Taking place on 30th - 31st January at Griffith College Dublin, the Imbolg Women Who Terrify Film Festival will celebrate women who terrify, both on screen and behind the camera. As winter draws to a close, this coven of creatives and connoisseurs will gather to mark the Celtic festival of Imbolg. Filmmakers with work on this theme are invited to submit their short films by the late deadline of 10th January.
This two-day film festival focuses the lens on the rage, resilience, and creative work of women storytellers. The Imbolg: Women Who Terrify Film Festival warmly welcomes the work and stories of trans women, gender-diverse, non-binary, and intersex creatives.
About Imbolg
The midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, Imbolg symbolises the return of life under the frost and the start of spring. Imbolg also marks the return of serpents from their winter dens, when Cailleach - the divine hag of Gaelic tradition - awoke to gather her firewood. This is marked by St Brigid, the goddess of fire, poetry, healing, fertility, and creativity.
Imbolg Women Who Terrify Film Festival peers beneath the surface to see what horrors have become re-animated after hibernation - in Ireland and in the world beyond.
The Line Up
The line-up features carefully curated programmes of shorts, followed by live talks, and then concluding with a feature screening of iconic, award-winning reanimation feature Birth/Rebirth. This will be preceded by a live podcast recording with the film’s co-writer and director Laura Moss.
About Laura Moss
(Laura) Moss is a filmmaker born and raised in NYC, now based in Dublin. Their work has screened at Sundance, Tribeca, Rotterdam, and SXSW. They were one of Indiewire’s 10 LGTBTQ Creators On The Rise in 2023. Their feature debut, birth/rebirth, premiered in the Midnight section at Sundance 2023 and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards. Their indie TV pilot, eureka! won Best Direction of a Comedy at Seriesfest in 2019. Their short film Fry Day premiered at SXSW 2017, and was featured on the Criterion Channel alongside the classic Belgian satire Man Bites Dog.
Faoin Talamh
Faoin Talamh is an audio-visual piece that combines reproduced ancient Irish music with visuals of modern Ireland's natural landscape. A collaboration between composer Oisín Murray and visual artist Róisín Doyle, this audio-visual piece features an original score made with the sampled sounds of Irish Bronze Age reproduction instruments. The imagery is made up of many pulsating layers of photographs that complement the atmosphere of the ancient horn music. The film takes inspiration from Irish folklore and sacred historical sites, some of which are featured visually.
Róisín is a multimedia artist from Dublin. Her work makes use of modern video editing technology but is rooted in the Irish impressionist and expressionist movements. Róisín's artistic practice involves the layering, meshing and animation of many original photographs of Irish nature.Oisín is a composer from Dublin. Having studied Irish Bronze and Iron Age music culture, he began writing new ancient Irish music using samples of reproductions based on 2,000 year old artefacts found all over the island. He releases music under the name FunkLaden.
The Irish Network for Gothic and Horror Studies
The network is an informal vehicle for promoting the work of Gothic and Horror scholars (whether they be affiliated or independent) and creative practitioners from throughout the island of Ireland. All are welcome, regardless of career stage, status, location, or relationship to academia. We are particularly interested in creating networking opportunities for Irish-based postgraduate and early career researchers.
In addition to showcasing the rich and varied work being done within Horror and the Gothic by researchers and creative talents based in Ireland, we also hope to create additional opportunities for networking and collaboration, through hosting at least one event each year, and promoting other relevant ventures that are going on across the island of Ireland.
We have a monthly film discussion club, moderated by Máiréad Casey. Join us as we discuss a different genre classic. Links to the films will be made available, and participants can view the films in their own time, bringing their responses to a lively online discussion.
See You There!
“I’m delighted we’re receiving such a dynamic and experimental range of cinema from all over the world. It will give Gemma and I and all our fantastic support an amazing opportunity to make Imbolg into an exciting celebration of all things women and horror! I hope we can do everyone justice!,” says Festival Co-Founder and Sarah Cullen Film Editor of Head Stuff
“We look forward to welcoming you all. Horror, as a genre, offers one of the most powerful ways to externalise and safely process the fears and anxieties we face as a society. And let’s be honest, the world can be a frightening place at times, which is why we’re delighted to hold space to celebrate women’s stories on screen.” Gemma Creagh, Festival Co-Founder, Filmmaker, Assistant Editor, Film Ireland
This event is supported by Film Ireland and Griffith College's wonderful film department.
