First Look Films for this year's programme
The Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland’s leading film festival will celebrate its 38th edition from 7th-12th July in the Town Hall Theatre and Pálás Cinema. With six days of feature films, documentaries and short films, audiences can look forward to an array of powerful, moving, funny and provocative films from both emerging and renowned filmmakers.
Full programme details of the hundreds of films, events and talks will be available on our website when the full programme launches on 23rd June.
Speaking about the programme for the 38th edition of the Fleadh, Festival Programmer, Charlene Lydon noted that,
“As always, the Fleadh will platform the very best of new Irish cinema alongside award-winning films from around the world. This year there’s a particular focus on music films, across a broad spectrum of genres, celebrating music as a unifying force in a time of great division in the world. We continue our Generation Fleadh programme which highlights thoughtful and illuminating films for young people, alongside Out On Film, a devoted LGBTQIA+ strand, Peripheral Visions highlighting first and second-time filmmakers and Architecture on Film. Our Country of Focus is Estonia where we will showcase the work of the most exciting Estonian talent across feature-length, short and documentary films”.
Films in the Conflict programme will open our eyes and provoke discussion with themes around social inequality, war and injustice while our genre strand, What The Fleadh?!, returns with some of the most weird and wonderful cinematic oddities I’ve uncovered throughout the year. As always, we will be bringing Galway the best of Irish and international short films, which includes over 100 films, including two dedicated late-night horror programmes. On the industry side, we proudly continue to grow the Galway Film Fair running alongside the Fleadh, so there’s something for both audiences and filmmakers at the Fleadh this July.”
Highlights from the festival programme for 2026 will include:
Thursday 9th July / 17.00 / Pálás 1/ 85mins
Screening as part of our spotlight on Estonian cinema, this deep, funny, and provocative documentary follows a young girl, Roosi, for 10 years from age 8 to18. Having grown up as the child of an environmental activist, she struggles to cope with climate grief and guilt as she moves from childhood to adulthood. Roosi tries to find her own identity and place in the world, revealing refreshing wisdom about contemporary life through the eyes of a generation coming of age in an increasingly fluid reality.
Thursday 9th July / 20.30 / Town Hall Theatre/ 110mins
Written and directed by Irish-born Australian Adam Morris, featuring songs by Declan O’Rourke, with additional score by Luka Bloom, Almost With You takes place in the remote Australian coastal town of Albany, where touring Irish musician Brendan Kelly (Declan O’Rourke), deep in grief over the recent death of his brother, finds community and connection with the local people through a shared love of music. Almost With You is a lyrical portrait of resilience, the fragile beauty of second chances, and the meaning and purpose of music.
Friday 10th July / 14.00 / Town Hall Theatre/ 87mins
Try! follows four Irish players who defy all expectations on their journey to the most inclusive and competitive World Cup you’ve never seen. Mixed ability rugby is 15-a-side, full contact rugby played by people with and without disabilities, all with the dream of lifting the trophy. Try! is a powerful celebration of the power of sport in creating community for those who never belonged before.
Learning to Breathe Under Water
Friday 10th July / 18.00 / Town Hall Theatre/ 95 mins
Filmed on location in Galway, the Fleadh will host the Irish premiere of Learning To Breathe Under Water. After the death of his mother, eight-year-old Leo’s (Ezra Carlisle) best friend is a massive shark that his dad (Rory Kinnear), an artist, built into the roof of their home. Leo confides in the shark to process his peculiar new reality until a spirited au pair (Academy Award nominee Maria Baklava) challenges him and his grieving dad to step out of their heads, and open themselves up to the wild, wonderful mess of real life.
Sunday 12th July/19.00/ Town Hall Theatre/ 120 mins
This year’s Closing Film will be the European premiere of Edward Burns’ Finnegan’s Foursome, which was shot on location along the west coast of Ireland. Two rival brothers and their adult children travel to Ireland to scatter their late father’s ashes. What begins as a clash of egos, old grudges, and comic misadventures, turns into a week of unlikely bonding and hard-won warmth. Written, directed by, and starring Edward Burns, Finnegan’s Foursome is a story about family, forgiveness, and the quiet realisation that, like golf, life rarely goes as planned – but is always worth playing through.