Apocalypse Clown, a comedy in which a troupe of washed-up and failed clowns chaotically traverse Ireland after the world is plunged into anarchy following a blackout, has won the top prize at the 35th annual Galway Film Fleadh.

The film, the directorial debut of George Kane and written by Kane alongside Demian Fox, Shane O’Brien and James Walmsley, was named best Irish film on Sunday night at awards ceremony that took place before the festival’s closing film, the Cyndi Lauper docu Let the Canary Sing.

John Carlin’s drama Lie of the Land won the best Irish first feature honor, while The Grace Age – The Ballad of John Murray from writer-director Sarah Share was named best Irish documentary.

Galway’s industry arm, the Film Fair, boasted its biggest year ever, with an expanded program of events at the Galmont Hotel.

For its 27th edition, the event, a transatlantic bridge between Europe and the U.S., included sessions on virtual reality and pitching for video games professionals for the first time.

The Fair’s Marketplace saw around 700 pre-scheduled speed dating-style meetings take place between filmmakers with either completed films or projects in development and financiers, distributors, sales agents, broadcasters, funds and producers from around the world. Attendees included the likes of Neon, BBC Film, Film4, StudioCanal, the BFI, Bankside, Altitude, HanWay, DogWoof, Magnolia Pictures, Protagonist, WestEnd and XYZ.

The Film Fleadh became the first festival to be impacted by the industrial action. With the strike called on the evening of July 13 local time, Matthew Modine, who had flown into the city for the world premiere of his film The Martini Shot — taking place after the crucial SAG-AFTRA vote and press conference — canceled a Q&A following the film, telling he would be attending the screening, but simply “as a tourist going to watch a movie.”