The little festival that can

Now in its sixth year, Guth Gafa documentary film festival, in Co Donegal, is making an international name for itself

AS AN ANTIDOTE to loneliness, the annual gathering of international documentary film-makers in the tiny Gaeltacht village of Gortahork beats most. In any given year, a clutch of the latest and best film-makers bounce from festival to festival around the world. Mostly, they wash up in teeming cities, surrounded by thousands but meeting none. Then they arrive at Guth Gafa, and within the tiny pubs and temporary cinemas they come face to face not only with each other but also with their audience.

“We’re quite strict,” says Neasa Ní Chianáin, one of the festival’s directors. “If a film-maker wants to show their film, they have to turn up and give a talk too, but they’re delighted to do it. They’re always blown away by the intimacy of the village and the personal contact and feedback they get. Plus we get to show them around: take them surfing, put them on a boat to Inishbofinne. It’s unique.”

The films are coming from 14 countries, so it’s expensive to fly everyone in. “Every year, we say we won’t do it again. It’s very stressful. Often funding falls into place the week the festival begins. But then we get such great feedback and hear people talking about Guth Gafa at much bigger festivals abroad that we get energised again.”

It hit a temporary bump when Sheffield Doc/Fest, in the UK, moved its usual autumn slot to the same weekend as Guth Gafa. "At first we thought we were finished," says Ní Chianáin. "We couldn't compete with something so big. But now we're working in partnership, sharing resources, scheduling film-makers and flights to suit both locations, and we're better for it. For example, we're showing Wiebo's Waron Sunday afternoon because Sheffield want the film-makers to stay for their awards ceremony on Saturday night. Then they're straight on to a plane to Guth Gafa. We may not have had them otherwise."

It has also helped create a terrific opportunity for Irish film-makers to meet real funders. “We’re getting a who’s who of American funders coming in from Sheffield. We’ll have film funders from POV [Persistence of Vision], Sundance, Tribeca, Hot Docs, right here in Gortahork.”

This industry aspect is crucial. Leonard Retel Helmrich, fresh from Sundance, will show his documentary Position Among the Starsand give a two-day masterclass in his trademark single-shot cinema style. Booking is through Screen Training Ireland, and the organisers expect it to sell out. "He's a master craftsman who creates poetry on screen. But he's also so unassuming and approachable," Ní Chianáin says. "And we have him for the weekend."

But the festival isn’t just about industry insiders. A big family strand has lots of children’s events, freeing parents to get to screenings. A serviced campsite has been set up in the village, and the festival dome on the estuary is even bigger this year. There is entertainment and public talks and debates each night, and organisers have tacked on an extra two days to allow for student film-making strands and a focus on social and environmental action.

DON’T MISS

Position Among the Stars

Saturday, June 11th, 5.30pm

Third part of Leonard Retel Helmrich’s strand following three generations of an Indonesian family living in the slums of Jakarta.

Wiebo’s War

Sunday, June 12th, 6.30pm

The story of Wiebo Ludwig and his family’s 20-year-and-counting fight to save their Canadian-wilderness community from the oil and gas industry.

Smugleairi Leabhar

Sunday, June 12th, 6.30pm

Documentary following an Irish poet and a Lithuanian stage director as they retrace the steps of 19th-century Lithuanian book smugglers who risked their lives to resist Russification and save their language.

Better This World

Monday, June 13th, 3pm

The story of two young men who, falling under the sway of a charismatic revolutionary, cross a line littered with home-made bombs, terrorism charges and a controversial entrapment defence.

Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival runs from Friday until next Tuesday in Gortahork, Co Donegal. See guthgafa.com