On Sunday, July 10th, 2022, the 34th edition of the Galway Film Fleadh ended after another great year. This year the Fleadh moved back indoors at the Town Hall Theatre and the Pálás, festival-goers were also able to see the best of Irish and international film premieres back where they belong, in the cinema.
The annual awards ceremony took place before the closing film Ukrainian-made Carol of the Bells. Carol of the Bells is the story of three families – Ukrainian, Polish, and Jewish – who lived in the same building in Stanislaviv in Ukraine between 1938 and 1944. All three families disappeared one by one leaving their children in the building. The last one to disappear was a Ukrainian woman who was a teacher of music.
The winner of Best Irish Film (in association with Danu Media) was Lakelands, written, directed and produced by Robert Higgins & Patrick McGivney. Lakelands won the Fleadh’s Best Marketplace Project Award in 2021 and returned to the Fleadh this year for its World Premiere. Lakelands follows Cian, a young Gaelic footballer who struggles to come to terms with a career-ending injury after an attack on a night out. Cian undertakes a search for his own identity in a small town where Gaelic football is a religion, and identity is defined by what you can do on the pitch. Featuring the directorial debuts of Higgins and McGivney, and a cast of emerging Irish stars including Éanna Hardwicke (Vivarium, Normal People) and Danielle Galligan (Netflix’s Shadow and Bone).
Winning Best Irish First Feature was The Sparrow, written & directed by Michael Kinirons and produced by Alicia Ní Ghráinne. The Sparrow follows Kevin Coyne (Ollie West) who lives in a dysfunctional household where the grieving of the death of his mother is forbidden by his father Larry (David O’Hara), an ex-soldier. Kevin is also used to living in his brother Robbie’s (Éanna Hardwicke) shadow, so he is surprised when Hanna (Isabelle Connolly), a newcomer to this West Cork parish, seems to prefer his company.
Kathryn Ferguson’s Nothing Compares, won the best Irish documentary award on the night. The film charts Sinéad OʼConnorʼs phenomenal rise to worldwide fame and examines how she used her voice at the height of her stardom. Focusing on Sinéad’s prophetic words and deeds across a five-year period (1987–1992), Nothing Compares presents an authored, cinematic portrait of a musical icon through a contemporary feminist lens.
Galway Film Fleadh boasts an Academy Award-qualifying Short Film Competition, with the winners of the Live Action, Short Documentary and Animation categories automatically qualifying for Oscar® consideration without the standard theatrical run. This year the winner of the Tiernan MacBride Short Drama Award was Wednesday’s Child, written by Caroline Harvey, starring and produced by Harvey and Charleigh Bailey, and directed by Laura O’Shea. Best Short Documentary was Call Me Mommy, directed by Tara O’Callaghan and produced by Aaron McEnaney, Louise Byrne and Ross Killeen. While The James Horgan Award for Best Animation Short went to Soul Office, directed by Ryan Loughran and produced by Fiona McLaughlin, Tom Getty and Grace Loughrey.
The full list of winners is as follows:
BEST INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION SHORT
Zoon
Directed by Jonathan Schwenk
BEST INTERNATIONAL FICTION SHORT
Too Rough
Directed by Sean Lionadh
BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Nuisance Bear
Directed by Jack Weisman & Gabriela Oslo Vanden
BEST FIRST ANIMATION SHORT in association with Brown Bag Films
Soul Office
Directed by Ryan Loughran
Produced by Fiona McLaughlin, Tom Getty and Grace Loughrey
BEST IRISH FIRST SHORT FICTION
Homebird
Directed by Caleb J. Roberts
Produced by Brian J. Falconer, Callum Harrison and Jonathan Beer
THE DONAL GILLIGAN AWARD FOR CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A SHORT FILM in association with the Irish Society Cinematographers (ISC) supported by Celtic Grips presented by John Leahy
Burn It All
Directed by Jack Hickey
Produced by Lara Hickey
Cinematography by Phillip Blake
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN AN IRISH FILM in association with Teach Solais – presented by Cian De Butléir
Tarrac
Cinematography by Patrick Jordan
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
The Score
Written & Directed by Malachi Smyth
BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY
The Job of Song
Directed by Lila Schmitz
Produced by Fengy Xu and Anika Kan Grevstad
PERIPHERAL VISIONS AWARD
Bad Women
Directed by Niklas Lindgren
Written by Niklas Lindgren and Karolina Lindgren
Produced by Mila Haavisto
BEST HUMAN RIGHTS FILM in association with Amnesty international Presented BY Siddhi Joshi
Afghan Dreamers
Directed by David Greenwald
Produced by Beth Murphy & David Cowan
YOUNG AUDIENCE AWARD
Stay Awake
Director: Jamie Sisley
Writer: Jamie Sisley
Producers: Shrihari Sathe, Eric Schultz, Kelly Thomas & David Ariniello
PITCHING AWARD
Haven by Maureen O’Connell
BEST MARKETPLACE PROJECT AWARD in association with Bankside Films
Shoal
Director: Clare Strong
Producer: Jeanie Igoe
THE BIGHAM RAY NEW TALENT AWARD: in association with Magnolia Pictures PRESENTED BY KATE O’TOOLE
Joint Winners: Éanna Hardwicke and Danielle Galligan, Lakelands
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY in association with TG4
Special Mentions:
Where Do All the Old Gays Go
Directed by Cathy Dunne
Produced by Maggie Ryan and Cathy Dunne
For the Birds
Directed by Ciarán O’ Connor
Produced by Nuala Cunningham and Jen Dunbar
Winner:
Call Me Mommy
Directed by Tara O’Callaghan
Produced by Aaron McEnaney, Louise Byrne and Ross Killeen
THE JAMES HORGAN AWARD FOR SHORT ANIMATION
Soul Office
Directed by Ryan Loughran
Produced by Fiona McLaughlin, Tom Getty and Grace Loughrey
THE TIERNAN MCBRIDE AWARD FOR BEST FICTION SHORT DRAMA in association with Network Ireland Television presented by Derry O’Brien
Wednesday’s Child
Directed by Laura O’Shea
Produced by Caroline Harvey and Charleigh Baileigh
BEST IRISH DOCUMENTARY
Nothing Compares
Director: Kathryn Ferguson
Writers: Kathryn Ferguson, Eleanor Emptage & Michael Mallie
Producers: Eleanor Emptage & Michael Mallie
BEST IRISH FIRST FEATURE in association with Saffery Champness – Presented BY John Gleeson
The Sparrow
Written & Directed by Michael Kinirons
Produced by Alicia Ní Ghráinne
BEST IRISH FILM in association with Danu Media – Presented by Siobhan Ní Ghadhra
Lakelands
Written, Directed and Produced by Robert Higgins & Patrick McGivney