For writer, filmmaker and actor Oscar O’Sullivan, the People’s Picturehouse represents the thriving heart of Cork’s indie film scene. As a member of the community, he pulls focus on the growth of the Picturehouse and how a modest monthly showcase has evolved into a space for emerging voices and creative collaborations.
Just over two years ago, on 23rd August 2023, curious filmmakers and fans made their way into the Pavilion Bar in Cork city centre to check out a mysterious new event. Many had never been in the recently renovated venue before. Some were there to show their work, others simply to watch. Behind the scenes, a hastily assembled group of volunteers excitedly prepared to run their first live event, an event that is still going strong as we approach 2026. This was the beginning of the People’s Picturehouse, a monthly film showcase and networking group that has taken Cork’s film scene by storm. After two years, many attendees feel like it has always been around, but how did it get to this stage? And why did it come about in the first place?
Build it and They Will Come
To put it plainly, there has always been a demand for film events in Cork. First and foremost, the city famously hosts Ireland’s oldest film festival, the Cork International Film Festival, now entering its 70th year. Other arts festivals have abounded over the decades and across the county, from Fastnet to Beara Film Fest, giving independent filmmakers no shortage of options to submit their work. Cork is also home to a large number of film students, with University College Cork, Munster Technological University and the Cork College of FET all offering highly popular filmmaking and media courses. Indeed, many of the attendees at early Picturehouse sessions were students and former students of these institutions.
Despite this abundance of passionate artists and big festivals, Cork had little in the way of regular, small-scale events for filmmakers. When Jamie Hooper returned to Cork after years working around the country, he saw that there was a gap in the market for just such an event, a sort of film open mic night.
The main point of inspiration was Galway’s Little Cinema, an independent event for filmmakers that has been running for over a decade. Jamie explains: “I was a frequent submitter and participant in their monthly showcases and film competitions and was always enamoured by the event’s ability to create a genuine sense of community. I earned my wings as a filmmaker there, not just by being inspired to make more films, but by being given the confidence to share them with people. I had long wanted that same community to be nurtured in Cork and would loudly tell people about it in the hopes that someone would eventually go and set it up!”
“I earned my wings as a filmmaker there, not just by being inspired to make more films, but by being given the confidence to share them with people.”
Jamie, along with his brother Connor, anticipated an uphill battle just to get this venture off the ground. They thought Cork needed this event, but would their target audience agree? However, they were pleasantly surprised by how quickly things lined up. According to Jamie: “It’s odd, because the actual founding of the Picturehouse was strangely without much challenge. I had worried it would be hard to convince people to submit their films or that perhaps there just wouldn’t be enough filmmakers to make it viable. But people did submit, within days of the event going live on socials, and they haven’t stopped since. Getting a venue could also be a challenge, but the team at the Pavilion entirely understood the kind of event we were setting up and have been incredibly supportive in giving us the space, and what a space! I can’t speak highly enough of Judy and all the gang.”
He continues: “I’m struck and am repeatedly struck by just how quickly it all came together, and that this lovely, genuinely friendly, supportive community grew up from the monthly showcases. People would often say to me that it feels like the Picturehouse must have always been running, it can’t be just two years old! I love that, I love (that) people can take a sense of ownership in it.”
Off to the Races
As Jamie says, the Picturehouse immediately became a firm fixture in Cork’s artistic calendar. A handful of attendees at that first showcase quickly volunteered to join the organising committee, impressed by what they had seen. Among that group was Graham McSweeney, who volunteered to edit promotional videos for the group. Two years later, he took over as Chairman of the committee. He says: “What attracted me to the Picturehouse and what excited me the most about it was its aim to provide a more relaxed alternative than the traditional film festival route for filmmakers to have their work seen. There are plenty of regular independently run events in Cork for comedians, musicians, poets and there wasn’t really anything like that for film before the Picturehouse came along. An open mic night for filmmakers.”
Right from the start, there was a desire to experiment with different themes and formats beyond the standard monthly screening. Half of the showcases in the Picturehouse’s first year were themed: Halloween, Christmas, an Irish Language Special, a Migrant Special, a Comedy Special and the 48 Hour Film Challenge.
