When their seventh album Sea Savage hit the American Billboard charts, cult Irish thrash band Gama Bomb were trapped by lockdowns, missing a drummer, and unable to tour.

Survival of the Fastest captures their quest to make it to Hellfest in France, the ‘Glastonbury of heavy metal’, and the story of decades-long friendships, packed full of the band’s trademark humour, warmth, and pop-culture references. Joe McGuigan and Philly Byrne, the band’s founding members, reflect on 20 years of misadventure as the film explores the bizarre worlds of punk and metal in locations including Tokyo, Newry, London, the Netherlands, Glasgow, Dublin, Derry, and Belfast.

This charming and unexpected documentary portrait from director Kiran Acharya is a joyous addition to the story of Irish punk.

Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn.

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Kiran Acharya and producer Sara Gunn-Smith.