Brendan Canty's Christy, Jessica Reynolds, Sanatorium among winners at Galway Film Fleadh

The 37th annual Galway Film Fleadh concluded yesterday with the presentation of awards to the top films and filmmakers of the event.

Across six days, 97 feature films and more than 100 short films from Irish and international filmmakers were screened at the Fleadh.

Best Irish Film went to Christy (dir. Brendan Canty), in which a Cork teenager moves in with his estranged older brother after being expelled from his foster home. Christy was the Canty's debut film. The Cork director is best known his work on music videos for Irish artists, including Hozier's 'Take Me to Church'.

Jessica Reynolds won The Bingham Ray New Talent Award for her role in The Wolf, The Fox & The Leopard. Reynolds, known for her role in the Kneecap movie, spoke to Hot Press in 2024.

Best Irish Feature Documentary was awarded to Sanatorium (dir. Gar O’Rourke), which follows the guests of a Soviet-era health facility in Odesa, Ukraine, while the war rages nearby. The production was a collaboration of O'Rourke with a host of French and Ukrainian contributors.

See the full list of award winners below:

Best Irish Film – Christy
Best Irish First Feature – Horseshoe
Best Irish Feature Documentary – Sanatorium
Best International Short Animation – Luz Diabla
Joe Mcmahon Award For Best International Short Drama/Fiction – Heat Me
Best International Short Documentary – The Miracle Of Life & We Were The Scenery (Joint Winners)
Best First Short Animation (Brown Bag Films) – One Track Mind
James Flynn Award For Best First Short Drama – Internal Bleeding
Best Cinematography In A Short Film (Isc Award) – The Axe Forgets
Peripheral Visions Award – Vitrival – The Most Beautiful Village In The World
Generation Jury Award – Where The Wind Comes From
Best International Feature Film – Dragonfly
Best International Documentary – Gerry Adams - A Ballymurphy Man
Best International Independent Film – Adult Children
Best Cinematography In An Irish Film (Teach Solais Award) – Listen To The Land Speak
Best Documentary Project (Marketplace with Impronta Films) – John Lennon’s Island, Gary Lennon
Audience Design Award (Síle Culley) – Beneath the Surface, Fiona Ashe
Best Marketplace Project (Bankside Films) – Ten Mickeys, Cristian Nicolescu
The Pitching Award (Wild Atlantic Pictures) – The Body + Blood, Carol Murphy
Bingham Ray New Talent Award (Magnolia Pictures) – Jessica Reynolds (The Wolf, The Fox & The Leopard)
Best Irish Language Feature Film – Báite, directed by Ruán Magan
James Horgan Award for Best Animation Short (Animation Ireland) – Éiru, Directed By Giovanna Ferrari
Best Independent Irish Film (Moore Ireland) – Solitary & Girls & Boys (Joint Winners)
Best Short Documentary (TG4) – Dragon’s Teeth
Tiernan Mcbride Award For Best Short Drama – Three Keenings
World Cinema Competition – Winter In Sokcho, directed by Koya Kamura
Audience Award – Trad, directed by Lance Dal