The Galway Film Fleadh (;

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

for "festival") is an international

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

founded in 1989 as part of the

Galway Arts Festival The Galway International Arts Festival (GIAF), founded in 1978, is a cultural organization that produces an annual arts festival in Galway, Ireland. It also produces new work that tours nationally and internationally, in addition to presenting ...

. Describing itself as

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

’s leading film festival, the event is held every July in

Galway city Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city o ...

in Ireland. In 2014, a ''

MovieMaker ''MovieMaker'' is a magazine, website and podcast network focused on the art and business of filmmaking with a special emphasis on independent film. The magazine is published on a quarterly basis. See also * List of film periodicals Film period ...

'' magazine panel of U.S. filmmakers, critics and industry executives included the Galway Film Fleadh on its list of the "25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World".

Background

The festival was founded in 1989, as part of the Galway Arts Festival and was held at the

Claddagh Palace The Claddagh Palace cinema, originally called the Estoria, opened its doors in 1939, and was located in Lower Salthill in Galway, Ireland. The cinema closed in 1995, and was redeveloped as an apartment complex. The last movie to be shown at the ...

until that venue closed in 1995. The festival has become known as a venue for the premiere of domestic Irish films, but as an international festival, it also exhibits foreign film works. In 2006 the Galway Film Fleadh was the site of the first screening of John Carney's film ''

Once Once means a one-time occurrence. Once may refer to: Music * ''Once'' (Pearl Jam song), a 1991 song from the album ''Ten'' * ''Once'' (Roy Harper album), a 1990 album by Roy Harper * ''Once'' (The Tyde album), a 2001 debut album by The Tyd ...

''. The festival includes the Galway Film Fair, a focused film market which allows filmmakers with projects in development to meet with a large number of potential producers, financiers, and distributors. Since 1995 the Fleadh has also conducted the Junior Film Fleadh, held in November and oriented to youth films and student audiences. .

References

External links

* Film festivals in Ireland Culture in Galway (city) 1989 establishments in Ireland Film festivals established in 1989 {{Europe-film-festival-stub