One of the biggest film festivals in the country, The Galway Film Fleadh is celebrating its 25th anniversary with one of the most impressive and eclectic line-ups ever. As with every year, there is the usual mix of home-grown and international feature films, shorts, animation and documentaries, and on top of that, 2013 sees the festival focusing on three specialised subjects; the cinema of Luxemburg, movies dealing with Human Rights, as well as sexuality in Out On Film.

On top of all of the films, there's also a series of special events featuring a bevy of special guests, including Irish actress Saoirse Ronan will be around for an afternoon to talk about her career to date, Hollywood star Zachary Quinto will be answering your questions after screenings of Star Trek and Margin Call, and CEO of Windmill Lane James Morris will be chatting with an audience before a showing of his favorite Irish movie, In The Name Of The Father.

But perhaps the best reason to head to the Fleadh is to get your first look at upcoming Irish talent. 2011 had screenings of the likes of Parked, Stella Days, Ballymun Lullaby, Charlie Casanova and The Guard, while 2012 had Good Vibrations, Pilgrim Hill, Jump, Shadow Dancer, King Of The Travellers, Stalker, Citadel and Grabbers, all of which went on to critical and commercial acclaim.

Three of the films we're most excited about seeing this time round are Dark By Noon, a science fiction thriller which was chosen as the closing film of this year's London Sci-Fi Festival, How To Be Happy, a dark comedy about a relationship counsellor who starts sleeping with his clients after a bad break-up, and finally, Cold, a dark drama with an impressive cast-list including Jack Reynor (What Richard Did), Tom Hooper (Merlin), Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) and Eoin Macken (upcoming NBC show The Night Shift).

To see the full line-up and check out which films you're most excited about seeing, visit the official Galway Film Fleadh website at www.galwayfilmfleadh.com