GALWAY FILM FLEADH TO PRESENT ‘H3’ AS CLOSING FILM

THE GALWAY Film Fleadh are to present Les Blair’s ‘H3’, formally known as ‘66 Days’, as their closing film.
Written by former hunger-striker Laurence McKeown, ‘H3’ is set during the hunger strikes at the Maze prison in 1981, this powerful and moving story, based on true events, combines powerful performances, humour and some very moving moments to depict the desperate situation the young men find themselves in as they face the most painful decision of their lives. Each searches his heart to find the courage of his convictions, knowing that a hunger strike will inevitably end in death.
Goran Paskaljevic will premiere his unusually-titled film ‘How Harry Became a Tree’, starring Colm Meaney, Cillian Murphy, Adrian Dunbar and Pat Laffan at this years Fleadh. This absurd comedy details the surreal lengths to which a man will go in order to remain in control of his ever-shrinking corner of the world.
Mel Smith brings his latest feature to the Galway Film Fleadh this year. ‘High Heels and Low Lives’, starring Minnie Driver, Mary McCormack, Kevin McNally and Michael Gambon, tells the story of two women who, overhearing a heist, devise a seemingly fail-safe plan to blackmail the bank-robbing gang. As in: "This is the twenty first century. Women are doing every kind of job. We can do extortion". But when one phone-call pitches them deep into a criminal underworld, events spiral out of control and the girls realise they have taken on more than they could ever have bargained for.
The Fleadh 2001 programme includes a season of Iranian film and the festival is paying special tribute to the great Iranian director, Abbas Kiarostami who is coming to Galway to present a selection of his work.
Other documentaries screening at the Fleadh are ‘Promises’ and ‘Children Underground’, both of which deal with the plight of children abandoned by society and forced to survive by whatever means possible.
As in previous years, the Galway Film Fleadh will provide opportunities for Irish film-makers to meet with invited financiers from around the world.
The Fleadh, which runs from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th July, is the only one of its kind in Ireland and has helped forge valuable links for Irish producers. (CD)