Eimear Morgan (2023)

I volunteered to go first, that way I could at least relax and enjoy the rest of the event. I hadn’t slept for days, nerves and a teething baby had me running off pure adrenalin. The performance of pitching to a room full of people made my hands tingle and I wondered if I might faint. But like most things it was grand. The room full of people laughed when I needed them to laugh, I had tickets to a film straight after (A Greyhound of a Girl) and the sun was shining. It was one of the best days of my life! Since winning The Wild Atlantic Pitching Competition I have had some meetings with producers and even got as far as signing a contract to turn my idea into a TV show. This unfortunately fell through, but was a great insight into the industry. I am currently studying screenwriting.

Giles Brody (2021)

Winning the Fleadh’s pitching competition was surreal. I’ve been entering on and off since I was 20 and was 35 when I won. It gave me such an injection of confidence. Writing is difficult and writing screenplays is extra difficult because there’s no guarantee that anyone outside of a dozen people will read it. The best thing that happened as a result of winning was the vindication that I had a commercially viable idea for a mainstream comedy film. Looking back on my previous submissions to the competition it’s now clear to me that I was definitely trying to second guess what people might want. There were indie comedy-dramas, historical epics, westerns, state of the nation political thrillers… None I was particularly passionate about, all inauthentic hodgepodges of half formed notions.I feel like I should donate my fee to the poor readers who had to slog through these misfires.

The reason why “Top Marks” worked was because it’s the sort of film I’d love to see – a genre mash up of The Breakfast Club meets Grosse Pointe Blank in an Irish school with Irish kids. It’s the sort of thing I would have been obsessed with if it had come out when I was a teenager. Only pitch a story you’re dying to tell. Enthusiasm is infectious. Getting shortlisted for the pitching competition couldn’t have come at a better time and filled me with creative purpose. I practiced my pitch on everyone unlucky enough to be either my friend or family member. I’d give my spiel, solicit feedback and finesse the pitch for the next person who entered my orbit.

My friend Cian McGarrigle must have heard my pitch at least a hundred times in the week leading up to the competition. The other contestants were all very nice and talented. Due to the pandemic our pitches were to take place online I was sorry not to meet them in person. We were allowed to choose when we pitched so I opted to go last. I tried not to make myself sick with worry listening to my fellow contestants and instead practiced my pitch like it was the rosary.

The pitchers have 90 seconds to entice the judges. That’s half the length of Killer Queen by Queen. If you’re a slow reader like me then just reading this sentence took you 90 seconds. It mightn’t seem like it but it’s enough time to set up your genre, establish the world your story is taking place in and an introduction to the characters that inhabit this world and the conflict they’ll face. Don’t try and tell your whole story, this is just the teaser. Think about it like it’s a film you’ve already seen that you’re excited about other people seeing. “You’ve got to watch this…” Then make it as tantalizing as possible.

After the 90 second pitch the judges asked questions about the plot and its characters. I had written a mini-treatment so I knew the world of my story inside out. I can’t recommend this enough. It doesn’t have to be massively detailed but it should give a decent overview of your story and its themes. Winning was unbelievable and very humbling. I’m extremely lucky to be in the company of a prestigious group of previous winners. Since the Fleadh I’ve written several drafts of “Top Marks”. I used some of the winnings to pay for a script editor which has been invaluable. The Fleadh folks have been really helpful and encouraging, checking in on my progress and connecting me with various folks. I’ve had some encouraging conversations with a few producers, agents and industry folk. Everything is still in the early stages but the goal is to keep the momentum up and eventually debut to film at the Fleadh. Since winning the competition my life has become significantly more fun and full of possibilities.

Roisin Jones (2019)

It’s almost an eye-rolling cliche that it isn’t the winning that matters but the taking part, but in this case it’s true. While it’s obviously nice to get some prize money and a moment onstage that you can enjoy rather than be nervous about, that’s all just a bonus. The actual pitching in the room is the main prize. That’s where others hear your idea and that’s when they come up and say hello if they liked it.  

That said, winning also provided me with a confidence boost and a few requests to read an available draft of the project I won with aka ‘What would Rocky do?’. This was a good ‘kick up the behind’ for me to get another draft done and receive some feedback from readers. Something else of value I’ve taken from the competition overall is the awareness of the importance of pitch documents. The submission to the competition was the first pitch document I had written. Since then, I’ve written a few, whether for funding schemes or for some TV projects I’ve created. Honestly, I find it more difficult to write a pitch document than an entire script, be it feature, shorts or TV so even being accepted as a finalist to Galway has encouraged me that I’m not going in the completely wrong direction.  

I’ve been solidly focused on writing over the last while so you never know, maybe I’ll submit again next year! PS: If you’re a production company who wants to join me on my trip in the ‘right direction’, do feel free to get in touch. Fellow journey-folk are always welcome.

