Alan Duggan

Galway UNESCO City of Film presents

Into the West

30th Anniversary Screening at the 34th Galway Film Fleadh

Galway City of Film is delighted to present the 30th Anniversary screening of Into the West as part of this year’s Galway Film Fleadh. A defining film of a defining era of Irish cinema, the award-winning family adventure follows young Mincéirí Tito (Rúaidhrí Conroy) and Ossie (Ciarán Fitzgerald), on their runaway journey to hold onto their mythical horse Tír na nÓg, and fulfil their dreams of becoming cowboys.

Mature themes and a star Irish cast – Gabriel Byrne, David Reilly, Colm Meaney, Brendan Gleeson (this is the only time they all appear together in the same film) – as well as Byrne’s then Hollywood partner Ellen Barkin, ensured the film was a draw for adult audiences, but it was pure wish fulfilment for a generation of young Irish viewers. An annual staple on Irish television screens through the 90s and early 00s, Into the West represented that rare occasion where Irish children – and in particular, Irish Travellers – could see themselves on-screen in a film. Running away from home on a horse, camping under the stars, and spending the night in a cinema… the dream!

In the intervening years, that audience will have left such simple dreams behind. And, perhaps, such notions as mythical Ireland. And so, an opportunity presents itself, on the occasion of its 30th year, to revisit Tir na nÓg and return… Into the West!

Galway City of Film and the Galway Film Fleadh present a big-screen presentation of Into the West, followed by a conversation with scriptwriter Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, The Field, In America), director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco), and other key creative personnel and cast who brought the film to life

The screening will be taking place on Sunday 10th July at 2.30pm at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway. To book tickets follow this link, or call the Town Hall Theatre Box Office at 091 – 569777.

The Little Cinema and Galway City of Film 48 Hour Challenge (Challenge) returns this August for its fifth year!  Up to 10 teams from all over the country will compete to write, shoot and edit a 5 minute film in just 48 hours for the chance to be crowned Best Film and scoop the main prize of €500 plus custom made hoodies, sponsored by TG4.

The 2021 Challenge

The Challenge will begin with an online launch on Thursday 26^th August, at which team captains introduce their team members and importantly find out what genre they need to make their film in. They will also be given a line to incorporate and a prop to include in their film just to keep them on their toes!

The Challenge kicks off at 9am on Friday 27^th August and the teams will have just 48 hours to make  and deliver their film to the Little Cinema & Galway City of Film team by 10am on Sunday 29^th August. The films will be assessed by a team of independent judges who will award the prize for Best Film, as well as Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Use of Prop, Best Use of Line and Best Special Effects.

The Challenge will culminate in an open screening of the films that will take place online via Live Stream at 7pm on 29^th August 2021 with each team captain joining to introduce  their film to the public audience.

How To Apply

Entry for the Challenge is free, with a refundable deposit of €50 taken to book a teams place. If you are interested in taking part, contact littlecinemagalway@gmail.com to register your interest and get the application form. Teams must be available for the weekend of 26^th – 29^th August to take part in all aspects of the Challenge.

Each team must have a minimum of 2 members but we encourage collaboration and welcome teams of 6-10 people. We advocate for gender balance, diversity and inclusion of those underrepresented in the film industry across the teams who apply for the Challenge and ask that you endeavour to apply this in your team planning process. Applications close on Wednesday 11^th August.

Celebrating 5 Years

2021 marks a milestone   fifth year of the Little Cinema & Galway City of Film 48 Hour Challenge and to celebrate  there will be a special Live Stream on Wednesday 4^th August chatting with the previous winners and other participants of the Challenges to get their thoughts and advice for those taking part this year. Past winners include Liza Bolton’s film The Postcard (2017), Conor & Ronnie Quinlan’s film Connection Interrupted (2018), Conor & Jamie Hoopers’ Loving Alex (2019) & House of A Thousand Eyes (2020).

The Little Cinema & Galway City of Film 48 Hour Challenge is an initiative of the Galway City of Film and funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

#48HoursGalway #LittleCinema #GalwayCityofFilm

Galway Film Centre and Galway City of Film are delighted to announce our new Short Documentary Bursary, the documentary funding scheme for filmmakers in Galway City and County. 

We are looking for up-and-coming filmmakers to apply to this bursary to help them make one of their first steps in their early filmmaking career. Successful applicants will be given a bursary of €3000 to help them make a short documentary of between five and fifteen minutes in duration. They will also be mentored by a professional documentarian to help them make the best film they can. 

The selected filmmakers will be mentored by Galway-based documentary filmmaker Donal Haughey of Hawkeye Films. Donal has produced and/or directed over thirty documentaries both for his own company, Hawkeye Films and as a freelancer. His projects have involved been both national and international stories, consisting of feature-length, one-hour, half-hour and short form docs. For twenty years Donal was the documentary tutor on GMIT’s Film & Documentary course – honours, Level 8. Presently he has two projects in research, one on our relationship with memory and secondly a project dealing with the Galway Magdalen Laundry.

