Tayyaba
The Galway Film Fleadh (irish for festival) is “a week-long international film festival” held in Galway, Ireland, every July on the western fringe of Europe. It was created in 1989 as part of the Galway Arts Festival. The 35th edition of this festival concluded on Sunday evening, with the Competition jury awarding Best Irish Film to Apocalypse Clown, directed by George Kane, and the Generation Jury Award to Scrapper, directed by Charlotte Regan.
What are ‘Apocalypse Clown’ & ‘Scrapper’ about?
Apocalypse Clown, written by Demian Fox, George Kane, Shane O’Brien, and James Walmsley, and produced by Morgan Bushe and James Dean, follows a troupe of failing clowns on a wild road trip of self-discovery after an unexpected solar event throws the planet into anarchy. Scrapper, starring Harris Dickinson (also starred in Triangle of Sadness), follows Georgie, a head-in-the-clouds magical 12-year-old girl who lives contentedly alone in her London flat. Suddenly, her estranged father appears, forcing her to face reality.
What were the other prizes at the Galway Film Fleadh & which films took them home?
This year’s Galway Film Festival featured 95 feature films and 102 shorts. Lie of the Land, directed by John Carlin, was also among the winners of the night. The suspenseful drama develops in this first movie, written by Tara Hegarty and produced by Chris Patterson and Margaret McGoldrick, as the Wards prepare to depart their lives, escaping a catastrophic financial position, when a last-minute change of heart leaves them fighting for survival.
Aside from this, The Graceless Age – The Ballad of John Murry was named Best Irish Documentary. The film is the story of American singer-songwriter John Murry, who was on the verge of greatness after the release of his critically acclaimed album The Graceless Age (2013) when his world fell apart. It was written and directed by Sarah Share and produced by Nuala Cunningham, John Galway, and Aeschylus Poulos.