Galway Film Fleadh (Fleadh Scannán na Gaillimhe)

Galway Film Fleadh

Fleadh Scannán na Gaillimhe

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Galway Film Fleadh is a six-day festival held each July in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland; “fleadh” is the Irish word for a feast or celebration. The festival dates back to 1989, when it began as a place for Irish filmmakers to show their work to their peers. Its programme combines Irish and international features, documentaries and short films, with separate awards for Irish first features and Irish-language films. Three short film awards — for fiction, animation and documentary — qualify their winners for Academy Awards consideration.

Since 1997 the festival has hosted the Galway Film Fair, an industry market with co-production meetings, the Fleadh Forum conference, masterclasses and the Wild Atlantic Pitching Competition. Its youth strand, GENERATION Fleadh, runs each winter for audiences aged 12–24. The dates for the 2027 edition are 6–11 July 2027.

Country

Ireland

Categories

Animation, Documentary, Feature, Short, Student, Virtual Reality

Dates

6 July 2027 — 11 July 2027

Awards and prizes

Feature film awards: Best Irish Film; Best Irish First Feature; Best Irish Documentary; Best Independent Film; Best Irish Language Film; Best International Film; Best International Documentary; Best Cinematography in an Irish Film; Peripheral Visions Award (for a first or second feature); Generation Jury Award; Audience Award. Academy Awards qualifying short film awards: Tiernan McBride Award for Best Short Drama; James Horgan Award for Best Short Animation; Best Short Documentary Award. Winners in these categories qualify for Oscar consideration without the standard theatrical run, provided the film meets the Academy rules for that season. Other short film awards: Best International Documentary Short; Best International Fiction Short; Best International Animation Short; James Flynn Award for Best First Short Narrative; Best First Short Animation; Donal Gilligan Award for Best Cinematography in a Short Film. Individual artist and industry awards: Pitching Award (Wild Atlantic Pitching Competition, cash prize of EUR 3,000); Bingham Ray New Talent Award; Best Marketplace Project.

Festival rules

Submissions are made through FilmFreeway. Categories: Irish and international feature films (narrative and documentary), international short films, Irish short narrative, documentary and animation, Irish student short animation, Irish-language short films (Gearrscannáin), and XR/VR/immersive experiences. Feature films: 52 minutes or longer; only features over 60 minutes are considered for competition. Short films: under 40 minutes; one category per film; debut shorts must be marked as such. XR works: up to 40 minutes, playable on Meta Quest 2 or 3, submitted by link only. Priority for competition goes to world, European and Irish premieres. Films already screened at other festivals in Ireland receive less priority and, if selected, screen out of competition. Films that are online, broadcast on television or available on streaming platforms are not accepted; trailers of no more than 10% of a short film's length may be online. All genres and languages are accepted; non-English films must have English subtitles. Picture-locked rough cuts are accepted. Screeners: FilmFreeway upload (up to 10 GB) or a private Vimeo/YouTube link; Google Drive and Dropbox links are not accepted for films. An Irish production or co-production has an Irish-resident or Irish-born director, producer, lead animator or writer, or is shot on the island of Ireland. Selected films deliver an exhibition file (ProRes preferred, H.264 accepted, 24 or 25 fps; DCPs only if made professionally). Oscar eligibility for a winning short requires an SMPTE DCP. Up to 30 seconds of a selected film may be used for promotion. Selections are made on a rolling basis; the festival does not give feedback on submissions.

Contacts

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