Philosophy/Statement
Guth Gafa Teoranta/Ltd was formed in late 2006 to oversee the development of the annual Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival based in Gort an Choirce in the Donegal Gaeltacht. The first Guth Gafa festival held in May 2006 operated under the umbrella of local film production company, Soilsiú Films Ltd. It was felt for 2007 onwards that the aims of the festival would be more effectively implemented if a separate company was formed with separate accounts, and a full-time manager was appointed to coordinate all festival related activities including fundraising, publicity, and outreach and local community involvement. The company currently has seven directors and a management committee.
The aims and objectives of the festival are to bring to the Donegal Gaeltacht, documentary films made to the highest international standards, including in the Irish language; to promote the use of Irish in the documentary film industry by developing a festival that operates through Irish and that is Gaeltacht based; to attract internationally renowned film directors to Ireland and to introduce them to a national and local audience; to contribute to the local economy by bringing in a significant number of international visitors and by attracting a large local and national audience to festival events; to stimulate the development of best international practice in documentary film making by providing a forum for screening, discussions and masterclasses; to specifically target selected audiences ranging from local community groups, schools, third level colleges, producers, directors, broadcasters and distributors, and to bring them together in the intimate setting of the Donegal Gaeltacht..
The aims and objectives of the festival are to bring to the Donegal Gaeltacht, documentary films made to the highest international standards, including in the Irish language; to promote the use of Irish in the documentary film industry by developing a festival that operates through Irish and that is Gaeltacht based; to attract internationally renowned film directors to Ireland and to introduce them to a national and local audience; to contribute to the local economy by bringing in a significant number of international visitors and by attracting a large local and national audience to festival events; to stimulate the development of best international practice in documentary film making by providing a forum for screening, discussions and masterclasses; to specifically target selected audiences ranging from local community groups, schools, third level colleges, producers, directors, broadcasters and distributors, and to bring them together in the intimate setting of the Donegal Gaeltacht..
History of the Festival
Year 1 - Published in Donegal News, May 2006
Like many ideas that appear at first sight to be incongruous the Guth Gafa Documentary Film Festival is the result of an extremely personal vision. David Rane, the Managing Director of Soilsiú Films is Liverpudlian by birth, South African by nationality and for the past seven years resident in Gortahork. It is from this tiny village that his BAFTA award-winning company runs its business producing individualistic documentary films that pick up on the most intriguing aspects of Irish life and character.
By initiating the Guth Gafa Festival, David Rane has demonstrated what Patrick Kavanagh called ‘the courage of the parish’ in bringing together small communities and universal stories. Between the 18th and 21st of May filmmakers from Australia, America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East will descend on Gortahork to share their films and their international perspectives with an Irish audience. Of the thirty films due to be screened twenty-five will have the director present to discuss both the issues that their film raises and insights into how it was made. Soilsiú Films has raised thousands of Euro in grants and sponsorship to allow these internationally renowned figures in the filmmaking world to fly in to Donegal for a unique event.
Primary sponsors of the event are TG4 and Údarás na Gaeltachta and given the location of Gortahork in the Donegal Gaeltacht it comes as no surprise that the Irish language is central to its ethos. The festival will use Irish as its working language, promote a special Irish language strand and in particular encourage students to engage with Irish language media. In all Guth Gafa will screen films in 12 different languages - Irish, Afghani, Hindi, Portuguese, Hungarian, Swedish, Kyrgystani, Arabic, Spanish, Indonesian, Finnish, and Hebrew - exploring linguistic and cultural diversity in communities across the world.
Apart from the obvious enjoyment of watching award-winning international films in his own backyard, David Rane hopes that the festival will encourage Irish filmmakers to participate more in the international network of documentary filmmaking and to strive to develop films that are recognised globally for their excellence. To assist in this process the festival will conduct a three hour masterclass for local producers and a seminar in the use of archive and found footage in personal films. He feels, however, that the most important audience for the festival screenings is the public and he is convinced that people based in Donegal and surrounding counties will come in large numbers to see these unique films and that the festival will grow in importance for the local community over the years.
Year 2 – Welcome Page from Festival Catalogue
We were delighted by the wonderful response to the first Guth Gafa Festival last year, and we hoped that it could happen again. And now it is happening. The 2nd edition of The Guth Gafa Documentary Film Festival is taking place here in our little village of Gortahork between the 10th and the 13th May. And what a magical place to have a film festival. Gently cushioned between the spectacular Derryveagh Mountains and the magnificent Atlantic beaches, Gortahork is a very special place, and in 2006, the people of Gortahork gave a warm welcome to our international and local guests. And this year, we know that welcome will be there again.
With Guth Gafa, we set out to bring some of the best documentary films from Ireland and around the world to a local audience, who would not usually have the opportunity to see these films. As well as the local audience, we welcome filmmakers and documentary lovers from all over the world, and in Gortahork, they find a place to watch films, talk about documentaries, meet interesting people and relax. At Guth Gafa 2007, we are showing 25 films from 12 different countries, and all the directors have been invited to attend with their films, and to take part in discussions with the audiences after the screenings. We are also honoured to welcome Geoff Gilmore, Director of The Sundance Film Festival in the USA, who will be a special guest of Guth Gafa 2007.
