Guth Gafa Festival News
Insights and intimate stories: 30 international and Irish award-winning films for Guth Gafa 2010
Once again Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival transforms the picturesque seaside village of Gortahork in the heart of the Donegal Gaeltacht into a film mecca for huge numbers of international and Irish film fans over three event-packed days from 11th to 13th June.
It has become our trademark to find outstanding films that are edgy and bring them, together with their filmmakers, to this wild and beautiful place, which many see as the edge of Europe. As is the Guth Gafa way, all directors are in attendance and speak about their films in post-screening discussions and debates. Guth Gafa is Ireland and the world; human rights; intimate stories of struggle; epic films of corporations that are destroying our environment; beautiful portraits of great lives. Somehow, between the unique content, the mix of wildly different filmmakers and the raging debate, the identity of Guth Gafa emerges – our Films On The Edge!
With 30 quality international and Irish feature and short documentaries, the 5th annual Guth Gafa Festival selection once again promises a very rich and varied programme.
Following its success at numerous festivals, Cooking History (Slovakia, Czech, Austria, 2009) by Peter Kerekes won the Vienna Film Prize (Vienale 2009), the FIPRESCI jury award (52nd DOK Leipzig International Festival for Documentary and Animation Films), the Golden Hugo award for Best Documentary (45th Chicago International Film Festival), the Special Jury Prize for International Feature (Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival Toronto 2010) and was nominated for the European Film Awards PRIX ARTE in 2009.
Two successful festival highlights from Switzerland are, The Sound of Insects - Record of a Mummy (Switzerland, 2009) by Pieter Liechti, European Documentary Film Award 2009, Prix Caméra-Stylo (Montréal RIDM 2009) and Beyond This Place (Switzerland, 2010) by Kaleo La Belle, Hot Docs 2010 (Official Selection), Visions du Réel International Film Festival Nyon Switzerland (Award Most Innovative Swiss Film).
Other international successful programme highlights include: The Horse Boy (UK/USA, 2009) by Rupert Isaacson, a film companion to Isaacson’s best-selling book of the same name and a festival favourite at IDFA 2009 and nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival 2009; Into Eternity (Denmark 2010) by Michael Madsen, Grand Prix, Visions du Reel, 2010, Official Selection at IDFA 2009, Tribeca 2010, HotDocs 2010; The Player (The Netherlands, 2009) by John Appel, IDFA Award winner 2009. Steam of Life (Finland, 2010) by Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen, award-winner Visions du Reel, 2010
The Irish selection includes two multi award-winning documentaries, His & Hers and Colony (Ireland, 2009). Ken Wardrop’s beautifully crafted feature debut His & Hers has been screened and awarded at Sundance Film Festival 2010 (Sundance World Cinema Cinematography Award), Galway Film Fleadh 2009 (Award for Best Irish Feature), Dublin International Film Festival 2010 (Audience Award and Critics Choice Best Documentary Award), IFTA Award 2010 (Award for Feature Documentary). Colony by Ross McDonnell and Carter Gunn won the IDFA Best First Appearance Award 2009 and also screened at the Dublin International Film Festival and was nominated for IFTA Awards Best Feature Documentary 2010.
Many more excellent Irish and international documentaries complete this year’s Guth Gafa programme and will be presented by their attending directors, and discussed in post-screening debates.
Alongside the screenings and discussions will be a special programme for film professionals and students with panels, seminars and masterclasses. Some of the confirmed experts and guests for these events include Patricia Finneran, senior consultant from the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Programme; Mick Hannigan, Cork Film Festival Director; Hana Kulhankova, Director of One World International Human Rights Documentary Festival in Prague; Communications and Marketing Manager, IFF Rotterdam Dominique Henskens; Danish producer of the Oscar nominated film Burma VJ Lise Lense-Møller (Magic Hour Films); acclaimed UK filmmaker Kim Longinotto, sales agent, Peter Jager from Autlook Film Sales, and many more. The full list and details of Guth Gafa’s wide-ranging special film professional’s programme will be announced shortly on http://www.guthgafa.com/.
As ever, Guth Gafa is more than a film festival – our visitors and guests can enjoy excellent international cuisine at our Festival Café and have a pint in one of the local pubs with their legendary Gaeltacht hospitality and traditional music. Later, the nights come alive with world-class live music set to rock on until the early hours in the Guth Gafa Festival Club.
Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival is proudly supported by Bord Scannán na hÉireann, IFTN, RTÉ, The Arts Council, TG4, The Radharc Trust, Screen Producers Ireland, Údarás na Gaeltachta, FÁS/STI, The Broadcast Authority of Ireland, and other industry partners.
For full details of our programme, special industry events and weekend packages, please visit http://www.guthgafa.com/ or call our festival team on 074 9180730.
Notes:
For all press queries please contact Claudia Hegner on 074 9180 730 or email marketing@guthgafa.com.
For more details on bookings, programme, seminars, master classes or other queries contact us at info@guthgafa.com or phone us on 00353-749180730.