Documentary film festival for Donegal in June

Suppose they made a festival... at the edge of Europe...different from all the rest...

Guth Gafa means ‘captive voice’ and over the five years since its founding this small Donegal film festival has been the voice of Irish conscience on many issues of human rights. But Guth Gafa has stood for much more than supporting opposition to oppression – the festival is about imagination. When we started five years ago, people said we were daft, said it was a crazy idea to have a festival... in the middle of nowhere? But they couldn’t see what we saw – a place and time disconnected from big city attitude where people feel free to be part of the creative process of film.

We believe that Guth Gafa’s unique character has drawn people from across the world: Geoff Gilmore, director of Sundance, the world’s biggest independent film festival, who came... because we asked him, like triple Emmy-award winner, Alan Berliner, or scores of top directors, writers and cinematographers, who are drawn by the mix of talent and top films on offer.

The festival has a reputation for the possible. A quiet village of 200 becomes a film mecca of over 2,000. For three (usually sunny) days in June, film lovers, international visitors, tourists and locals descend on Gortahork to watch films, to eat and drink, to argue and debate, to entertain their families, to listen to music, to party….until, by Sunday night, the quaint seaside village cries enough! And, its job done, Gortahork slips back into its rural siesta for another year.

Guth Gafa has grown 20% each year and by all accounts this looks like another boom year. Even with funding cut across the film and tourism industries, we believe that there’s something in this unique recipe that brings regulars back and snares newcomers – Guth Gafa now has a profile that is recognised at festivals across the world.

Festival directors Neasa Ni Chianáin and David Rane: “We believe the global turmoil should not paralyse us – we have seen hope and resilience in so many films submitted to us, and the selections at Guth Gafa 2010 will reflect that - a film programme defined by optimism, and side-bar events designed to stimulate filmmakers across the industry.”

It’s become our trademark to find films that are edgy, drag them back to this remote place, which many see as the edge of Europe. What happens then is the strangest chemistry. For some reason filmmakers seem to be prepared to take risks, to really put themselves on the line in the debates, and master classes. Maybe it’s because there are more tractors than Ferraris in the parking lot, but somehow the issues become more real and the debate is contemporary: it’s Ireland and the world, human rights, intimate stories of struggle, grand stories of bringing down corporations who are destroying our environment, beautiful portraits of great lives... Somehow, from in amongst the unique content, the mix of wildly different filmmakers, and the raging debate, the identity of Guth Gafa emerges – our captive voice.

Finnish documentary 'Steam of Life'

A sneak preview of some of the films selected for Guth Gafa 2010 reveals that once again we have a diverse and challenging programme – from The Player, the multi award-winning Dutch film about a filmmaker’s gambling addicted father, through Cowboys in India, Simon Chambers’ personal journey into the heart of a multi-national corporate mining companies’ domination of a local community in a remote part of India, to Farewell, a love story told completely through stunning archive footage of the Graf Zeppelin’s first round-the-world journey, to Steam of Life, a both hilarious and extremely moving look at the world inside Finnish saunas, to Dreamland, a pertinent and topical film about the dark side of green energy in Iceland, as (polluting) multinational industries jump on the bandwagon of hydroelectric and geothermal power in a country falling apart at the economic seams.

Cowboys in India

“Once every five to ten years a film comes along that shakes your soul, rattles the cage of your conscience, and awakes you from a media-immersed cryogenic dream state … the audiovisual awakening is the magnificent breathtaking political documentary Dreamland.” - Art Threat

In addition there will be a selection of the very best Irish feature documentaries of the last year, including Ken Wardrop’s award-winning IFTA winner, His and Hers, and Ross McDonell and Carter Gunn’s Colony, which deals with the unexplainable phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder, that has left landscapes of empty beehives all across America, threatening not only the beekeeping industry, but our world food supply.

For those who don’t just want to change the world, but also want to have fun. . . Guth Gafa is a fantastic long weekend away for students, with jaw-dropping special offers. For €50, students get a Festival Pass, allowing access to all screenings, industry seminars and Friday and Saturday night Festival Clubs, plus two nights accommodation in a local hostel.

Over the weekend, festival guests can enjoy excellent international cuisine at Emma’s Festival Café or have a pint in one of the local pubs with their legendary Gaeltacht hospitality and traditional music, before the nights come alive with world-class live music set to rock on until the early hours in the Guth Gafa Festival Club. It’s a great weekend...and cheaper than Paris.

For information on tickets, the most up-to-date programme and how to volunteer check out www.guthgafa.com

by Claudia Hegner