take us from the rugged Northern coastline, through our rural heartland and onward to the metropolitan UK.
Irish Talent: New Shorts 6 (Fis Éireann/Screen Ireland World Premieres)
Sat 14 July / Town Hall Theatre / 12:00
The World Premiere of a selection of new Irish short films funded under the Frameworks and Short Stories schemes.
Town of Strangers (Treasa O’Brien)
Sat 14 July / Pálás Screen 1 / 12:00
Takes the audience on a journey in the company of outsiders making their home in Gort, a small town in the west of Ireland.
When All is Ruin Once Again (Keith Walsh)
Sat 14 July / Town Hall Theatre / 14:00
Sat 14 July / Pálás Screen 2 / 15:45
Katie (Ross Whitaker)
14 Jul, 16:00, Town Hall Theatre Main
Follows champion boxer Katie Taylor as she attempts to rebuild her career after a year of turmoil threatened to derail her career.
A Mother Brings Her Son to Be Shot (Sinéad O’Shea)
Sat 14 July / Pálás Screen 1 / 18:30
How do you bring your son to be shot? What happens afterwards? How does family life continue? How does a community respond? When do wars really end?
Metal Heart (Hugh O’Conor)
Sat 14 July / Town Hall Theatre / 18:00
There is much rivalry between twin sisters Emma and Chantal, quite different in just about every way, when their mysterious young neighbour moves back in.
CAST: Jordanne Jones, Leah McNamara, Moe Dunford, Séan Doyle, Aaron Heffernan
Don’t Go (David Gleeson)
Sat 14 July / Town Hall Theatre / 20:15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi5ESKqW5Iw
Ben and Hazel are a married couple who have recently lost their young daughter. After relocating to a small beach-side town in Ireland, Ben begins to have vivid, mysterious dreams about his little girl, which he starts to suspect may hold the key to bringing his daughter back to life.
CAST: Stephen Dorff, Melissa George, Simon Delaney, Aoibhinn McGinnity
The Dig (Ryan Tohill & Andrew Tohill)
Sat 14 July / Town Hall Theatre / 22:30
After serving fifteen years for murder, Callahan returns home to find Sean, his victim’s father, searching for the body. Callahan soon realises that the only way to get rid of him is to help him dig.
CAST: Moe Dunford, Emily Taaffe, Francis Magee, Lorcan Cranitch
Irish Talent: New Shorts Seven, Animation
Sun 15 July / Town Hall Theatre / 10:00
This programme of shorts celebrates the creative cornerstone of Irish film: the animation industry.
Irish Talent: New Shorts Eight, Documentaries
Sun 15 July / Town Hall Theatre / 11:45
This programme of short documentary film explores different themes through a variety of styles – in English, Italian and the Irish language.
The Man with the Hat (Graham Seely & Kevin Brannigan)
Sun 15 July / Pálás Screen 2 / 12:00
Based around a series of intimate interviews with the former Workers’ Party president and Official IRA Chief of Staff; Seán Garland, brought to life through imaginative use of archival footage.
Captain Morten and the Spider Queen (Kaspar Jancis)
15 Jul, 16:00, Town Hall Theatre Main
A young boy learns to take control over his life when he is shrunk to the size of an insect and has to sail his own toy boat through a flooded café. Morten has to be shrunk down before he can grow up.
CAST: Ciarán Hinds, Brendan Gleeson, Michael McElhatton, Susie Power
Syria – The Impossible Revolution (Ronan Tynan)
Sun 15 July / Pálás Screen 3 / 16:30
|Insights into the roots of the Syrian Revolution and the regional context in which it developed.
Black 47 (Lance Daly)
Sun 15 July / Town Hall Theatre / 20:00
It’s 1847 and Ireland is in the grip of the Great Famine that has ravaged the country for two long years. Feeney, a hardened Irish Ranger who has been fighting for the British Army abroad, abandons his post to return home and re-unite with his estranged family
The Comeback (Shane Conaty, Elaine Gallagher, James O’Connor)
Sun 15 July / Pálás Screen 1 / 20:30
’90s superstar Matt Malone’s chart topping days are long behind him until he sensationally returns to the spotlight when a viral video goes wrong.
CAST: Robert Arkins, Clodagh Mooney Duggan, Tara Flynn,, Michael David McKernan , Morgan C. Jones, Karen Kelly
The full festival programme is available here
30th Galway Film Fleadh | Tuesday 10th – Sunday 15th, July 2018.