Michelle Lehane (2017)

‘Pitch your movie to anyone who’ll listen and adjust accordingly. You never know what valuable information you can learn from a stranger with a blank expression’. (Syd Field, Save the Cat)

A great pitch is the perfect DNA for a great film. A lot of writers argue you must perfect your pitch before you write a word of your screenplay, because if there’s a fault in your story, something lacking or confusing, you’ll find it there in the pitch.

This was the advice I took the day before the competition when some friendly strangers asked me to pitch them my idea in the hotel bar. ‘What now? Here?!’ I stammered, there was no way. If you can’t pitch to us, how will you pitch to a room full of strangers and a panel of judges? They produced a watch to time me and I knew they were serious. I took a deep breath, hands shaking, and started the opening line.

Winning the competition was an incredible honour and it helped to open the door to producers, and I found a production company interested in taking it on. I was also invited by the Writer’s Guild to a workshop with Neasa Hardiman and from that was selected in the top ten for intensive training with Sabille Kutz to learn more about the world of pitching and selling for professional screenwriters. I’m currently working on my second feature film script and hope to continue to work as a screenwriter in the future.

For anyone interested in entering the competition, I highly encourage you to get involved, and here are my top two pieces of advice:

Tip 1: You’re a writer- write your pitch. Every single word. For the final, 90 seconds isn’t long enough for you to improvise, it’s a one hundred metre sprint and every second counts, every turn of phrase. So sit down with your 120 page masterpiece and think carefully on how to condense it down to its most basic elements. Find the essence of the story start to finish in 300 words or less, and make the audience want to see it.

Tip 2: Forget you’re a writer- sell it to me. I know, you might prefer to leave the drama on screen, but if you don’t sell it like it’s the God-darn Shawshank Redemption, no one will. Rehearse your pitch until you feel comfortable start to finish without scrambling for notes. Remember- It’s your story and you’re the storyteller. No one is more qualified to tell it than you.

Luke Morgan (2015)

What did winning the Galway Film Fleadh Pitching Award mean for me?

I’ve just used a classic pitching technique. Opening with a question. And now, you’re waiting to hear the answer, aren’t you? (another question…bingo!)

Pitching a 120-page project in 90 seconds is invaluable, even if you don’t win. Why? Because it forces you to get to the core of your movie. You might be dwelling on a cool chase sequence near the end of your script, or imagining how the whole thing is going to be shot with a fish-eye lens…heck, you might even be imagining that your protagonist is going to speak like Humphry Bogart. But what is your script really about? That’s what a 90 second timeslot does to you. It shakes you by the shoulders, slaps you across the face, until you can nail it in one short line.

A rat that wants to be a chef. (Got it!)

A Detective who has to try and solve his own murder. (Got it!)

A jaded dad who starts to turn into Santa Clause. (That sounds familiar…)

First and foremost, this is what participating in the Galway Film Fleadh Pitching Competition did to my script. It focused me, helped me to see past all the clever tricks and frills and concentrate on the heart of my film.

Since winning the Pitching Award, I have had two of my feature-length screenplays optioned by production companies in Ireland (including the script that I pitched). On the strength of the award, I was accepted into a much-coveted Screen Training Ireland course. The course involved a week’s training in the art of screenwriting, as well as 10 weeks of one-on-one mentorship with a script that I am currently developing.

My 90 seconds is nearly up, and so I’ll conclude with a final piece of wisdom in the form of an inspirational quote: if you’re thinking about applying, “just do it…make your dreams come true” (LaBeouf, 2015).

Jacinta Owens (2013)

Winning the Pitching Award is fantastic. But that goes without saying. If you’re reading these winners’ accounts, you’re probably either pondering entering or you’ve been shortlisted. I can only say that if you’re pondering entering – do it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Make the 500 words count. Choose the story you love and write from the heart. Fit in the beginning, middle and end as economically as you can and with a lot of punch. Don’t mindread: you won’t know who’s reading your entry and what impresses them, but it makes sense that a good story with something a bit unusual about it will catch anyone’s eye. If nothing else, you’ll have a nicely formed synopsis for your future (or existing) script.
If you’re one of the lucky ones who has been shortlisted – congratulations! From beginning to end, the whole process was exciting, if a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions. The Sunday morning I pitched was the hottest day of the year, I think. I was hoping that Joe Public would be either in bed with a hangover or eating ice cream in Eyre Square, but no, they kept on filling the room until there was only an odd seat unfilled here and there. I was nervous but ready. The only defence against nerves is not heavy drinking, as you might think, but preparation. Disclaimer: I’m not an expert, I’m only going on my own experience of the process. But it’s a pitching competition, all that matters is the pitch. Write a pitch and then practice it on people you trust. When you decide on the pitch that feels best and gets the best feedback in practice, film yourself delivering it, watch it, take notes and time it. Yes, it’s horrible. Yes, you’ll promise yourself cosmetic surgery and/or a personal trainer with the prize money, but it is really important. You’ll have a set amount of time and you need to use it wisely. If you include that lovely little quirky character that has one brilliant line, oh and that family with all the cool names that live beside the quirky character, you’ll bore everybody who doesn’t live inside your head, i.e. everybody, you’ll run out of time and you won’t get to the great ending that makes the story really unique. Filming yourself also takes the sting out of standing in front of a crowd of people if you’re not used to it, like me. You can learn to accept how you’ll look and sound delivering your pitch, which diminishes that particular worry on the day.

