Film fleadh lures leading lady home
Ms Huston (left) and Ms O'Toole at the opening of the fleadh yesterday. Photo: Andrew Downes
ACTRESS Anjelica Huston returned to Galway yesterday to get the city's 21st film fleadh off to a flying start.
The guest of honour at this year's event said she was delighted to be back in the town and thrilled to link up with fellow actress Kate O'Toole.
The Huston family's links to Galway extend back to the 1950s, when Anjelica's father, John, purchased St Clerans House near Craughwell.
"It is a pleasure to be back here in Galway and I am looking forward to spending time in this great place," she said.
Ms Huston will give a public interview in the Town Hall Theatre on July 12, and there will be a "mini-retrospective" of films she has acted in or directed, including 'The Dead', directed by her late father.
One of the most talked about events at this year's fleadh will take place today, when a documentary by Steven O'Riordan called 'The Forgotten Maggies' is shown.
The film examines the failure by the State or Catholic Church to issue a public apology or offer redress to the women incarcerated in the Magdalene laundries. Several women who spent years in the Magdalene institutions are travelling to Galway for the event, which will take place in the festival's Cinemobile.
Earlier yesterday, the Labour Party's Michael D Higgins was master of ceremonies for the official sod-turning for the city's first arthouse cinema.
The three-screen cinema is to be built on a site bought by Galway City Council on Merchant's Road, near the docks.
- John Fallon
