Celebrating its 10th year, The Fleadh Forum is an annual platform to explore and share ideas about what is happening in the audiovisual industry, delivering a unique opportunity for filmmakers and industry professionals to come together and exchange news and views.
Presented by the Galway Film Fair and the WRAP Fund, with the support of the Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, the Galway Film Centre and Screen Skills Ireland, with Creative Europe, The Fleadh Forum will unveil a new format this year. In addition to the keynote address from Writer/Director/Producer James Schamus, the new look Fleadh Forum will present a series of short, direct presentations (8-12 mins) from a carefully curated panel of industry experts.
The theme for these presentations is “The Substance of Things Not Seen” and speakers will use their unique perspectives on the film industry to shed light on traditionally unseen but vital elements of the business of cinema. Topics will cover sales and distribution, film festivals, post-production, the creative process and much more.
In addition to these presentations, the keynote speaker for this year is prolific screenwriter, director and producer, Mr. James Schamus. An award-winning screenwriter (The Ice Storm), producer (Brokeback Mountain), and former CEO of Focus Features (Dallas Buyers Club, Lost in Translation, Milk, The Pianist), he made his feature directorial debut, with an adaptation of Philip Roth’s Indignation which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival. Schamus’ New York-based production company, Symbolic Exchange, produced Kitty Green’s acclaimed feature documentary Casting JonBenet which had its world premiere at Sundance, and Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s A Prayer Before Dawn which premiered in Cannes 2017 and was released by A24. Recent projects include Rhys Ernst’s trans comedy Adam, The Tomorrow Man, starring John Lithgow and Blythe Danner Andrew Ahn’s sophomore feature Driveways. Schamus is also Professor of Professional Practice in Columbia University’s School of the Arts, where he teaches film history and theory.
The Fleadh Forum is a keystone event at The Galway Film Fair, the industry arm of the Galway Film Fleadh, which hosts Ireland’s longest-running Film Marketplace as well as hosting a wide range of industry-focused events including Masterclasses, Seminars, Networking events, Discussions and more. The Western Region Audiovisual Producers Fund (WRAP) is the regional fund for the West of Ireland committed to strategic investment that encourages regional production and development activity across the film, television drama, animation and gaming sectors.
Tickets are now on sale. Further details of Forum speakers and the event will be announced shortly.
The Fleadh Forum will take place in the Galmont Hotel from 13.30 – 17.00 on Thursday 11th July 2019. Tickets for the event are €15 with a limited number of early bird tickets for €10 now available from EventBrite. Early booking is advised as tickets will be limited.