#CeantarScannán #GalwayCityofFilm 

Guidelines:          

• Proposed short films will be between 5 and 15 minutes in duration. 
• Participating filmmakers must be from, or based in Galway. 
• A bursary of up to €3000 is available per film. 
• The participating filmmakers will be mentored by established documentary filmmaker Donal Haughey. 
• Galway Film Centre encourages both English and Irish language project applications. 
• Film teams must be prepared to go into production within 2-3 weeks of signing the agreement, and aim to submit their first cut by November 2021. 
• Galway Film Centre encourages applications from female-led filmmaking teams. Selected projects will need to ensure a healthy gender balance across the filmmaking team. 
• Priority will be given to diverse applicants. If you feel this applies to you, please include a short paragraoh addressing this in your personal statement.
• This bursary is not open to filmmakers that are currently enrolled in full-time education.

How to apply: 

Filmmakers should submit their application via email to admin@galwayfilmcentre.ie . Each application asks for the following information: 

• 1 page outline of documentary idea. (PDF) 
• Personal statement/Cover Letter. (PDF)
• Proposed budget of up to €3000. (Excel file) 
• 1-page current CV of each participating filmmakers. (PDF) 
• 2 links to previous work, if applicable or available. (VIMEO/YouTube/Website) 
• Email/letters of commitment from key contributors. (PDF) 

DEADLINE for applications is: 12pm, Wednesday 4th August 2021 

Shortlisted applicants will be called for interview. The proposed date for interviews is Wednesday 18th August. 

Any further information please email: admin@galwayfilmcentre.ie

This bursary is made possible by support from Galway City Council, Galway County Council, and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

Galway UNESCO City of Film, in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Galway City Council, and Galway County Council is calling for applications for a new Virtual Production Short Film bursary for 2021. This Virtual Production bursary will support a team in producing a short film with a Galway theme by employing Virtual Production methods, using the expertise and equipment that Galway Film Centre have accrued over the last two years of research and development. 

What is the Virtual Production Bursary? 

The successful team will receive a Bursary of €5000 and will have access to specialist equipment, facilities and professional mentoring to help them in their goal of creating a short film using this new technological method of real-time filmmaking. Galway Film Centre have partnered with Gréasán na Meán, GMIT, and industry leaders to supply the best training and resources to the successful team. Industry partners include Cue One, a professional studio space kitted out with high-tech lighting and rigging situated in Claregalway, and Painting Practice, a prestigious group of Virtual Production experts that have worked on a variety of famous tv shows and movies and who will provide mentorship to the team. 

Who can apply? 

The Bursary is open to applications from teams all across the Republic of Ireland. Teams should convey their competency in producing short films across all departments, highlighting experience with studio, green screen and digital tools for vfx, postproduction, or games. A clear vision and an ability to solve creative, logistical, technical, and on-set problems with a strict budget and schedule will be a distinct advantage. Experience of virtual production techniques using Unreal Engine are not a pre-requisite. 

How to apply? 

To apply for consideration for this Virtual Production Short Film Bursary, please send all submissions via email with a subject line reading ‘Virtual Production Application’ to admin@galwayfilmcentre.ie before Friday, July 16th, 2pm.

 Submission Details 

All applications should contain the following additional documents:

• A list of each member of the proposed team 
• An up-to-date CV for each member of the proposed team 
• A synopsis of the short film they wish to make
  (Highlighting their vision for the short, their use of a Galway-inspired theme, and how Virtual Production methods will be used) 
• A spec budget 
• A one-page personal statement 

For more information about Virtual Production, and Galway Film Centre’s research in this area, please watch our series of online seminars here.

Galway Film Centre are delighted to announce that we will be hosting an online screening from Thursday February 4th until Sunday February 7th of our two new short documentaries In Between Lands by Laura Griffin and Hidden Collision by Emma Zukovic as part of our Dig Where You Stand programme.

Hidden Collision – Emma Zukovic

‘Hidden Collision’ delves into the lives of three artists from different backgrounds; musician Little John Nee, writer Rab Fulton and performance artist Day Magee. This documentary follows each artist in their creative processes and subsequently how they produce a collaborative piece of work without ever meeting one another.

In Between Lands – Laura Griffin

Laura Griffin is a Korean adoptee who was raised in a small town in midwest America. While she grew up feeling American and Caucasion, continual reminders over the years told her otherwise. 23 years after being sent away from her motherland, Laura returns to South Korea in search of belonging and understanding, and discovers just how Asian or non-asian she is.

The Dig Where You Stand scheme to date has produced four short documentaries. Grá & Eagla by Caitríona Ní Chadhain and Console My Heart by Will Smith and James Ward in 2017, then cultúr by Andrew Thomas and Kevin Cawley and Recommended Rapper by Caoimhin Coffey in 2018. These films have enjoyed successful local, national, and international screenings which shows the imprtance of giving oportunities to filmmakers in this way. We are delighted to be able to do this and to have the support of Galway City Council and Galway County Council.

To watch these two documentaries and listen to the following Q&A with the filmmakers, hosted by mentor Jill Beardsworth, follow this link to our Facebook event page where the video will be live to watch from 4pm on Thursday February 4th until 4pm on Sunday February 7th.