There’s A Special Treat For Music Fans At This Week’s Galway Film Fleadh

There’s a special treat for music fans at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh, with a special collection of documentaries and features on music being screened at the festival. The Fleadh begins today with another exciting programme, including a focus on cinema from The Netherlands, daily programmes of shorts and an eclectic range of documentaries covering everything from music, food, Hollywood secrets and the undiscovered origins of cinema itself. Among the treats in this year’s music strands is Julien Temple’s The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson, a surprisingly whimsical and life-affirming document of Johnson’s uplifting response to a terminal cancer diagnosis. The Winding Stream is a deftly crafted documentary that celebrates a country music dynasty, the Carter and Cash family, which features amongst its highlights a revealing late-in-life interview with Johnny Cash. Other highlights include Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove about Doug Sahm, a hippie, rhythm n’ blues fanatic, roots rocker, psychedelic cowboy, favourite of Bob Dylan’s, and child prodigy who played with Hank Williams Sr. The Jones Family Will Make a Way sees Bishop Fred Jones taking his family’s musical ministry outside the church and unexpectedly connecting with the oddest of allies. Eden is Mia Hansen-Løve’s gently poignant love-letter to the 90’s French electronica scene that spawned Daft Punk, while A Shot of Whisky is the incredible story of the legendary Whisky a Go Go and its contribution to popular music in America — having nurtured the likes of Frank Zappa, Love, The Doors, Buffalo Springfield, Mötley Crüe and many more. There will also be a series of live music gigs, including a 60-piece Open Air Symphony playing music from the movies such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Pirates of the Carribean and more from classical composers such as John Williams and Hans Zimmer on Wednesday at 1pm. A live performance in the Rowing Club by Kíla will also take place after the Irish premiére of Song of the Sea, the Oscar-nominated animated film for which they provided the score, on Thursday at 8pm. Finally, there will be two nights of music from Film Fleadh special guest, John C. Reilly of Step Brothers fame, who will play with his band John Reilly & Friends in St. Nicholas’s Church on Saturday and Sunday at 8pm. Details for these screenings and more can be found at www.galwayfilmfleadh.com.