The Pitching Competition at the Film Fair, the industry market of the Galway Film Fleadh, provides screenwriters at any stage of their career with an opportunity to pitch their projects in an open industry forum. The Pitching Competition has given new screenwriters a platform to connect with the wider industry while filmmakers at all stages of development have used the Pitching Competition to attach producers, receive mentorship, and win development funding.
All that is required to enter is a 500-word written pitch of your project from beginning to end (no cliffhangers). Any genre of feature drama, documentary or animation will be considered. Finalists will be selected to pitch their project as an ‘Elevator Pitch’ of 90 seconds, in front of an audience and a panel of industry judges at the Galway Film Fair. The winner will be announced at the Film Fleadh Awards
Ceremony and will receive a cash prize of €3000 sponsored by Wild Atlantic Pictures.
Previous winners of the Pitching Competition have gone on to have their projects produced; some have secured a theatrical release (2017’s winner Deadly Cuts), while others have received Screen Ireland development funding (2019 winner Roisin Jones and 2020 winner Alice McDowell) or been optioned by broadcasters (2023 winner Eimear Morgan). Last year’s winner Zoe Gibney has been invited to the Stowe Story Narrative Lab in Vermont with her project Dons Life Goes On.
The regular deadline for entry to the Pitching Competition is 11:59pm Friday 16th May 2025 and the entry fee is €40. The late deadline is 11:59pm Friday 30th May 2025 and the fee is €50.
For further information or to submit a pitch, visit here.
The Pitching Competition at the Galway Film Fair is sponsored by Wild Atlantic Pictures. Principal funder of the Galway Film Fair is Creative Europe MEDIA, with support from Screen Ireland, Coimisiún na Meán, Northern Ireland Screen, and Meet in Ireland. Principal funder of the Galway Film Fleadh is the Arts Council of Ireland.