In a clash of the titans that was just waiting to happen, on March the 14th, 2020, the ReelGood Film Festival went into the ring with COVID-19 and…won?

Numbers were down, sure, but numbers also weren’t way down, proving once and for all that not even the Coronavirus can dampen punters’ enthusiasm for the ReelGood Film Festival. Knows ye what wasn’t down, me hearties? The friggin’ atmosphere, that’s what. You could slice that atmosphere in half with a butter knife, it was that tight!

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With the exception of the apocalypse-inducing virus that was hurting towards us, RGFF19 went off almost without a hitch. There weren’t even any fire alarms going off to spice things right up. The tunes were hot, the drinks were cold and the line-up of films may have been the best of any RGFF to date.

Leading the award winners was Three Stories Inside a Rental Van, which took out Best Short Film and Most Exciting Off-screen Talent for its writer/director Lewis Attey.

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Cathlin O’Loghlen scooped up Most Exciting On-screen Talent for her showstopping performance in Indianna Bell and Josiah Allen’s Call Connect.

Crowd favourite Pipe Dream, directed by Ben McCullough, won Audience Choice. The award winners were also faced with the unique situation of accepting a trophy with an elbow bump rather than a handshake (*shakes fist at the sky “DAMN YOU, COVID-19!”).

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RGFF20 unequivocally established that the ReelGood Film Festival is here to stay. If we can survive COVID-19, we can survive anything. And now, the team has a whole year to figure out how to make the festival even better and get ready got a (fingers crossed) COVID-19 free year in 2021, while maintaining its dedication to good times and the showcasing of the best of local cinema. And if the precedent that has been set is anything to go by then there’s no doubt in our minds that RGFF21 will be one to watch.

rgff20See you all next year!