Star Trek’s Zachary Quinto, Irish star Saoirse Ronan, and Sex Pistols documentary and film maker Julian Temple, are coming to Galway for the 25th Galway Film Fleadh from Tuesday July 9 to Sunday 14.
The fleadh was launched in the Radisson Blu Hotel on Tuesday and this year’s programme features the usual high standards of Irish and world cinema, including feature length films, shorts, animations, and documentaries.
Guests of honour
Alongside Saoirse Ronan and Zachary Quinto, others guests include English film-maker Julian Temple will give this year’s directors’ masterclass. Temple has focused largely on punk and its legacy through iconic works, such as The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle (1979 ), which tells the story of the Pistols from manager Malcolm McLaren’s perspective; The Filth and The Fury (2000 ), which gives the Pistols themselves their say; There’ll Always Be An England, an in-concert film of the Pistol’s 2007 reunion show; and Joe Strummer - The Future Is Unwritten (2006 ), his magnificent biopic of the late Clash frontman.
The screenwriters’ masterclass will be given by Daniel Waters, who has scripted Hudson Hawk, Batman Returns, and Demolition Man. The former chair of the Irish Film Board, James Morris, will take part in a public interview with Lelia Doolan in the Cinemobile, along with a screening of In The Name Of The Father (Saturday 13, 12.30pm ).
Luxembourg may be one of the tiniest countries in Europe but it has a thriving film industry and Galway will get to see the best movies from the Grand Duchy at the Fleadh.
The pick of these could be The Congress, starring Robin Wright as both voice artist and animated character (Town Hall, Wednesday 10, 9pm ).
Robin gets an offer from a major studio to sell her cinematic identity: She will be numerically scanned and sampled so her alias can be used with no restrictions in all kinds of films. Expect Yellow Submarine-esque surrealism and Betty Boop-style sequences in this must see.
Other Luxembourg made films to enjoy include Doudege Wenkel which follows Inspector Hastert as he investigates the death of a fellow cop and uncovers a web of corruption and deceit in this noir-ish thriller (Thursday 11, IMC, 7.30pm ).
Naked Opera is an imaginative documentary about a part-time human resources manager and Don Giovanni fanatic who thinks he is the real Don Giovanni (Thursday 11, IMC, 9.30pm ); Hot Hot Hot, a light-hearted comedy about a shy man forced to deal with a world of nudity (Friday 12, IMC, 8.30pm ); and J’Enrage de son Absence, a powerful psychological drama starring William Hurt (IMC, Saturday 13, 4.15pm ).
Irish film highlights
Among the Irish films to look forward to are Irish/Italian film House of Shadows (Wednesday 10, Town Hall, 11pm ). Megan and Leo have decided to settle in a small town in Italy, but Megan discovers an unsolved mystery in Leo’s family history and faces a terrifying life and death struggle against powerful forces intent on keeping the truth hidden at all costs.
British-Irish film Mister John (Thursday 11, Town Hall, 7pm ) centres on a man who has to deal with his wife’s infidelity and the aftermath of his brother’s death.
Another world premiere is Life’s a Breeze, starring Pat Shortt and Fionnuala Flanagan (Friday 12, Town Hall, 9pm ), a feel-good ‘recession comedy’ about a family struggling to stay afloat and stay together. Shortt and Flanagan will attend the screening.
Discoverdale, starring the Irish sketch/muscial comedy trio Dead Cat Bounce (Friday 12, Town Hall, 11pm ) sees the guys on a desperate quest across Europe to reunite lead singer Jim with his long-lost father - who they think is Deep Purple and Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale!
Films for children
Younger film fans can look forward to Disney/Pixar’s Monsters University (a sequel to Monsters Incorporated, etc ) on Wednesday July 10 at 7.30pm in The Eye Cinema. This adventure sees Mike Wazowski attending university to learn how to become scary.
There will also be a screening of short films by Disney/Pixar on Thursday 11 in the IMC cinema at 2.15pm.
For more information see www.galwayfilmfleadh.com, or Tweet @FilmFleadh