Don’t bother with visual aids – the panel will naturally spend half the time looking at them and not listening to you. If you love your story, they’ll love your story, so just tell the story.

Winning is fantastic – did I mention that? I’m now working on two feature films and studying an MSc in Feature Film Production, which I can attribute in the most part to winning the Pitching Award, and hopefully I’ll be at the 2014 Galway Film Fleadh watching my name roll up in the end credits of a feature film.

Rioghnach Ni Ghrioghair (2011)

Winning the Galway Film Fleadh pitching contest was a huge confidence boost for me. I’d been out of college only a year and had spent that year ambling around, tinkering with ideas and trying to get on my feet as a writer. DEATH RATTLE was an idea I had for a film since college that never materialized into screenplay or treatment form but when I was involved in the ENGAGE European Media program, I met producer Joseph Atkinson, who became a development producer on the project.
With the project gathering momentum in workshops across Europe, we decided to enter it into the Galway Fleadh for the Pitching competition. Pitching, especially in front of a large audience, was the most terrifying situation I could think of facing. I was horrified of having to successfully communicate to a crowd this hybrid famine western idea that had been rattling around in my head for years. On a Sunday morning, in front of a banquet room of peers, friends, colleagues, producers and industry representatives, I pitched DEATH RATTLE for a full 8 minutes, followed by a Q and A from the judging panel of some very esteemed individuals. It was such a great feeling to have Kate O’Toole call out my name at the award ceremony later that evening. I remember feeling and looking somewhat like a deer in the headlights on the Town Hall stage. When you’re just out of college and you want to be a writer for a living, it can be very dissuasive and discouraging to envision, considering how tough it is to get money in the field you want to work in. Screenwriting is a particularly challenging and often unrewarding profession but I absolutely love it and can’t see myself doing anything else.

Winning Galway made me realize that I was at the start of that career, that I was in fact going to do what I always loved to do…tell stories. I think every young writer and screenwriter needs a boost like this at the start of their careers, an affirmation to tell you that people want to hear the stories that you have to tell. Since Galway, I’ve been very busy. I’ve gotten a job as a part-time Development Assistant for Blinder Films in Dublin and am also currently working as a writer on a feature film project with a Dublin-based director. Working with Blinder in Development has been such a fantastic experience. I’ve met so many amazing and talented screenwriters at various levels of experience who share my love for good film and television. I’ve worked with them and helped them to realise and develop their work into feasible film and TV projects. DEATH RATTLE as a project, is on the shelf for the very busy time being, for only for now!

Gary Mitchell (2009)

‘There’s the Pope Burner!’ A man’s voice called from across the street as I walked, hand in hand, with my wife Alison away from the Town Hall Theatre in the centre of Galway on the night of the 12th of July 2009.
Now if I was hearing this story some years ago in my own home, as a child of the troubles in Belfast, I would have expected this to be followed by scenes of angry Irishmen, wielding pitchforks and lighted torches, attacking the accused, ‘Pope Burner’ and eventually putting him to death, chopping his head off and parading it through the streets of Galway for all to see and cheer and of course to serve as a warning to any other Protestants from the Black North who might dare to venture west. So, imagine my surprise when whistles and spontaneous applause followed this shout and people wished us well and congratulated me on my triumph.

I can still see the proud smile stretching across my wife’s face because she understood what was going on. You see the reason I was walking away from the Town Hall Theatre in Galway, was not, as many might have suggested when I was a boy, because we had planted a bomb and needed to make good our escape but in fact it was because I had claimed the pitching award at the Galway Film Fleadh!
Yes, I had to tear myself away from all the trouble and controversy that occurs at this time of year in Northern Ireland as either side of the religious divide take up their traditional, opposing, positions for the marching season. Instead, I went to Galway with my pitch, ‘Get the Pope’ set at precisely this time of year and, that’s right, a film all about the trouble and controversy that occurs…

On the drive to Galway I may have been sticking to the speed limit but my mind certainly wasn’t as it raced on ahead of me determined to get the event over, win or lose, it didn’t matter. It was more important to stop the sickening feeling of churning nerves in my stomach.
I met the other ‘winners’ of the pitching award at the venue and we all agreed that we were in fact winners just to get this far, to have been selected for the final but sitting trembling, sweating, listening to the other pitches didn’t make me feel like a winner at all. In fact it was more like the time I had to pitch my idea for an overdraft to my bank manager – didn’t win that one.

