Article 1 of 7 in a series of articles on the history of cinema in Galway by local historian and writer William Henry.
Photo: Eyre Square circa 1897 – c. National Library of Ireland on the Commons
Cinema history stretches back well over a hundred years with the earliest record so far
established for ‘moving’ or ‘living’ pictures shown in Galway dating from Monday 28
February 1898. The advertisement for the event ran as follows: Read More
We are working to digitise all of the Film West Magazines created and issued by Galway Film Centre between 1985 and 2001. This archive is a work in progress, and below is the first round of issues – 1-10 of 46 magazines. Read More
Galway City of Film, managed by Ardán, and supported by Galway City Council, hosted a free screening for a European Night of Film at the Pálás Cinema on 11th May 2023 at 7pm, to celebrate EU50.
We were joined for a pre-screening reception in the Pálás Bar by the Deputy Mayor of Galway, Councillor Mike Hubbard, and the Polish Consul Patrick O’Sullivan.
The Double Life of Veronique (1991), directed by Krysztof Kieslowski is two parallel stories about two identical women; one living in Poland, the other living in France. In the story, the two women don’t know each other, but their lives are nevertheless profoundly connected. (IMDb).
The film garnered a Golden Globe nomination as well as several wins at Cannes Film Festival.
Galway City of Film (Ceantar Scannán) is a UNESCO designation held jointly by Galway City Council and Galway County Council since 2014, and managed on their behalf by Ardán.
A special industry event held last night in Galway celebrated 2 key anniversaries in Film in the city. In 2014 Galway became the fifth city in the world to achieve the status of UNESCO City of Film, in recognition of the rich history and vibrant culture of filmmaking that continues in the city and county to this day. Galway City of Film is now celebrating its 5th anniversary of that recognition, and is taking a wonderful opportunity to look back at what has been achieved so far.
City of Film highlights include organising camps for young filmmakers and animators, hosting the One Minute Film Festival and 48 Hour Challenge, supporting short film funding schemes through Galway Film Centre such as Science on Screen and the GFC/RTÉ Short Film Scheme, local initiatives supporting industry including the Fís TV Summit and the WRAP Fund, as well as screenings, student exchanges, research and collaboration across the now 18 Cities of Film in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
With the confluence of these two events comes a unique opportunity to present our Galway UNESCO ‘City of Film/Ceantar Scannán’ Award to local film producer Lelia Doolan. An honour that has only been presented to one other recipient, Uachtaráin Michael D Higgins. It is difficult to think of anyone that has contributed more to the local and national film industry than Lelia Doolan and Galway City of Film wish to honor her and her legacy of incredible work by presenting this award to her as part of our celebrations.
Launched in 2014 by Uachtaráin Michael D. Higgins, Galway City of Film has offered valuable supports and resources to the filmmaking community in the city over the last five years that otherwise would not have been possible.
The award presentation was followed by a screening of Cumar – A Galway Rhapsody, a feature film directed by Aodh Ó Coileáin and produced by Paddy Hayes celebrating Galway artists including Rita Ann Higgins, Tommy Tiernan and Noeline Kavanagh.
“It’s 1847 and Ireland is in the grip of the Great Famine, which has ravaged the country for two long years. Feeney, a hardened Irish Ranger, who has been fighting for the British Army abroad, abandons his post to return home and re-unite with his estranged family. He’s seen more than his share of horrors, but nothing prepares him for the famine’s hopeless destruction of his homeland.”
Black 47, the Irish-made famine revenge film comes to Galway screens this weekend!
Set in Connemara, and shot around the Maumturk Mountains, Black ’47 just goes to show how vibrant a cinematic region Galway is, and with an incredible Galwegian, Irish, and International cast including Hugo Weaving, Moe Dunford, Stephen Rea, and Diarmuid De Faoite, you have to be sure not to miss it!
Black ’47 screens today in An Pálás at 6.25pm and 8.40pm, and will continue for the next few weeks. for more information, and to book tickets visit the Pálás website here.
#CeantarScannán #GalwayCityOfFilm
As part of National Heritage Week, Athenry will be hosting a one-day festival known as the Walled Towns Day on August 19th!
From food stalls to craft workshops, puppet shows to medieval re-enactments Athenry Walled Towns Day will be an action-packed day of festivities.
And on top of that, they will be showing the hurling match that evening! Galway Versus Limerick.
#CeantarScannán #GalwayCityofFilm
We’re excited to head down to Pálás Galway to check out their wonderful new strand of Irish Film, specifically set along the Wild Atlantic Way. From classics like Ryan’s Daughter and The Quiet Man to more contemporary films like The Guard and Song of Granite, Pálás are giving us a taste of just how rich the film history of this region is.
