Music
17 Nov 25

Irish music documentary Celtic Utopia wins Audience Award at Leeds International Film Festival

Celtic Utopia.

The documentary features performances and contributions by a range of alternative folk and traditional musicians.

Irish folk music documentary Celtic Utopia has won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2025 Leeds International Film Festival.

Founded in 1987, the festival attracts over 5,000 submissions annually from more than 120 countries, screening more than 250 films across venues in Leeds and West Yorkshire.

Written and directed by Dennis Harvey and Lars Lovén, Celtic Utopia follows a wave of alternative folk and traditional musicians who describe their sound as music “to scare priests and politicians.”

The documentary traces a century of Irish independence through the lens of a new generation of artists who are reshaping folk music while reflecting on the legacy of colonial history.

The film features performances and contributions from a wide range of artists, including The Mary Wallopers, Negro Impacto, The Deadlians, Jinx Lennon, Poor Creature, Branwen, Lankum, Naoise Mac Cathmhaoil, Rising Damp, Young Spencer, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, Róis, Post Punk Podge, Susan Hughes, Tadhg Mulligan, Alfie Mulligan, Múlú, Niamh Moriarty, Cathail O’Mhaoil, Summer Newman, Eimear Níc Ionnrachtaigh, and Eoghan Ó Garmaile.