Greetings from the historic Galway Film Fleadh. The 23rd event kicked off on Tuesday with a screening of Parked,Darragh Byrne's nifty first feature. This poignant comic drama, starring Colm Meaney as a man forced to live in his car, received a stirring response from a packed audience.

Michael D Higgins, introduced as "our next president", launched the festival in characteristically twinkly fashion. "Oh I remember seeing Singin' in the Rainhere years ago," he told your correspondent. "We all dressed up. Wonderful!"

The festival also launched Lelia Doolan's documentary Bernadette: Notes on a Political Journey,which reacquainted viewers with a defining voice of the decade. Bernadette McAliskey herself was in town for a characteristically feisty debate.

The big news story was, however, the arrival of Keith Allen's Unlawful Killingin the city. This is the actor's already notorious documentary questioning the findings of the inquest into Princess Diana's death.

“I have a notion what happened,” Keith told us. “I am not smart enough to know how the dark forces work. There was far too much going on for it to be a complete accident. I think they wanted to put the frighteners on her.”

The event closes on Sunday with the Irish premiere of Mike Mills's very likable Beginners.

galwayfilmfleadh.com