After six days of films, forums, premieres and panel discussions, the 2015 Galway Film Fleadh came to a close on Sunday July 12 with Cartoon Saloon’s ‘Song of the Sea’ winning Best Irish Feature.
Following on from a very successful awards season which has seen it Oscar and Cesar nominated as well as winning Best Film at the IFTA Film & Drama Awards, Tomm Moore’s acclaimed animated film took home the big prize in Galway. ‘Song of the Sea’ is written by Will Collins and produced by Paul Young of Cartoon Saloon. It features the voice talents of David Rawle, Brendan Gleeson and Fionnula Flanagan and is currently showing in Irish cinemas. Check out our recent interviews with ‘Song of the Sea’ producer Paul Young and director Tomm Moore with lead actor David Rawle.
Best Irish Feature Documentary went to ‘Older Than Ireland’. Directed by Alex Fegan (‘The Irish Pub’) who was one of five nominees for the Bingham Ray New Talent Award, ‘Older Than Ireland’ is a feature documentary that explores what it means to have lived one hundred years in Ireland, as seen through the eyes of its oldest citizens. The film is hoped to get an Irish cinema release later this year.
Best First Irish Feature went to Mark Noonan’s critically lauded debut ‘You’re Ugly Too’. The film, which has already won the SDGI Director’s Finders Series this year and will be released to cinemas later this month, stars Aidan Gillen as Will, who is released from prison on compassionate leave to care for his niece Stacey after the death of her mother. Director Mark Noonan and young actress Lauren Kinsella were both nominated for the Bingham Ray New Talent Award at the Fleadh.
Opening film ‘My Name is Emily’ took home two awards as producer Kathryn Kennedy won the Bingham Ray New Talent Award and DoP Seamus Deasy won for Best Cinematography in a Feature Film. The Tiernan MacBride Award for Best Short Drama went to Phil Sheerin’s ‘North’ while Best First Short went to Tristan Heanue’s ‘Today’.
The full list of winners of the 2015 Galway Film Fleadh:
- Best Irish Feature Film: Song of the Sea
- Best Irish First Feature: You’re Ugly Too
- Best Cinematography in an Irish Feature: Seamus Deasy –My Name Is Emily
- Best Irish Documentary: Older Than Ireland
- James Horgan Award for Best Animation: Violet
- The Don Quijote Award for Best Animation: Meanwhile
- Best Animated Sequence in a Short Film: Geist
- Best First Short Animation: Unhinged
- The Tiernan MacBride Award for Best Short Drama: North
- Best Short Drama: Queen of the Plough
- Best First Short Drama: Today
- The Donal Gilligan Award for Best Cinematography in a Short Film: Tim Fleming – My Bonnie
- Best International Film: Margarita With A Straw
- Best International Feature Documentary: Armor of Light and Touch the Light
- Best International First Feature: My Skinny Sister
- Best Human Rights Feature: Marzia, My Friend
- The Bingham Ray New Talent Award: Kathleen Kennedy (Producer – My Name is Emily)
- The Fleadh Pitching Award: Luke Morgan – Ewetopia.
- The One Minute Festival Award – Luke and Roger
- Short Film Slam: I Am Jesus
- Galway Hooker Award: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Pete Docter, Jonas Rivera, and Mícheál O Meallaigh
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