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Griffith College
Founded in 1974, Griffith College is Ireland's largest independent third-level institution, with campuses in Dublin, Cork, and Limerick. Located just a mile from Dublin’s St. Stephen’s Green, the main campus blends historic charm with modern amenities. Recognised by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), Griffith offers internationally accredited degrees, professional courses, and corporate training to over 7,000 students. As it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024, the College continues its legacy of academic excellence, producing graduates who excel in fields such as business, law, media, engineering, and the arts.
About Film Ireland
Film Ireland is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved online film magazine and arts organisation supported by Coimisiún na Meán and Screen Ireland stakeholders’ funding. Established in 1987, Film Ireland began as a print magazine and has since expanded into a popular industry podcast and digital publication, covering and hosting industry events. The Film Ireland Podcast is the go-to industry resource in Ireland. From industry talks to panels and discussions, Film Ireland has hosted in-person events and screenings that spotlight a diverse range of voices and issues. Past speakers and interviewees include Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, Ciaran Donnelly, M. Night Shyamalan, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, Terence Davies, and many more. Subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts. Or read our news, reviews and updates at FilmIreland.ie.
[Images by Beta Bajgart from the last Film Ireland Screen Sessions event which took place in December 2024 in Griffith College, Dublin and featured talks from talented, creative women Casting Director Maureen Hughes (The Miracle Club, Small Things Like These, Once, Abigail) as well as Artist and Graphic Designer Annie Atkins (The Grand Budapest Hotel, West Side Story) and Production Designer, Art Director and Concept Illustrator Jill Beecher (Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, The Revenant, Alien: Covenant)]
About Festival Co-Directors
Sarah Cullen
Sarah Cullen is a writer and academic with a background in arts & research communication and events organisation. For the past four years she has been the online coordinator of Trinity College Dublin’s events for European Researchers’ Night, an international citizen science festival which connects the universities and the general public. She has worked with the Trinity Research Office, the Trinity Long Room Arts and Humanities Hub, and the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), helping to coordinate events and reporting on their activities, and is the chief writer for Trinity’s online blog, ResearchMATTERS. Sarah holds an Irish Research Council-funded PhD in American Literature from Trinity College Dublin, and has experience lecturing and teaching on Film and Literature in Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin. She was co-organiser for the Irish Association for American Studies annual postgraduate symposium 2017-18 and hosted a film podcast with Film Ireland from 2016-20 and has been an editor with HeadStuff since 2019. Her work has been published on entertainment websites HeadStuff and Film Ireland, in the Irish Gothic Journal and the Irish Journal of American Studies, as well as the academic collections Surveillance, Race, Culture and Enlightened Nightscapes. Sarah’s research focuses on literary and cultural night studies: how the night in literature and film has been used to explore representations of race and gender. She was also the public relations officer in UCD Filmsoc. During that time she was awarded Runner-Up in the UCC Film Society Inter-varsities 2011 and Second Place in the UCD Film Society Annual Script Competition 2010. Sarah Cullen comes from Dun Laoghaire, and each time she moves house she moves about half a mile down the road. Her hobbies include running, hiking, painting, and obsessing about her cats.
Gemma Creagh
Gemma Creagh is a writer, filmmaker, and journalist with extensive experience supporting and showcasing work in the Irish film and arts community, and advocating for women’s creative voices. For four years, she was Venue Manager at Filmbase Arts Centre, facilitating screenings and events and leading multiple fundraising initiatives for women’s charities. She also served as Project Manager of Women in Film and TV Ireland for six years, supporting women filmmakers and coordinating the administration of the Short Film Showcase and Awards annually for the Board. As a writer, Gemma holds a First-Class Honours Master’s degree in Writing from the University of Galway. Her plays have been supported and staged by the Jerome Hynes One Act Play series, AboutFACE’s Transatlantic Tales, Arts Council, and Axis Theatre. The Last Trip to Tipp was staged by Barnstorm Theatre in Kilkenny in 2023 and has since been performed multiple times. She created, wrote, and co-produced the five-part comedy Rental Boys for RTÉ’s first iteration of Storyland and has written, directed, and produced short films that have screened at festivals worldwide. Her first funded short, Conveyance, supported by DLR’s First Frames Scheme, is an award-winning comedy-horror that premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh and has screened at over twenty festivals to date. Gemma is also a journalist, contributing to magazines, industry publications, and national newspapers. She is Associate Editor for Film Ireland and occasionally reviews films for RTÉ Radio 1’s Arena.