The 48 Hour Film Challenge was a particularly ambitious undertaking, running over a whole weekend in July 2024. Inspired by similar challenges held in other cities around the world, the competition was the first of its kind in Cork. Thirteen teams took part, working to write, shoot and edit their films on a tight schedule, while the PPH crew monitored their progress and prepped for the subsequent screening, where the exhausted teams got to enjoy their work with a live audience.
Reflecting on the event, Graham said: “I’m especially proud of our 48 hour filmmaking challenges which we launched in July 2024. It was the first challenge of its kind in Cork, with the idea being that teams would have a 48 hour window to write, shoot and edit a short film while adhering to a few specific rules (using a specific location in the city, using a specific line of dialogue, etc). We have now run the challenge twice and it’s been really successful. It’s a unique way to approach making a short as it really forces you out of your comfort zone and encourages collaboration, and as a result across both years, there have been 22 new short films made that would not have existed otherwise.”
Follow the Leader
The chairman between Jamie and Graham was filmmaker Adam Byrne, who suggested new formats and additional events, including collaborations with Cork International Film Festival, IndieCork, Out Of Frame, Big Shots Limerick and Priosma Queer Film Fest. Adam also pushed for accessibility to be a core tenet of the event. Beginning with a Deaf-Friendly screening in November 2024, all films shown at the Picturehouse are now required to include subtitles. Leveraging the show’s growing social media following, Adam also oversaw the first official sponsorships for the Picturehouse, with screenings promoted by Jameson and Heineken, adding an extra sense of excitement and legitimacy to affairs. To satisfy a growing demand for more networking and skills opportunities in Cork, Adam also oversaw the introduction of Taking Flight, a series of talks and lectures designed to give practical career advice to budding filmmakers. Sessions so far have included an intensive pitching workshop and a writing seminar with Bronson scribe Norman Brock.
Adam understood the importance of practical skills opportunities to supplement the artistic discussion and general networking provided by the regular screenings. During his tenure as chairman, he was also training on film sets, and now regularly works as an AD on productions across Ireland. Adam himself was unavailable to contribute to this piece, but Graham had this to say about the importance of developing Cork talent:
“There have been plenty of filmmakers, myself included, that were first given the opportunity to have their films screened for a live audience by the Picturehouse. Speaking for myself, that experience and that opportunity has been invaluable. It really helped to give me confidence in my work and provided me the opportunity to network and collaborate with many talented filmmakers/crew. I’ve made a number of films since that have gone on to have success both online and in festivals. I think it’s also been a fantastic platform for film students in particular studying in both UCC and Douglas Street Campus. Many of those students are now pursuing careers in the industry and have also gone on to produce their own work independently.”
Jamie, who remains involved as the group’s treasurer, agreed that the Picturehouse’s most positive impact has been in empowering people to be more confident in their work. He said: “I think my favourite thing about it is being able to give people a platform to have their work recognised, appreciated and enjoyed. Festivals are fantastic, but they are by nature restrictive, infrequent, and there are barriers to entry. Picturehouse has hosted first-time filmmakers and award-winning professionals on the same night. I took a cab to the event once and, in the process of describing where I was going to the driver, he revealed that he had written and directed two films himself. I made him submit them there and then, and a few months later, he was on the stage presenting it to a packed-out room.”
Onward!
For as far as it has come in the last two years, the People’s Picturehouse is only getting started. Already, they have worked with major festivals, been covered by local news media and hosted celebrity guests, including actors Demi Isaac Oviawe (The Young Offenders) and Eanna Hardwicke (Normal People, Saipan), who generously judged the Christmas and 48 Hour Film Challenges respectively. With more monthly screenings, more workshops, more collaborations and more competitions on the horizon, the future is bright for film in Cork. And the current head honcho has his sights set on an even more ambitious goal:
“One project I’d love to see happen in the future would be a feature film, produced in-house by the Picturehouse committee,” says Graham. “We’ve produced a few short films to date and they’ve all been really rewarding projects to be a part of. Each one of our committee members are really talented and dedicated filmmakers in their own right, with varying sensibilities when it comes to their own work, so I think a big, collaborative project like that would be a really interesting and exciting one.”
A Picturehouse production, coming soon to your local multiplex? Watch this space.
