Galway welcomes a wealth of international culture and creativity from October 3rd to 23rd as Galway UNESCO City of Film hosts ‘Galway Stories’, Ireland’s first ever Screen Talent Europe film production camp. Notable film figures, alongside 16 of Northern Europe’s pioneering young filmmakers will descend on Galway from locations across Europe including Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Germany alongside Galway and Ireland. The filmmakers will take to the streets of Galway city and county, collaborating to create 4 individual documentaries based on Galway during their stay.
The filmmakers will attend an immersive 3 week film production camp and will be mentored by some of the most respected and recognised authorities in film along with local Galway artists. Some of these insightful talks and seminars will be open to members of the public. Highlights from this unique 3 week European film making course include:
- A mentoring workshop dedicated to the visiting filmakers at the Galway 2020 Hub from Tuesday the 4th to Thursday 6th October with one of Europe’s most highly regarded documentary makers, Torben Simonsen from the Danish Film Institute.
- A dedicated talk for the filmmakers with local Galway artists including including Nuala Ní Fhlathúin, Aindrias de Staic, Elaine Feeney, Martin ‘Beans’ Warde and Paula Kehoe will offer a quirky insight into the ‘real’ Galway.
- A seminar open to members of the public will take place on Wednesday 12th October. Galway UNESCO City of Film the Galway Film Centre will present ‘The Business of Documentary Making: An Irish and Nordic Perspective’ which will explore the challenges that face the ‘business side’ of documentary making. The seminar will touch on Irish and and Nordic experiences and the need for a boost in emerging creative producers. This will be followed by a showcase of Atlantic, the award winning Irish documentary directed by Risteard Ó Domhnaill, followed by a panel discussion with Risteard and the Norwegian co- producer of the project Karl Emil Rikardsen and talks from Irish funders.
The ‘Galway Stories’ Talent Camp is also part of an initiative by Screen Talent Europe, a network 15 of support organisations located across Northern Europe including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Faroe Islands, France and Ireland’s Galway Film Centre. The aim of this network is to nurture new talent and to enable producers from across Northern Europe to work together. As a small island, co-production is vital to Ireland’s film industry and building connections with other countries is the lifeblood of its success.
This partnering initiative held an integral place in the bid book which secured Galway the winning title of Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture, and will continue to roll out annually across Europe, having successfully piloted in the Faroe Islands and Palestine, from now until 2020.
Members of the 15 partner organisations of Screen Talent Europe from various locations across Europe from Northern Norway, Southern Sweden, to the heart of Germany will hold a meeting in Galway city, and meet with to meet with representatives from the funding partners of Galway City Council, Galway County Council & Galway 2020 on the 13th &14th October. They hope to outline further opportunities regarding the development of Galway’s partnership with Screen Talent Europe and discuss how filmmakers can be supported across Europe and how they can continue to grow these partnerships. In 2016 alone, through Screen Talent Europe, Galway-based filmmakers have been supported to attend pitching forums and industry events in Norway and Sweden.
The film-makers will be based in Salthill and will be out and about filming in the city over the next 3 weeks. If you stumble upon them, do say hello and tell them your Galway story!
For further details see: www.galwayfilmcentre.ie
