Guth Gafa is uncorked in Kells
The launch screening of the Guth Gafa international documentary film festival was so packed many of the guests had to watch in a second room. However, the only Sour Grapes to be seen were director Jerry Rothwell's and his corker of a feature about a multi-million dollar wine forgery. Don't worry Sour Grapes is being repeated over the festival weekend.
The 10th Guth Gafa Festival was officially launched by Minister of State, Helen McEntee and Australian Ambassador to Ireland Ruth Adler and Meath County Council cathaoirleach Maria Murphy at Headfort House.
Among the many highlights this year will be the Virtual Reality Cinema, which is part of a complex of five cinemas created by the festival team in and around Headfort House – and one in Kells - in which to screen over 60 award winning films from around the world.
Minister McEntee who got to try the interactive headsetsdescribed the film experiences as 'powerful and emotional' and urged people to come out and see the festival films over the weekend.
Guth Gafa is the first Irish film festival to dip its toes into the world of virtual reality, showing eight short films that will be viewed through headsets.
Among the selection is Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel which puts the viewer in the GPO during 1916, Apollo 11 in which the viewer becomes an astronaut on that historic mission to the moon, and Clouds Over Sidra in which the viewer sees life in a refugee camp in Jordan through the eyes of a 12-year-old Syrian girl.
“All the big film festivals around the world have been showing virtual reality films this year and when we saw some for ourselves at Sheffield Film Festival we knew we had to bring them to Guth Gafa,” said festival director David Rane.
Over the coming days upwards on 60 films from around the world will be screened with most of the filmmakers in attendance.
To mark its 10th birthday, The Guth Gafa Festival Club at Headfort House will also be the setting for a wide range of live world music kicking off on Friday night with Belfast Blues man, Mark Braidner and his Blues Trio.
Saturday night kicks off with the Dublin Bluegrass Collective followed by the eclectic and talented Niwel Tsumbu, from the Congo accompanied
by Eamonn Cagney and Patrick Groeland performing a unique fusion of jazz, rhumba, world, flamenco, rock and classical.
“We want people not only to enjoy the films but to stay for the party and savour the atmosphere in the most beautiful surroundings imaginable,” said Rane.
Info: www.guthgafa.com