Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap won the best Irish film award at the Galway Film Fleadh last night (July 14), and also took home the inaugural audience and Irish language film awards.
Kneecap, which scored the audience award at Sundance, was the Fleadh’s opening night film, with the band arriving in the city in their trademark anarchic style, on top of a Land Rover adorned with Palestinian flags and carrying flares.
The film is based on the origin story of the Irish-language rap trio from west Belfast. It is produced by Trevor Birney of Belfast-based Fine Point Films and Jack Tarling of the UK’s Shudder Films, and is co-produced by Partick O’Neill of Ireland’s Wildcard.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
Palestine was a key talking point at this year’s event, as the country of focus. Farah Nabulsi’s Toronto premiere The Teacher won the best international film prize. The Palestine-UK director’s debut feature follows a teacher in Palestine who is forced to confront his violent past.
Best Irish first feature went to Fidil Ghorm (Blue Fiddle), directed by Anne McCabe. It tells the story of a 10-year-old who believes if she learns to play the fiddle like her dad, she can wake him up from a coma. Housewife Of The Year, a documentary about an annual televised housewife competition, was feted with the best Irish doc prize.
Alongside a line-up of 94 features, a well-attended industry programme enjoyed talks from high-profile speakers such as former Amazon exec and US indie producer Ted Hope and HBO senior vice president Jay Roewe. Over 700 official one-to-one meetings were booked within the Fleadh’s marketplace, according to the festival, where representatives from international sales agents and financiers included LevelK, Film4, The Yellow Veil, Mubi, Netflix, Bankside, Mister Smith, Film Constellation, Embankment, Autlook, Curzon and Hanway.
The best marketplace project award went to Fairies Don’t Exist, produced by Michael O’Neill and Jude Sharvin’s Belfast-based Armchair and Rocket.
Looking ahead
The Galway Film Fleadh board, chaired by Annie Doona, used this year’s event to launch its strategic plan for 2024-2028. “In 2023, the executive and the board and staff thought it’s time to reflect, it’s time to reassess, to learn the lessons from Covid, learn the lessons from the last 30 years, and look to what we want to be in the future,” said Doona.
Ambitions within the plan include an increase of both international and Irish film premieres by 10%; engagement with more diverse audiences; year-on-year increase of at least 5% in box office and event attendance figures; enhanced use of non-traditional and accessible outdoor location for screenings; engage with a broader range of stakeholders to strengthen industry panels and events, particularly in emerging technologies; and achieve 20% increase in funding from external sources and sponsors.
“We’ve got measurable outcomes. We want to be held accountable,” added Doona.
Galway Film Fleadh 2024 winners
Best Irish language feature film
Kneecap dir. Rich Peppiatt
Best independent film
The Song Cycle dir. Nick Kelly
Best Irish feature documentary
Housewife Of The Year dir. Ciaran Cassidy
Best Irish first feature
Fidil Ghorm dir. Anne McCabe
Best Irish film
Kneecap dir. Rich Peppiatt
Audience award
Kneecap dir. Rich Peppiatt
Galway Hooker award
Brian Cox
Best animation
To Break A Circle dir. Kalia Firester (lead animator Cora McKenna)
Peripheral Visions award
Poison dir. Désirée Nosbusch
Generation jury award
Amal dir. Jawad Rhalib
Best international film
The Teacher dir. Farah Nabulsi
Best international documentary
Intercepted dir. Oksana Karpovych
Best cinematography in an Irish film
Oddity, Colm Hogan (cinematographer)
Best marketplace project
Fairies Don’t Exist, prods. Michael O’Neill and Jude Sharvin (Armchair and Rocket)
Bingham Ray new talent award
Eva Birthistle, dir. Kathleen Is Here
Pitching award
Dons Life Goes On, Zoe Gibney
World cinema award
Jointly awarded:
The Old Bachelor dir. Oktay Baraheni
To A Land Unknown, dir. Mahdi Fleifel
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