The Galway Film Fleadh is back with inspiring and entertaining films & events in Galway from July 11th to 16th!

The 35th Galway Film Fleadh will feature Croíthe Radacacha, Backwards, It’s A Fine Thing to Sing, Typist Artist Pirate King, The Graceless Age- The Ballad of John Murry, Runner at Pálás Screen 1 on the 15th.

Screening;
Croíthe Radacacha at 11am / World Premiere
Director Ciara Hyland explores the hidden stories of eight female couples who were at the heart of the Irish Revolution that freed Ireland from the British Empire. These women’s likely lesbianism has largely remained unexamined, denied and hidden from history – until now. These women were extraordinary in the lives they lived – they were radical in their politics, in their feminism, their socialism and their devotion to freedom and equality. In the end, many of them picked up a gun and went and fought for that freedom and equality. They suffered huge losses but ultimately lived life on their own terms – where the personal was political and their private lives were as radical as their public. This is also the story of ‘doing gay history’ – the difficulties of finding evidence of love that by necessity had to fly under the radar, the glimpses we get of how people lived in the past and the burden of proof placed on examining gay relationships.This is a documentary about ‘the love that dares not speak its name’ – found at the very heart of the Irish Revolution.
Post Show discussion will follow

Backwards at 1pm / Irish Premiere
The story of a young mother of an autistic boy, whose many years of stubbornness, and the fight against bureaucracy and human heartlessness, led to changes in the education system in Poland. This allowed all children an opportunity to attend mainstream school. Inspired by true events.

It’s A Fine Thing to Sing at 3.30pm / World Premiere
When singers Ian Lynch (Lankum), Ye Vagabonds and The Henry Girls are invited to create their own interpretations of songs from the Inishowen Song Project, the audience is invited into a vast collection of local singers and songs, documented over 40 years from within the community itself. Framed within the stunning landscape of the area, these new performances, atmospheric archival recordings, and interviews with key community figures, demonstrate how songs pass from singer to singer, while also examining the question of why we sing.
Post Show discussion will follow

Typist Artist Pirate King at 5.30pm / Irish Premiere
Directed and written by acclaimed British auteur Carol Morley, this film shines a light on an obscure female outsider artist through an imagined road trip across a modern yet quasi-mythic England. In a last-ditch mission to get recognition for her talent, Sunderland-born artist, Audrey Amiss, played brilliantly by Monica Dolan, persuades her psychiatric nurse, Sandra Panza to take her on a road trip back to where her story began – but with so many deviations along the way, will they ever make it? Typist Artist Pirate King is a testament to female creativity both in form and in content. Oscar winner Jane Campion is Executive Producer.
Post show discussion will follow

The Graceless Age- The Ballad of John Murry at 8.30pm / World Premiere
This is the story of American singer songwriter John Murry who was on the cusp of greatness after the release of his highly acclaimed album The Graceless Age (2013) when his world fell apart. Addicted to heroin, creatively exhausted, he washed up on the shores of Ireland a broken man. Now, he is ready to retrace his steps back to Mississippi into the dark heart of American life and face his demons – a difficult childhood, traumatic assault and resulting years of opioid addiction. This documentary follows John as he embarks on a road trip that takes him from his haven on the cliffs of County Clare, Ireland to his native Mississippi. The film culminates with John travelling to Toronto to rekindle his creative collaboration with Canadian music legend Mike Timmins, who produced his album A Short History of Decay. Mike helps John express himself the best way he can – through his outstanding music. This beautiful documentary charts his journey from near death to redemption and a new zest for life and art.
Post Show discussion will follow

Runner at 11pm / Irish Premiere
Haas is an 18-year-old girl who was raised by her father in the rural Midwest. When her father suddenly dies, she must carry out his wish to be buried in the town where he was born. There, she meets a young man named Will, a lonely, creative soul who is working to support his family back home. The two of them form a friendship that challenges both of their understandings of love and loss. An exquisite debut feature from Marian Mathias where she skillfully frames the vastness of the American landscape while blending compassionate realism and cinematic poetry, Runner is a heartfelt story that captures a rare and meaningful bond between two young people as they step into adulthood.

Photos courtesy of Galway Film Fleadh