Three standout short films from Kilkenny to feature in this year’s Galway Film Fleadh

Three standout short films from Kilkenny-based live action and animation companies will feature in this year’s Galway Film Fleadh, marking a banner year for the region’s creative sector. 

The multiple award-winning animated short Éiru, written and directed by Giovanna Ferrari and produced by Nora Twomey for Cartoon Saloon screens alongside The Assassination of Michael D Higgins by John Doran and Dave Minogue and Open Éire by Walter Giampaglia, highlighting the depth and range of storytelling emerging from the southeast.

Also premiering is Once We Were Punks, a feature documentary with cinematography by Kilkenny filmmaker Kevin Hughes, adding to the county’s strong presence across multiple strands of the Fleadh programme.
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The short films will screen across a packed programme taking place in Galway’s Town Hall Theatre. 

The Assassination of Michael D Higgins  is about a burnt-out hospital orderly indulges a patient’s fantasy that he’s the President of Ireland — and decides to go out with a bang. The short was directed by Dave Minogue, written by John Doran and Dave Minogue, produced by Natalie Britton and Julie Ryan, for MK1 Studios and Poster Boy Films. Irish Fiction 2 at 9.30 on Friday, July 11. 

Éiru follows an intrepid child who descends into the belly of the earth after the water mysteriously disappears from the well in her warrior clan’s village. Éiru was written and directed by Giovanna Ferrari and produced by Nora Twomey for Cartoon Saloon.

Open Éire follows a young boy (Dáire) who aspires to be an animator on a humorous trip around scenes of Ireland’s culture and heritage. Open Éire was written and directed by Walter Giampaglia and produced by Jonathan Clarke for Distillery Films.

Both animations will screen on Sunday, July 13 as part of the Irish Animation programme at 12.30.

In addition, Young Irish Film Makers are bringing their Young Critics group to the Galway Film Fleadh again this year.  They get to see some of the best foreign and Irish films and interview the filmmakers as well as record their annual podcast for the fleadh.