The 37th Galway Film Fleadh concluded July 13 with the presentation of awards across a broad range of categories (both documentary and fiction). Over six days (July 8-13), the Fleadh screened 97 feature films, including 44 Irish features, and more than 100 shorts from Ireland and the rest of the world.
The Best Irish Feature Doc award went to Sanatorium by Gar O’Rourke. In the film, on the outskirts of Odesa stands Kuyalnyk Sanatorium. Each summer, thousands of Ukrainians come here, drawn by Soviet-era therapies and the chance to relax beside the salt lake. The biggest attraction though, is the mysterious black mud, said to cure infertility, physical disabilities and other ailments.
The Best International Documentary prize was awarded to Gerry Adams – A Ballymurphy Man by Trisha Ziff. Gerry Adams is one of the most controversial leaders of our time, he led his community in the North of Ireland from conflict to peace. Adams was a critical voice in the decision taken by the IRA to lay down their arms after their 25-year war against the British. Imprisoned, he was demonised and censored by dominant media as a subversive and terrorist, yet the British and their allies were forced to recognise his legitimacy and negotiate with him and Sinn Féin, the Irish peace accord, ‘The Good Friday Agreement’.
The Best Short Documentary prize went to Dragon’s Teeth by Lennart Soberon (Belgium), described as “an ontological exploration of Northern Ireland’s landscapes and the remnants of its occupied past, blending together eerie archive footage and voyeuristic location shooting as a ghostly figure lingers through the shadows of a long-abandoned military fort.”
There were joint winners in the Best International Short Documentary category. In The Miracle of Life by Sabrine Khoury, a Palestinian mother-to-be navigates pregnancy’s upheavals in the Netherlands She confronts societal norms and identity crises, while questioning her right to feel pain as Palestinians endure unimaginable horrors in Gaza.
The other winner was We Were The Scenery by Christopher Radcliff. After fleeing Vietnam by boat in 1975, Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che arrived in the Philippines and were cast as extras in the production of Apocalypse Now.
In Galway Film Fleadh Marketplace the Best Documentary Project prize went to John Lennon’s Island by Gary Lennon (director/producer). Dreaming of an idyllic retreat away from Beatlemania, John Lennon bought Dorinish Island in the beautiful Clew Bay, off the west coast of Ireland. Despite multiple trips to the area, Lennon never got to live on the island, instead he gave it to Sid Rawle AKA “King of the Hippies” and a group of like-minded souls, as they attempted to create a new form of society.
