For all that we cover domestic film festivals, there are still plenty around the world that are just as big — and it looks like Ireland is set to deliver some great films this summer. The Galway Film Fleadh has announced their lineup for this year, their thirty-seventh edition, and it includes some highly anticipated titles, including director Colum Eastwood’s new film The Morrigan.
The fleadh (pronounced flah, the Irish word for festival) will feature thirty-one world premieres, including Eastwood’s film about an archaeologist (Saffron Burrows) who unleashes hell when she digs up a mummy with more to it than meets the eye. Other premieres include The Reckoning of Erin Morrigan (not to be confused with Eastwood’s film), Gerry Adams: A Ballympurhy Man, and the Irish language films Baíte and Trad.
The festival will open with Re-Creation, Jim Sheridan and David Merriman’s “based on a true story” tale starring Vicky Krieps, and close with Mike Flanagan’s much-lauded The Life of Chuck. Their genre lineup — appropriately and punnily titled What the Fleadh?! — is even more interesting, however, featuring not only The Morrigan, but also The Thing With Feathers, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, the French/Polish co-production Her Will Be Done, Aisha Tyler’s I Hope We Can Still Be Friends, and David Verbeek’s The Wolf, The Fox & The Leopard, among others.
The lineup also features a robust lineup of animation, short films, and more, as well as additional programming available to both attendees and Galway locals. Included amongst the many films being offered are also a masterclass from The Apprentice director Ali Abbasi, as well as a keynote from producer Christine Vachon, as a part of the fleadh’s industry offerings, known as Fleadh Forum.
This year’s Galway Film Fleadh runs from July 8-13 in the eponymous city. For more information on the full lineup and tickets to the festival, you can check out their website.
