Highlights of the Galway Film Fleadh 2026: Award-Winning Films and Filmmakers
The Galway Film Fleadh 2026 saw Frank Berry's The Lost Children Of Tuam winning the best Irish film award, while Rebekah Fortune's Learning To Breathe Under Water received the audience award. The Lost Children Of Tuam is a film based on the true story of Catherine Corless and her discovery about the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway. The film was produced by Element Pictures and Liam Neeson. An additional festival screening was added due to high demand.
Learning To Breathe Under Water, directed by Rebekah Fortune, tells the story of a father coping with the loss of his wife and raising his son. The film stars Rory Kinnear, Maria Bakalova, and Ezra Carlisle. Shot entirely in Galway, the film was produced by Shudder Films and Wildcard from the UK and Ireland, with co-production from Eiru Film, KeyFilm, and OneWave Films. It premiered at the Karlovy International Film Festival.
Dallan Shovlin's dark Christmas heist comedy, You'll Never Believe Who's Dead, won the Best Irish debut feature award, while Peter Young, the director of the opening night film Our House, received the Bingham Ray New Talent Award. Ivona Juka's Croatian drama Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day, set in 1950s Yugoslavia, won the Best international feature prize.
In the documentary category, Try by Oisín Mistéil and The S.U. by Rob Dennis, Alan Bradley, and Sarah Jones were joint winners of the Irish prize. Brace for Oblivion by Xackery Irving, a documentary about Ukrainian citizens turned soldiers, won the international documentary prize.
The festival director, Miriam Allen, expressed her delight at the record attendances and the exceptional quality of filmmaking at this year's Galway Film Fleadh. The audience embraced both Irish and international cinema in remarkable numbers, making it a successful event for filmmakers and audiences alike.