Comedy, thrillers and midlife crises

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A selection of world cinema, documentaries, Irish premieres and short films will be screened at the 22nd Galway Film Fleadh from July 6-11. The festival which annually attracts 15,000 cinema lovers, will showcase eight world premieres, 53 Irish premieres, 100 feature films and 115 short films.

Award-winning actress Annette Bening will give the Actors’ Masterclass and participate in the Public Interview in the Town Hall Theatre on Sunday July 11. Filmmaker, producer, journalist and activist, Lelia Doolan is the subject of the Irish Tribute and will take part in a special interview in the Cinemobile on Saturday, July 10, while renowned screenwriter Sir Ronald Harwood and acclaimed director Stephen Daldry will give the Screenwriters’ and Directors’ Masterclasses.

The Festival will open with My Brothers which tells the story of three brothers’ eccentric quest to replace their dying father’s tacky watch. The Fleadh will close with The Messenger, which boasts an Oscar nominated performance from Woody Harrelson.

The Festival will screen an array of international features, including The Double Hour, a thriller with brilliant performances and great twists; the wonderful animated feature The Illusionist, which explores the relationship between an aged magician and a young girl, and The Kids are Alright, starring Annette Bening and Juliette Moore.

The Men Who Will Come is a majestic film about a community’s experience of the Second World War; El Secreto de Sus Ojos is the winner of this year’s Oscar for Best Foreign Film while The Unloved is an assured film about a young girl in care which is inspired by her own experience. The Fleadh’s screening of Toy Story 3 will be attended by the film’s director Lee Unkich and producer Karla K. Anderson.

It has been a great year for new Irish cinema, which is reflected in the quality of home produced films on offer. Irish features include Come On Eileen, which stars Keith Allen and Noel Fielding of The Mighty Boosh fame; The Runway which recounts the story of a West Cork community who to help a Cuban pilot return home; and Snap, a psychological drama about three generations of family poised to repeat the mistakes of the past.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.