I don’t remember anything about my pitch at all. In fact, it was as though someone else pitched it and then woke me up after the judging panel had their fun like Simon Cowell and Co. Then I was informed that we would find out the winner some hours later at another very public event – the awards ceremony itself.

By the time I got to the ceremony my wife had tried on three different outfits and I was just a mess of nerves constantly practicing how to lose with dignity and hold myself together should I need to congratulate someone else. Then the big moment arrived and the winner of ‘everybody’s favourite award’ was announced. A round of applause actually gave me a terrible headache as I suddenly realised I hadn’t prepared any type of ‘winning’ speech.

It went something like this: In 1974 after we lost our first ever effigy of the Pope from the top of our bonfire and I was selected as the boy to go and get it back, I wonder how many people would have believed that some 35 years later that same boy would pitch a movie idea about his ordeal, at a film festival in Galway, and win the first prize?

Oh, and did I mention that the Irish Film Board are now backing the first draft?

William Collins (2007)

I will never forget the Friday morning I got the call to let me know that I had been selected as one of the finalists for the Pitching Award, it made me sick. Seriously I got so worried and stressed that I actually got sick, for a week.
‘My Brothers’ is the story of Noel and his two younger brothers who, using a ‘borrowed’ bread van, embark on an epic quest to replace their dying father’s watch; grinding gears and screaming at each other across two counties to get to an arcade machine in Ballybunion. The story had been rattling around in my head for about a year and I had been developing it slowly. One of my goals for the year was to submit a half decent pitch document but I never expected to be short listed.

On the day, the competition was strong. I was last up and the ‘Rescue Remedy’, which had been working wonderfully, started to wear off fifteen minutes before my big moment. My mind started to search desperately for the pitch, which my girlfriend Karen and friend Billy had coached into my very bones, but all I could conjure was the mocking image of an empty white page, no story.

By the time Ralph Christians introduced me I had discovered a new mantra ‘Whoever is looking after me, look after me right now.’ I must have repeated it a hundred times in thirty seconds. I stood at the podium and words starts to wobble out of my mouth. It’s still a bit of a blur, but I knew that I gave that pitch everything. All the belief and passion I felt for the story came out and I knew that I was connecting with the audience. It wasn’t until when the judges were asked for their questions and the first thing that Lelia Doolin said was ‘Wow!’ that I started to think that I must have done something right. And guess what? I won.

There was immediate interest in the project and I had been given an extra drive to follow it through. By the end of the summer I had submitted a treatment to the Irish Film Board and by November I received the ‘First Draft Loan’ to develop the feature screenplay. With the encouragement of the IFB and help from my excellent script editor I’ve produced a script that I’m really proud of which still makes laugh and cry even when I’m sick to the teeth of looking at it. I hope that one day I will be sitting in the cinema and looking at ‘My Brothers’ on the big screen.

There are few ‘Big’ moments in your life that changed things. Well, winning the Pitching Award was one of those ‘Big’ moments for me and my little story. I would recommend the Pitching Award to anyone trying to get a story out there. Boil it down to its essential parts, focus on the story you want to tell and practice the hell out of it. But most of all, be passionate about your story and people will respond to that.

Keith Bogue (2005)

When I submitted an idea titled Rugby Days I had for a film about a GAA Inter county star getting banned from playing because he head butted the Referee and then getting inspiration from the heroics of the Munster Rugby team and forming his own rugby team I had no idea where the whole thing would end.

When Celine Curtain phoned me to inform me that I had been short listed for the final I was gob smacked. When on the day of the event itself I sat in the cinemobile and listened to the other finalists pitch their ideas I was a nervous wreck! When I won, I thought it could not get much better. I was wrong.

Using the €5000 prize from the inaugural Stella Artois Pitching Award for Rugby Days I brought the idea to first draft stage. It was with this draft that I approached Ralph Christians at Magma Films in Galway. Magma Films took an option on the script. Following further work on the script of Rugby Days was submitted to the Irish Film Board who has now come on board with development funding for the script. In the mean time, I successfully completed the Masters Degree at the Huston School of Film & Digital Media NUI Galway. In December 2005, I went to the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield to develop my next project with Peter Ansorge and Farrukh Dhondy. At present I’m working on this script and Rugby Days. Moreover, to cap what has been a perfect year since winning the Stella Artois, Munster won the European Cup in front of a capacity crowd in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and I was there!