Bio

Bob Gallagher is a director, writer and cinematographer based in Dublin. His short films have been screened at festivals internationally and his music videos have been blogged from here to Mongolia. Sometimes people, sometimes snails, he has a keen eye for bringing out the best in those he directs and a zeal for storytelling.
 
Bounding through styles and subjects, often in enthusiastic collaboration, he digs into discomfort, traversing personal boundaries and teasing out emotional soft spots. His visual stories are marked by a polished absurdity and usually an element of the fantastic. With a passion for exploration, Bob’s music video work has found him partaking in shamanic rituals, recreating Caravaggio, consulting a dominatrix, directing a pair of snails, and getting punched in the face.
 
The ayahuasca inspired video for Floor Staff’s “The Guest” (2014) received the inaugural NIKON “I Am a Music Video” award and was described (by thethinair.net) as “equal parts frightening and ingenious“. “The Guest” has recently featured in multiple end of year Music Video best of lists, along with Participant’s “Shelter“, a video which charts the decline of a dysfunctional relationship between two snails. It has been described as “brilliant and mesmerising” (pointofeverything.com) and “relatable, endearing, and ultimately emotionally raw” (thelastmixedtape).  

Bob's most recent music video for Girl Band's 'Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage' was released on Rough Trade and featured by a host of international blogs. It's been called 'a bizarre and gruesome odyssey' by Clash Music, 'twisted, funny and disturbing' by Brooklyn Vegan, and 'a knockout' by Noisey. It was described by Steroegum as 'a fantastic video, directed with a chilling clarity'. The video was included in Videostatic's 'Best Music Videos of February 2015' and Stereogum's 'Top 5 Videos of the Week' has since been nominated for an award for Best Concept at the 2015 Berlin Music Video Awards.

Early 2015 also saw the completion of his first advert, directing a human rights campaign video for Transgender EU with Invisible Thread Films. The video 'Nightmare' is a visceral first person experience of the difficulties faced by the European Transgender community. Upon it's release it was featured on The Advocate and The Huffington Post, and received 20,000 views within a week of release. Gaelick, who published an article on the making of the video described it as 'powerful' and 'affecting'.
 
Amongst a prolific output of music videos, and promotional work, he has directed three short films to date, marrying striking visuals with deftly observed, character driven narratives.
 
Bob’s first short film “Sleight of Hand” (2009) received the Kildare County Council Film Bursary Award and has screened at festivals in Ireland and further afield. His second film “Sometimes People…” (2011), a Victorian costume drama about a literally explosive relationship, was widely screened in LGBT festivals across America as well as at the GAZE international Film Festival in Dublin.
 
The recently completed post apocalyptic drama “Zephra” (2014) received the Filmbase/RTE Short Film Award and in the short time it’s been screening at festivals it has received awards for Best Actor (Michael Power) and Best Production design from Portsmouth International Film Festival, as well as nominations for Best Actor, Cinematography and Production Design at the Southampton Film Festival, and a nomination for Best Drama at the Aesthetica Short Film Festival.
 
Later this year he will produce and shoot the short film “Snake” which has recently won the Filmbase/RTE funding award and has just released a music video for Irish act Le Galaxie, commissioned by Universal Music.