The Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival (12 – 14 June) has unveiled details of their Irish documentary programme for the 2009 Festival. The lineup includes five Irish language and three English language films.
In the Irish language three TG4-funded films have been chosen and are expected to have a strong resonance for Donegal audiences. ‘Peadairin na Stoirme’, directed by Paddy Hayes, is a new perspective on the life and works of Dungloe man, Peadar O’Donnell, writer, agitator, radical and to many, the godfather of Irish socialism; ‘MacGill: Tachrán gan Todchaí’, directed by Des Bell, is a docu-drama about writer Patrick McGill (played in the film by Stephen Rea) who went from crushing poverty in Donegal to become one of Ireland’s most successful authors; and ‘An Mhuc Dubh’, directed by Grainne McGuinness, which is a gentle nostalgic look at the old Donegal railway line through Fintown that closed in the 1940s.
Tony Donoghue's short 'A Film From My Parish' (which was selected for Sundance and in competition at the GFFIS Korean festival) is screening as part of a double bill with 'My Mother's Farm' on Friday 12th.
Guth Gafa will also show the world premiere of ‘Stolen Child’, directed by Donegal resident Niall O’Sullivan, a film about Palestinian child prisoners, incarcerated, sometimes for years, by the Israelis for offences such as throwing stones. This will be presented in a double bill with the screening of ‘Blanketmen’, which charts the morale of Republican prisoners through the tumultuous period of the 1976 – 1981 H-Block protests.
Debut feature documentaries, funded by the Irish Film Board, include, ‘Today is Better Than Two Tomorrows’, directed by Anna Rodgers, a coming-of-age film about two 11-year old boys who leave their village home to become novice monks in Laos; and ‘Identities’, directed by Vittoria Colonna, which explores the multi-cultural transgender community in Ireland, reflect the emerging talent of new directors in the Irish documentary world. In addition, eight digital stories made by asylum seekers in Ireland about their lives in direct provision hostels will premiere at the fest.
Rounding out the Irish strand of Guth Gafa are two TG4 and BCI-funded documentaries, ‘Teamhair’, by Colum Stapleton, which is an eclectic journey through the 5,000 year history of the Hill of Tara, and ‘Frederick Douglass agus na Negroes Bána’, by John Doherty and Dermot Nevin, about the slave turned abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, and his escape from slavery leading to refuge in Ireland at the peak of the Great Famine.
For further info visit www.guthgafa.com
The Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival is supported by Bord Scannán na hÉireann, Ealaín na Gaeltachta, IFTN, The Arts Council, TG4, The Radharc Trust, Údarás na Gaeltachta, The Broadcast Commission of Ireland, and other industry partners.
