Galway Film Fleadh Pitching Competition
Contest · 2026Prestige 64/100
Three thousand euro on the strength of 500 words. No script, no experience required.
Deadlines & fees
Closed for this cycle
The 2026 round closed on 27 May 2026, with the pitch event on Sunday 12 July. The pattern is one of the most consistent we have found: across 2024, 2025 and 2026 the regular deadline has always fallen between 13 and 17 May, the late deadline exactly fourteen days later, fees frozen at 40 and 50 euro, ten finalists, a 3,000 euro prize, and the pitch always on the closing Sunday of the Fleadh in mid-July. The only drift is the weekday and the cut-off time, which moved from 5pm in 2024 to 23:59 from 2025. Two cautions if you check their pages: the submissions page carries a year typo giving the late deadline as May 2025, and it states GMT when Ireland is on Irish Summer Time in May, which would move the cut-off an hour earlier than most entrants expect.
Dates and fees checked against the official site 10 Aug 2026.
Key facts
- Formats
- Feature
- Required materials
- A 500-word written pitch of your project from beginning to end, with no cliffhangers · Submitted through a form on the Fleadh's own site rather than a third-party platform
Open to screenwriters at any stage of their career, with the Fleadh stating plainly that no experience is required. Feature-length projects only, in any genre of drama, documentary or animation. All that is required is a 500-word written pitch of your project from beginning to end, with no cliffhangers; no script is submitted. Finalists must be available to attend the pitch event in Galway in person. Note that no residency or nationality requirement is published on any of the Fleadh's pages, so while the competition appears to be open internationally, that is an inference rather than a stated rule. No age gate, entry cap or produced-writer restriction is published either.
Prizes
3,000 euro in cash to a single winner, sponsored by Wild Atlantic Pictures and announced at the Film Fleadh Awards Ceremony. No runner-up prizes are published. Nothing published restricts how the money is used. No development deal, mentorship or feedback is contractually attached to placing. Finalists must attend the pitch event in Galway in person and no travel or accommodation support is published, so that is an unpriced cost on the finalist. The event itself is free to attend, though registration is required. RIGHTS: nothing is published. The only terms and conditions on the Fleadh's site govern its film-rental streaming platform and say nothing about competition entries, so no option, first refusal or assignment clause exists on any page, though absence of published terms is not the same as absence of terms.
Judging
The 2026 panel was David Pope, a script consultant who designs and delivers programmes for Stowe Story Labs and advises at IFFR Pro, Sarah Cleary, Senior Development Executive at Wild Atlantic Pictures, and Síle Culley, an independent audience designer who advises Film i Väst, the Nederlands Film Fonds, VAF and the Estonian Film Institute. Judges are published per cycle. Ten finalists are selected and pitch for 90 seconds each. No feedback is offered or mentioned anywhere. The Fleadh cites downstream outcomes including films produced such as Deadly Cuts and My Brothers, Screen Ireland development funding, broadcaster options, and a 2024 winner invited to Stowe Story Labs.
The PreList verdict
Three thousand euro for 500 words is the best effort-to-reward ratio in this directory. There is no script to submit, no experience required at any career stage, and the Fleadh says so explicitly. If you make the final ten you pitch for 90 seconds at the Galmont Hotel in front of a panel and a public audience during the Fleadh, and the winner is announced at the awards ceremony. For a writer with a strong idea and no finished draft, there is very little else like it.
The honest part: there is no feedback, no mentorship and no development attached to placing. You either win 3,000 euro or you get a line on your CV and a night in Galway. Finalists must attend in person and no travel or accommodation support is published, so factor that in if you are coming any distance. And while nothing published restricts entry by nationality or residence, nothing published confirms it is open internationally either, so if you are outside Ireland it is worth an email before paying.
Two things to watch on their own pages. The submissions page carries a year typo, giving the late deadline as May 2025 while the competition page says 2026. And it states GMT for a 23:59 cut-off in May, when Ireland is on Irish Summer Time, which would pull the real deadline an hour earlier than most people would assume. The 2026 round has closed, but the pattern is dependable: expect a regular deadline in the middle fortnight of May and a late deadline exactly two weeks after.
Dylian Salvatore, Founder of The PreList · Updated 21 Sept 2026
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a finished script?
No. All you submit is a 500-word written pitch of your project from beginning to end, with no cliffhangers. There is no script at any stage of the entry, and if you reach the final ten you deliver a 90-second live pitch instead.
Can I enter from outside Ireland?
Probably, but it is not confirmed. No residency or nationality requirement appears on any of the Fleadh's pages, and the only stated eligibility is that writers may be at any career stage. Since it is not stated either way, email before paying if you are outside Ireland.
What does it cost and when?
Forty euro at the regular deadline and fifty at the late deadline, which falls exactly fourteen days later. Fees have been frozen at those figures across three cycles. Note their submissions page says GMT for the 23:59 cut-off while Ireland is on summer time in May.
Is there feedback?
None. No feedback is offered or mentioned anywhere, and no mentorship or development is attached to placing. The prize is the 3,000 euro and the pitch itself.
Is your script right for Galway Film Fleadh Pitching Competition?
Find out free, before you spend anything. Upload your screenplay and The PreList checks whether its format can enter this contest, whether you meet the country rules and any regional limits, and scores the script. Pro adds a written read on how well it fits.
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