An academic and professional exercise I discussed in my first blog post about the Galway Film Fleadh was the vast array of friendships I made during the four days we spent in Galway.
The Irish hospitality was expressed in full force as I met kind soul after kind soul, engaging me in conversation about film and even their own works, some of which were on display. Having never attended a film festival before, much less one in a foreign land, the openness and friendliness of everyone was a real joy to experience. Sure there was an element of glad-handing and some sycophants roamed the crowds, but generally, people were there because they loved film, and they loved the culture surrounding showing these films to a rapacious public.
A central place for meeting folks was The Rowing Club, a bar with a picturesque view of Galway Bay which shines with the light of the city. After the evenings films were over, everyone would walk just a few shorts blocks behind the Town Hall Theatre to waterfront. On Friday night, I met Rory and Bruschi there, two film recent film school graduates who premiered the short film Punchline to an appreciative crowd. We exchanged views on cinema and the filmmaking process, and talked about everything from Irish customs, to hobbies, to hurling and gaelic football. The next day we three of us and Dan saw the Samuel L. Jackson narrated African Cats in the Omniplex down the road. There we were, four complete strangers with nothing but film in common, hanging out and enjoying movies together.
I also met the director of Gnarr and former Quarashi bassist Gaukur Úlfarsson on the street while everyone but me wolfed down fish and chips during the program dinner McDonaghs. We talked about Gnarr, his current projects, and what he thought of Ireland and his time at festivals like this one. We also talked about Screaming Masterpiece, a film I was set to see the following day, which Gaukur was actually in scene from Tokyo as a member of Quarashi. We saw each other again on Saturday night after the Cillian Murphy performance in Misterman. I'm no sycophant or hanger on, nor am I foolish enough to think I "made a new friend," but in a way, I did. Where else would that interaction be possible?
Finally, I went and saw Jack Taylor: The Pikemen on Sunday. Not only was the director at the showing, but I ran into both Killian Scott and Nick Lee who star in the film. I didn't drool at the prospect of meeting a "big star," which arguably, neither is, but it was cool to just chat with two lads who were in a movie I just saw. Killian told me about a film he has coming out next year, and Nick and I discussed his stagework and how incredible Misterman was. Sure I could have gotten autographs or pictures with each fellow, but this wasn't the time or place for that. Plus, I didn't want to lose my coolness by acting like just another teenager with Bieber Fever.
I guess the point of all this name dropping is to explain how much I really got into the "festival culture" and enjoyed the experience to the fullest; going to films, meeting people, and taking in the sights and sounds surrounding the Fleadh. I wish everyone else had immersed themselves in the environment as I did, but they're not film nerds like me. It's just a placement of value, some would rather visit the Aran Islands, (which is a fine choice, nothing against that), or go see Cillian Murphy in a play. I can always come back to Ireland and go visit the Aran Isle, in fact, I'm sure I will. But the chance to see an actor's actor like Murphy in a show from esteemed Irish playwright Enda Walsh?
That's a once in a lifetime opportunity, just like the Galway Film Fleadh.
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