The Guardhad more to celebrate this week – the film secured the audience prize for best Irish feature at last week's Galway Film Fleadh. Other movies picking up prizes included Darragh Byrne's Parked, a poignant drama starring Colm Meaney; and Terry McMahon's Charlie Casanova, an existential treatise on the new Irish rich, which jointly shared the award for best first feature. Bernadette: Notes on a Political Journey,Lelia Doolan's cracking documentary on Bernadette McAliskey, secured the award for best feature documentary.

While festivals such as the Edinburgh International Film Festival struggle, the Fleadh, now in its 23rd year, managed to build on its success by increasing admissions over last year by 2,000. For a full listing of prize winners, including the successful shorts, check out the Screenwriter blog at irishtimes.com.