The 2017 Galway Film Fleadh has revealed a snippet of one of the most highly contested and popular categories in its annual lineup, with fourteen short film programmes in the festival this year.
Over seventy short films in a mix of Irish, English and foreign languages are set to screen from July 12th-16th, in addition to the Irish Film board Short Stories and Frameworks Animation titles.
Winners of the Tiernan MacBride Award for Best Short Drama and James Horgan Award for Best Short Animation will be eligible for Oscar consideration.
Short film highlights this year include ‘Wave’ from the Oscar-winning filmmaker Ben Cleary (Stutterer), which joins an eclectic mix of additional drama, animation and documentary titles.
In animation this year the programme features an abundance of styles from old school stop-motion to dark comedy. Highlights are 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 documentary highlight released by programmers is Charlie Endean’s directorial debut, ‘Open Road’ with the wider programme featuring everything from therapeutic power of tattoos to Olympic dreams, to vintage motorcycles.
Other highlights are the Irish premiere of ‘A Drowning Man’, hot after competing in Cannes; the directing debuts of The Gate Theatre Director Selina Cartmell with ‘The Date’ funded by Filmbase/RTÉ, ‘For You’ from MTV VMA nominated Music-Video director Brendan Canty, and model Laragh McCann’s ‘Day’.
The Short Film Forum also returns this year, with a panel discussion 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.
Visit Galway Film Fleadh Online