We know Galway's a boomtown, so it's not surprising we smelt a rat or two at the opening night of the Galway Film Fleadh on Tuesday. It wasn't just that the opening film was called Rat, or that the foyer of the Town Hall Theatre was festooned with posters of a furry rodent guzzling a pint of stout; two of the original Boomtown Rats, Bob Geldof and Pete Briquette, were on hand to cheer on writer Wesley Burrowes and director Steve Barron for the world premiere of their fantasy comedy. Geldof and Briquette provided some of the music for the movie, about a Dublin bread-delivery man who turns into a white rat (the way you do, sometimes). Burrowes, creator of some of RTE's finest moments over the years in series from The Riordans to Bracken to Glenroe, had no doubt about the importance of Rat: "The film is full of symbols of dislocation and despair in a corrupt society, but that's only on the surface," he said. "Underneath all that, it's a deeply silly film."
Cast members present included Imelda Staunton, Frank Kelly, and David Wilmot. Steve Barron handed over the speechifying duties to comedian Ed Byrne, who also has a role in the movie, and Byrne repaid the compliment with a very backhanded compliment to his director: "He's not a very funny man, but his wife assures me that naked he's hilarious."
Of course, not everyone will see Rat as a fantasy. "We were out filming in the freezing cold one day," Byrne recalled. "This woman came up to Imelda and asked: `What are ye filming?' Imelda told her it was a film about a man who turns into a rat. `Really? And did he live around here?' "
Festival-goers repaired to the Rowing Club on the banks of the Corrib after the film - or "fillum", as film-maker Louis Marcus insisted it should be pronounced, Cork-style, in his opening speech. Marcus also pointed out that in his native Cork, "flah" had quite another meaning, "usually extra-marital", before wishing us a very enjoyable "fillum flah" all the same. All in all, with movie star Woodie Harrelson due in to sing the praises of marijuana in his movie, Grass, it promises to be a weekend of peace and love in the City of the Tribes.