For more information check out their website here: https://palas.ie/events/wild-atlantic-films
#CeantarScannan #GalwayCityofFilm
Gar will explore the theme of The Rising on Film on Saturday 20, February in An Taibhdhearcwith selected screenings and discussion. At 2pm Mise Éire (‘My Ireland’) will be screened. The film has held an iconic status in Irish cultural history since its release in January 1960. Mise Éire was actually the first Irish feature-length film that utilised an orchestral soundtrack, a specially commissioned score by Seán Ó Riada, but its renown also rests on its director’s then relatively novel technique of recounting historical events entirely through existing archive material. The film is a stirring chronicle of Ireland one hundred years ago and contains newsreel camera footage of critical developments during the Easter Rising.
This will be followed by the documentary, Curious Journey at 4pm. In 1973, Kenneth Griffith, the renowned documentary maker, gathered together a group of nine veterans of the Irish Rising. Almost half a century after the terrible events they lived through, this highly diverse group – branded terrorists by the British in their youth – gave their own vivid account of what it was like to live through those turbulent times. This emotional film is a powerful and heartfelt testament to nine brave men and women who risked their lives for their country as well as being a first hand historical record.
The film will be followed by a discussion on how the Rising was captured and portrayed on film with Dr Kevin Rockett, Professor of Film Studies, Trinity College Dublin and Dr. Conn Holohan, Huston School of Film and Digital Media and will be chaired by lecturer in Film Studies, Patsy Murphy.
Finally there will be a 7pm screening of David Lean’s cinematic masterpiece, Ryan’s Daughter. The film is set in 1916 and is arguably the most visually impressive film ever made in Ireland. In keeping with his distinctive epic scale, the production was famously long and drawn out while the meticulous director waited for perfect weather conditions for his many and spectacular outdoor scenes, leading actor Robert Mitchum to comment that working with the director was “like constructing the Taj Mahal out of toothpicks.”
As a added bonus at 12pm on the afternoon of Saturday 2oth February there will be a special UNESCO City of Film free screening of Man of Aran (1934) with a new soundtrack by UK Indie band, British Sea Power. This haunting new score uses guitars and modern sounds to add a new dimension to this highly influential documentary, which the British Film Institute recently listed as one of the top ten most important documentaries of all time.
Tickets, €5.50 per film and €15.00 for the full day, are available from An Taibhdhearc at ticketsor on 091-562024. Details of further upcoming 100 Years of Cinema events at www.galwayfilmcentre.ie.
Award-winning film director John Carney to speak in the Huston School of Film & Digital Media on Thursday March 30, 2.30pm
John Carney was born in Dublin and was educated at De La Salle College Churchtown and at Synge Street CBS. He was bassist for Irish rock band The Frames between 1991 and 1993 and also directed some of their music videos. In addition to shooting music videos, Carney also wrote and directed two award-winning short films (Shining Star and Hotel) before making his first feature. With fellow film-maker Tom Hall, Carney wrote and directed November Afternoon, his first feature film, in 1996. Despite a limited release, it was acclaimed as the “Film of the Year” by the Irish Times. John wrote, directed and scored his next project, the hour-long TV film Just In Time, starring Frances Barber and Gerard McSorley. The Irish Times voted it Best TV Film of 1998.
Carney’s next film was the edgy drama Park, which premiered at the Dublin Film Festival. Two years later, in 2001, he co-wrote and directed On the Edge. The film starred Cillian Murphy and Stephen Rea and was released through Universal Studios. He was awarded the Silver Hitchcock Award for On the Edge at the 2001 Dinard Festival of British Cinema.
Carney returned to TV writing and directing during the same year. He co-wrote and co-directed (with his brother Kieran Carney and Tom Hall) the hugely successful RTÉ TV series Bachelors Walk. The independently produced TV series proved the most successful in Irish television history. The series ran for three seasons. In 2006, Carney directed the feature movie Once. First screened at the Galway Film Fleadh, Once had its official world release at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2007 and won the World Cinema Audience Award in the category Dramatic. A low-budget affair shot for only $160,000, Once was hugely successful, grossing $7 million worldwide in its first 3 months of release. Legendary film-maker Steven Spielberg is quoted as saying, “Once gave me enough inspiration to last the rest of the year.”
As writer and director of Once, Carney won the Most Promising Newcomer award in the Evening Standard British Film Awards 2007 and the film went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It has since been adapted as one of the most successful theatrical musicals of recent years, including award winning runs on Broadway and the West End. Subsequent films directed by Carney have enjoyed considerable critical and commercial success. Begin Again (2013) grossed over $63 million worldwide (it is the most-watched independent film of all time in South Korea) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Lost Stars”. His most recent film, the Irish set coming of age musical Sing Street (2016), was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 74th Golden Globes in January 2017.
ALL WELCOME
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