In the picturesque city by the sea, locals and volunteers are getting ready to welcome film lovers to the annual Galway Film Fleadh in Galway, Ireland July 7-12. Now in its 27th year, the festival is Ireland's flagship film event that includes international and local cinema, workshops and even an outdoor film score concert presented by the Esker Festival Orchestra.
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The Opening Night film highlights the extraordinary talents of filmmaker Simon Fitzmaurice. Fitzmaurice is an award-winning director who was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease but was passionate and determined to complete his first feature film My Name is Emily. It is a coming-of-age story about a 16-year-old who embarks on a road trip to find her missing father. The screening will include a Q&A at the Town Hall Theater, Tuesday, July 7th at 7:30 p.m.
The Closing Night film, An Klondike, is also a journey-inspired story about the three Irish Connolly brothers, who traveled from the silver mines of Montana to the Klondike Valley during the Gold Rush in the late 1800s. The brothers find riches by dealing dirty and eventually become the head honchos in the mining town of Dominion Creek. An Klondike is a must see as it happens to be the first Western filmed in Ireland! The screening will include a Q&A at the Town Hall Theater, Sunday, July 12th at 8:30 p.m.
IRISH CINEMA
Speaking of Irish talent, the Galway Film Fleadh will screen 21 narrative and documentary feature length films directed by Irish filmmakers.
Dr. Aiden MacCarthy was a survivor of World War II who spent years in a POW camp, a stone's throw away from the Nagasaki atomic bomb site. A Doctor's Sword is a documentary following MacCarthy's daughter, Niki, who travels back to Japan to learn about the mysterious Japanese officer who gave Dr. MacCarthy his ancestral sword.
Lost in the Living is a narrative drama set in Berlin. Oisín is a musician from Dublin who finds himself looking for an adventure after losing his mother. The film addresses a conditions and situations that many can relate too, like loneliness and homesickness.
FOCUS ON THE NETHERLANDS
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Galway Film Fleadh will spotlight films hailing from the Netherlands. And it's an exciting lineup that includes an intense documentary about a top chef Sergio Herman in Sergio Herman: F***ing Perfect. Film people can geek out on the fact that it was shot on Super-16mm.
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Another documentary that looks delicious and appealing is Banana Pancakes and the Children of Sticky Rice directed by Daan Valdhulzen. It captures the lives of traditional Laotian farmers and the outsiders who interpose their modern ways. These are just a few of the titles representing the beauty and elegance of Dutch cinema.
SPECIAL EVENTS
In case that's not enough cinema love, actors, how about doing a little workshopping with the talented John C. Reilly? Reilly will teach a Masterclass Saturday, July 11th. Registration is still open on the festival website. And Sunday, July 12th, the festival will host "An Afternoon With John C. Reilly" with a special screening of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
For those interested in diving deep into classic Irish cinema, there will be a special archive presentation of rediscovered films from the Aran Islands. The series will include works by documentarian Robert Flaherty (Man of Aran and Oidhche Sheanchais). Irish Film Institute curator Sunniva O’Flynn will introduce each film and special musical accompaniment by Aran fiddler Deirdre Ní Chonghaile.
For the full lineup, other special events, shorts and more go – GalwayFilmFleadh.com
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