Irish Surf Film Festival

14th-15th November | town hall theatre | Galway

About

The festival will be a two day event in Galway city on November 14th-15th, 2025. The main evening event (Saturday 15th) will take place in The Town Hall Theatre, and feature a short surf film competition, a surf photography competition, and also a wave of the year competition, related to and taken part by Irish waves, surfers, and documenters. Surf related feature films will be shown during the day on the 15th in The Town Hall Theatre - 2025 Features TBA.

The festival is generously supported by Finisterre, Yeti, The Galway City Arts Office, and FairSeas Ireland.

The Irish Surf Film Festival showcases the immense talent that is on offer both in terms of wave riding and the documenting of wave riding in Ireland.

The festival is a community-led annual event. It's an excuse to get everyone together and celebrate what we all love on the big screen. Our goal is to have a dignified platform for the community. So they can be proud of their work and their waves, and to inspire other people too.

2025 SCHEDULE:

Friday 14th November - OPENING NIGHT (FREE)

UPSTAIRS ELECTRIC GALWAY

ART | MARKET | MUSIC | FOOD | DRINKS

Doors 4:30pm

Meet the shapers: 6pm

Stories from the Sea: 7pm

Saturday 15th November - Feature Films & Main Event
Town Hall Theatre, Galway

11AM - 4:30PM FEATURE FILMS - SCHEDULE:

11AM - ASTRONAUT IN THE OCEAN

11:20 - MILK AND HONEY

12:00 - GAZA SURF CLUB

13:45 - STIMULANT

14:45 - POINT OF CHANGE

6:30PM - 10:30PM MAIN EVENT AND AWARD CEREMONY

11PM TILL LATE - AFTER PARTY AND WIPEOUT OF THE YEAR AWARDS - MONROES

AFTER PARTY TICKETS HERE (Included with Main Event ticket)

Competition

The spirit of The Irish Surf Film Festival (ISFF) is that it is for the Irish surf community - riders, filmers and photographers – as such, entrants should be living in Ireland (ROI or NI), for at least 6 months of the year.

Deadline for 2025 submissions: 24th October 2025

1) best Short film

Short films of a maximum 10 minutes
Should generally feature Irish waves/ riders who live in Ireland.
More in rules page
€1000 + Product
Check out our rules page for full details.
€30
More information available on our rules pages.

2) Wave of the year

6 Categories:
Bodyboard
Women’s
Paddle Surf
Tow Surf
U-18 Girls
U-18 Boys
€500/category + product
€250/category + product (U18)
Any wave caught in Ireland between (and including) 1st of November 2024 until the 24th of October 2025.
Check out our rules page for full details.
€30
More information available on our rules pages.

3) Best photograph

The photography competition will be based on a theme. See rules section for more details
€1000 + product for best photograph
Photographs should have been taken in Ireland between (and including) the 1st of November 2024 and the 24th of October 2025.
2025 RULES TBA
Check out our rules page for full details.
€30
More information available on our rules pages.

Venue | town hall Theatre GALWAY

The Town Hall Theatre is the epicentre of activity for virtually all of Galway's key festivals and cultural events including Galway International Arts Festival, Galway Film Fleadh, Cuirt Festival of Literature, Baboro Children's Festival and Galway Comedy Festival to name but a few.

Acclaimed for consistently delivering the best of national and international talent year-round to Galway audiences, the venue's programme proudly features the work of many performers, companies, musical societies and arts organisations (both professional and amateur) from across the city and county.

FAQ