16/07/2024 - Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher has scooped the Prize for Best International Film, whilst Oksana Karpovych’s Intercepted was crowned Best International Documentary

It’s a wrap for the 2024 edition of the Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland’s leading film festival. The gathering ran in the picturesque west-coast town from 9-14 July. This year saw the triumph of Rich Peppiatt’s Sundance hit Kneecap [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Ireland), which scooped the Irish Language Feature Film Award, the Audience Award and Best Irish Film.

Penned by the director himself and staged by Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling and Patrick O’Neill, the picture sold by Charades tells the story of the Belfast hip-hop trio of the same name, played by group members Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí. Michael Fassbender also stars.

Meanwhile, the Award for Best International Film went to Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher [+see also:
film review
film profile] (UK/Qatar/Palestine), set in today’s Palestine and spearheaded by actors Saleh Bakri and Imogen Poots. The helmer herself described the picture as a “human drama set in a political landscape” and “a story about characters that represent a severely marginalised and underrepresented people”.

Next, the Award for Best Irish First Feature went to Anne McCabe’s Blue Fiddle. The drama tells the story of a ten-year-old girl called Molly, who believes that if she learns to play the fiddle like her dad, she can wake him up from a coma.

Finally, Oksana Karpovych’s Canadian-French-Ukrainian doc Intercepted [+see also:
film review
film profile] won the Award for Best International Documentary, whilst Ciaran Cassidy’s Housewife of the Year snagged the Award for Best Irish Feature Documentary.

Here is the full list of this year’s winners:

Best International Film
The Teacher [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Farah Nabulsi (UK/Qatar/Palestine)

Best International Documentary
Intercepted [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Oksana Karpovych (Canada/France/Ukraine)

Best Irish Language Feature Film
Kneecap [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Rich Peppiatt (Ireland)

Best Irish Feature Documentary
Housewife of the Year - Ciaran Cassidy (Ireland)

Best Irish First Feature with Element Pictures
Blue Fiddle - Anne McCabe (Ireland)

Best Irish Film with Danu Media
Kneecap - Rich Peppiatt

Audience Award
Kneecap - Rich Peppiatt

Galway Hooker Award
Brian Cox

Best International Short Animation
Lizzie and the Sea - Mariacarla Norall (Italy)

Best International Short Fiction
The Masterpiece - Alex Lora (Spain)

Best International Short Documentary
Friends on the Outside - Annabel Moodie (UK)

Best First Short Animation Award with Brown Bag Films
Heading Home - Holly Langan (Ireland)

James Flynn Award for Best First Short Drama
Wife of the Future - Rory Hanrahan (Ireland)

Donal Gilligan Award for Best Cinematography in a Short Film
Albert Hooi - All That’s Carried (Ireland)

Peripheral Visions Award with Galway Cultural Company
Poison [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Désirée Nosbusch (Luxembourg/Netherlands/UK)

Generation Jury Award
Amal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jawad Rhalib
film profile] - Jawad Rhalib (Belgium)

Best Cinematography in an Irish Film with Teach Solais
Colm Hogan - Oddity [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Ireland)

Best Marketplace Project Award with Bankside Films
Fairies Don’t Exist
Team: Michael O’Neill, Jude Sharvin, Armchair & Rocket (UK)

Bingham Ray New Talent Award with Magnolia Pictures
Eva Birthistle - Kathleen Is Here [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Ireland)

The Pitching Award with Wild Atlantic Pictures
Dons Life Goes On - Zoe Gibney (Ireland)

James Horgan Award for Best Animation with Animation Ireland
To Break a Circle - Kalia Firester (Ireland)

Best Independent Film Award
The Song Cycle - Nick Kelly (Ireland)

Best Short Documentary Award with TG4 (ex aequo)
We Beg to Differ - Ruairi Bradley (Ireland)
After the Bomb - Heather Brumley (UK)

Tiernan McBride Award for Best Short Drama
Turnaround - Aisling Byrne (Ireland)