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.