GENERATION Fleadh, the youth branch of the Galway Film Fleadh, returns from 23 – 26 October, offering an exciting line-up for audiences aged 12 – 24. Screening the best of new international films for young audiences, the festival offers afternoon and evening screenings with educational films in German, Spanish, French and the Irish language, alongside short film programmes curated by the GEN Council. With workshops, discussions, and more, GENERATION Fleadh is a vibrant platform for young film lovers to connect and celebrate film culture in Galway.

GENERATION Fleadh will host the Irish premieres of feature films that have screened at international festivals such as Cannes, Sundance and Berlin. Notable screenings include the Irish premiere of WINNERS, which tells the story of a Syrian refugee navigating her new life in Berlin by joining her school’s football team. Director Soleen Yusef will attend for a post-show discussion. In the Irish Premiere of LAYLA, director, Amrou Al-Kadhi, presents a struggling Arab drag queen who falls in love for the first time and finds themselves in a transformative relationship that tests who they really are.

Following international success at Cannes, Claude Barras presents his second feature, SAUVAGES, a compelling story about Indigenous rights and environmental issues set in Borneo where Kéria and her cousin fight to save their ancestral forest home from destruction.

Closing film of GENERATION Fleadh is a special retrospective screening of Ana Lily Amirpour’s cult classic A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT, a feminist vampire western set in the Iranian ghost town of Bad City that follows a lonely vampire who preys on the town’s most unsavoury inhabitants. This screening, timely for the Halloween season, will be followed by a panel discussion with Dr Mairead Casey of University of Galway and GENERATION Council Members.

Other Irish premieres include Sundance favourite REINAS, a Spanish language film set during the social and political turmoil of 1990s Peru, RETRO THERAPY which tells the story of Manon, a shy 16-year-old girl who is forced to live with her grandmother, a former feminist activist who has Alzheimer’s, THE MAJOR TONES, a magical realist debut about a young girl who starts picking up mysterious messages via a metal plate in her body, FRANKY FIVE STAR, a quirky love comedy about a woman who has a hotel in her head, inhabited by four weird but lovable characters, and EDGE OF SUMMER, Lucy Cohen’s narrative debut about childhood unraveling during a summer in Cornwall.

Three short film programmes featuring works curated by the GEN Council include World Shorts which showcase films from Sweden, Indonesia, Spain, Finland, the USA, and the UK; Gearrscannáin with seven Irish-language shorts, and GENERATION Shorts featuring twelve short films by young filmmakers from across Ireland.

Workshops include, Scoring for the Screen, a music composition workshop, Say Hello to My Little Budget, which explores short film budgeting, The Cinematographer’s Toolkit, a masterclass delivered by DOP, David Qualter and a free stop-motion animation workshop led by Foróige.

GEN Beyond is the festival outreach initiative and this year will screen Irish language documentary feature film, IARSMAÍ followed by a post-show discussion. GENERATION Fleadh will also offer All Abilities Animation workshops, tailored for schools with autism spectrum classes, special classes and neurodivergent students. Facilitators will conduct hands-on animation workshops at two schools in Galway, providing students with an engaging introduction to animation and is supported by Galway City Council and Creative Ireland and facilitated by The National Talent Academy for Animation.

GENERATION Fleadh will take part in the Young Audience Film Day on November 3rd with the European Film Academy (EFA) with film criticism discussion, a screening of Charlotte Regan’s SCRAPPER and an online Q&A with the director, facilitated in real time with young audiences across Europe.

Tickets can be booked via galwayfilmfleadh.com or for more information or any queries please contact: generation@filmfleadh.ie

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