This year, we are also offering some special events in our programme. With the Radharc Trust, we are presenting a number of films and discussions that challenge filmmakers and audiences about human rights issues and moral/ethical questions that arise in filmmaking. With The Irish Film Board, we are hosting an event where Irish filmmakers will have an opportunity to meet and question experts in the field of documentary distribution, and with Screen Training Ireland, we are offering a masterclass on directing films with an agenda for social change. And, given the month that’s in it, we are also presenting two challenging and controversial ‘election’ films, which should provoke interesting debate, and one of which will be interpreted by Frank Connolly, one of Ireland’s best known investigative journalists.
Guth Gafa 2007 could not be happening without the tremendous hard work of the Guth Gafa team and volunteers, the people of Gortahork, and the ongoing support of all our funders, especially Ealain na Gaeltachta who continue to be the largest funder of Guth Gafa, and who have committed additional funding to us to research and develop a significant film outreach programme for Guth Gafa 2008.
Like many ideas that appear at first sight to be incongruous the Guth Gafa Documentary Film Festival is the result of an extremely personal vision. David Rane, the Managing Director of Soilsiú Films is Liverpudlian by birth, South African by nationality and for the past seven years resident in Gortahork. It is from this tiny village that his BAFTA award-winning company runs its business producing individualistic documentary films that pick up on the most intriguing aspects of Irish life and character.
By initiating the Guth Gafa Festival, David Rane has demonstrated what Patrick Kavanagh called ‘the courage of the parish’ in bringing together small communities and universal stories. Between the 18th and 21st of May filmmakers from Australia, America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East will descend on Gortahork to share their films and their international perspectives with an Irish audience. Of the thirty films due to be screened twenty-five will have the director present to discuss both the issues that their film raises and insights into how it was made. Soilsiú Films has raised thousands of Euro in grants and sponsorship to allow these internationally renowned figures in the filmmaking world to fly in to Donegal for a unique event.
Primary sponsors of the event are TG4 and Údarás na Gaeltachta and given the location of Gortahork in the Donegal Gaeltacht it comes as no surprise that the Irish language is central to its ethos. The festival will use Irish as its working language, promote a special Irish language strand and in particular encourage students to engage with Irish language media. In all Guth Gafa will screen films in 12 different languages - Irish, Afghani, Hindi, Portuguese, Hungarian, Swedish, Kyrgystani, Arabic, Spanish, Indonesian, Finnish, and Hebrew - exploring linguistic and cultural diversity in communities across the world.
Apart from the obvious enjoyment of watching award-winning international films in his own backyard, David Rane hopes that the festival will encourage Irish filmmakers to participate more in the international network of documentary filmmaking and to strive to develop films that are recognised globally for their excellence. To assist in this process the festival will conduct a three hour masterclass for local producers and a seminar in the use of archive and found footage in personal films. He feels, however, that the most important audience for the festival screenings is the public and he is convinced that people based in Donegal and surrounding counties will come in large numbers to see these unique films and that the festival will grow in importance for the local community over the years.
Year 2 – Welcome Page from Festival Catalogue
We were delighted by the wonderful response to the first Guth Gafa Festival last year, and we hoped that it could happen again. And now it is happening. The 2nd edition of The Guth Gafa Documentary Film Festival is taking place here in our little village of Gortahork between the 10th and the 13th May. And what a magical place to have a film festival. Gently cushioned between the spectacular Derryveagh Mountains and the magnificent Atlantic beaches, Gortahork is a very special place, and in 2006, the people of Gortahork gave a warm welcome to our international and local guests. And this year, we know that welcome will be there again.
With Guth Gafa, we set out to bring some of the best documentary films from Ireland and around the world to a local audience, who would not usually have the opportunity to see these films. As well as the local audience, we welcome filmmakers and documentary lovers from all over the world, and in Gortahork, they find a place to watch films, talk about documentaries, meet interesting people and relax. At Guth Gafa 2007, we are showing 25 films from 12 different countries, and all the directors have been invited to attend with their films, and to take part in discussions with the audiences after the screenings. We are also honoured to welcome Geoff Gilmore, Director of The Sundance Film Festival in the USA, who will be a special guest of Guth Gafa 2007.
This year, we are also offering some special events in our programme. With the Radharc Trust, we are presenting a number of films and discussions that challenge filmmakers and audiences about human rights issues and moral/ethical questions that arise in filmmaking. With The Irish Film Board, we are hosting an event where Irish filmmakers will have an opportunity to meet and question experts in the field of documentary distribution, and with Screen Training Ireland, we are offering a masterclass on directing films with an agenda for social change. And, given the month that’s in it, we are also presenting two challenging and controversial ‘election’ films, which should provoke interesting debate, and one of which will be interpreted by Frank Connolly, one of Ireland’s best known investigative journalists.
Guth Gafa 2007 could not be happening without the tremendous hard work of the Guth Gafa team and volunteers, the people of Gortahork, and the ongoing support of all our funders, especially Ealain na Gaeltachta who continue to be the largest funder of Guth Gafa, and who have committed additional funding to us to research and develop a significant film outreach programme for Guth Gafa 2008.
