William Fitzgerald has been appointed as the new programmer for the Galway Film Fleadh, taking over from Gar O’Brien who has stepped down after seven years in the role.
Mr Fitzgerald will be responsible for curating the festival’s annual line-up. He comes to the role with eight years experience with the fleadh, having previously served as short film programmer and festival publicist. He has also worked as a film publicist with the Foyle Film Festival in Derry and the Tribeca Film Festival and Irish Screen America festival in New York. “To take over the reins from Gar, on the eve of the 30th film fleadh no less, is both an intimidating prospect and an incredible privilege,” said Mr Fitzgerald.
“One of the best and yet saddest parts of this line of work is the changing nature of the programmer role,” said Miriam Allen, fleadh managing director. “Gar made a terrific contribution to the fleadh and to the Irish film industry over the last seven years and I’m sad to see him go. At the same time, we are all feeling invigorated here with the changes we’re making coming up to our 30th festival, and I can’t wait to see what Will brings to the table.”
The 30th Galway Film Fleadh runs from July 10 to 15, and this year will see it host more screenings, and expand into new Pálás cinema. Feature film submissions are currently open, with an early deadline of February 26 and a final deadline of March 30. Submissions and further information on the festival are at www.galwayfilmfleadh.com
