A four-day curated festival of authentic and celebratory representations of Traveller and Roma communities, taking place in Galway from 21st to 24th March 2023.
Mainstream cinema often portrays Traveller and Roma communities through narrow stereotypes of violence, criminality or mysticism, while less widely seen cultural cinema has forged a small but significant tradition of more authentic and celebratory representations.
‘Whist A Thary’ – Traveller and Roma Film Festival is a four-day curated festival of critically-acclaimed film highlighting this tradition, taking place as part of Nelson Mandela Anti-Racism Week at the University of Galway. It brings members of the Traveller and Roma communities from inside and beyond the University together with the wider University community and the general public in a discussion of how diverse ethnicities can be celebrated in and through media.
‘Whist A Thary’ is a phrase from the Irish Cant language which translates as ‘Stop your talking and look’!
The festival includes a rare opportunity to see classics such as The Death of the Horse (Saimir Kumbaro, 1992) and Latcho Drom / Safe Journey (Tony Gatlif, 1993), as well as more recent critically-acclaimed films such as A Ciambra (Jonas Carpignano, 2017) and Float Like a Butterfly (Carmel Winters, 2018).
The event aims to empower the University community to act on Nelson Mandala’s Anti-Racism vision and our values of respect, openness, excellence and sustainability through the advancement of race equality and anti-racism. The organisers are grateful for the support of Club Scannán Sailearna, who have brought the best of Irish and World Cinema to audiences in the Conamara Gaeltacht since 2007. The festival also has programming support from access>CINEMA, the resource organisation for regional cultural cinema exhibition in Ireland.
Tickets are free but seats must be pre-booked via this link.
Full line-up of films:
Tuesday 21/03/23
15:00 – Pavee Lackeen
Wednesday 22/03/23
12.00 – A Ciambra (2017)
15.00 – The Death of the Horse (1992)
19.00 – La Strada (1954)
Thursday 23/03/23
12.00 – An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker (2013)
15.00 – Float Like a Butterfly (2018)
Friday 24/03/23
12.00 – Gagarine (2020)
15:00 – Latcho Drom / Safe Journey (1993)
As Gaeilge:
Den chuid is mó, is teoranta don fhoréigean, don mhisteachas agus don choiriúlacht a bhíonn an léargas a thugtar ar thaistealaithe agus ar an bpobal Romach sna scannáin mhóra. Le roinnt blianta anuas rinneadh dornán scannán a thug cúl don léiriú steiréitipiciúil sin agus a dhírigh ar ghnéithe eile de shaol na ngrúpaí seo. Thuill cuid de na scannáin sin ardmholadh agus taispeánfar iad ag Féile Scannán na dTaistealaithe agus na Romach, a thionólfar in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe idir an 21 agus an 24 Márta. Beidh deis ag pobail na dTaistealaithe agus na Romach, ag muintir na hollscoile agus ag an bpobal i gcoitinne na saothair sin a fheiceáil agus plé a dhéanamh ar an gcaoi ar féidir ceiliúradh a dhéanamh ar eitneachtaí éagsúla sna agus trí na meáin. Baill foirne agus taighdeoirí a bhfuil dáimh acu leis na téamaí a chuirfidh na scannáin i láthair agus reáchtálfar seisiún plé i ndiaidh gach taispeántais.
Is mar chuid de Sheachtain Frithchiníochais Nelson Mandela in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe a thionólfar an fhéile. Tá an ollscoil tiomanta don chomhionannas ciníocha agus don fhrithchiníochas agus is í aidhm na seachtaine fís frithchiníochais Nelson Mandela a bhuanú i measc phobal na hollscoile trí bhéim a leagan ar ár luachanna: meas, oscailteacht, barr feabhais agus inbhuanaitheacht. Táimid buíoch de thacaíocht Chlub Scannán Sailearna, club a bhfuil sárscannáin Éireannacha agus iasachta á dtaispeáint acu i nGaeltacht Chonamara le 15 bliana anuas.
