FOR CLOSE to 30 years, the Galway Film Fleadh has always taken place in early July, in the week before the arts festival. This year, as with so many things in 2021, will be somewhat different.
The Fleadh will take place from July 20 to 25. The move comes as part of a general reshuffling in this year’s Galway festival calendar owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the move allows this year’s Fleadh to become Ireland’s first hybrid film event.
This is the second time in the space of 12 months that the Fleadh has broken new ground, as last year it became the first Irish film festival to deliver an online edition.
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“Moving the Fleadh to July 20 has bought the festival time,” said the festival’s director of programming, Will Fitzgerald [pictured above], “amidst the ongoing uncertainty around capacity for summer events, and the question mark over the opening of cinemas, the plan is for a hybrid event.”
Due to continuing international travel restrictions, the Fleadh’s Galway Film Fair will remain online, but will once again see more than 500 business meetings take place between filmmakers with projects in development, and financiers, sales agents, distributors, broadcasters, and major producers.
As well as the film screenings and the marketplace, there will also be masterclasses, case-studies, and the Fleadh Forum: an annual industry seminar with a state-of-the-industry keynote address, networking opportunities, and a range of panel discussions from industry leaders.
