This year the Galway Film Fleadh in Galway, Ireland, will present a total of fourteen short film programs in the festival’s ever growing and increasingly diverse line-up, featuring a rise in short film co-productions from around the globe including the United Kingdom, Mexico, Norway, Lebanon and the United States.
The competitive short film program showcases an exciting mix of drama, documentary and animation, with the winners of the Tiernan MacBride Award for Best Short Drama and the James Horgan Award for Best Short Animation gaining eligibility for Oscar consideration.
This year’s short animation program features an abundance of styles from old school stop-motion to dark comedy. Highlights include an adaptation of the classic Irish Novel An Béal Bocht by Tom Collins and the Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders produced Sorry I Drowned, inspired by a letter found on the drowned body of a refugee fleeing from war.
The short documentaries explore a variety of subjects from the therapeutic power of tattoos to Olympic dreams, from urban cowboys to vintage motorcycles, the latter being the focus of Charlie Endean’s directorial debut, Open Road.
All of these and more including the return of Oscar winner Benjamin Cleary co-directing his new film WAVE;, the Irish premiere of A Drowning Man, hot after competing in Cannes; the directing debuts of The Gate Theatre Director Selina Cartmell, for her Filmbase/RTE funded film The Date and the renowned MTV VMA nominated Music-Video director Brendan Canty with his film For You; and Ireland’s own top model Laragh McCann goes behind the camera for her first time for her debut film Day.
In addition to the curated program of over seventy short films in a mix of Irish, English and foreign languages, the festival will premiere two programs of films funded by the Irish Film Board: Short Stories and Frameworks Animations.
As well as screenings, the short film forum will return to the festival after last year’s bumper turnout. This panel discussion is dedicated to emerging and established short filmmakers in all genres, with a focus on strategies and advice from international film festivals and short film programmers. Following the panel there will be an opportunity for discussion, debate and networking.
The Galway Film Fleadh shorts program runs every day from Wednesday July 12th to Sunday July 16th.