In this Film Ireland podcast, Gemma Creagh talks to Producer Peter Kilmartin & Director Ailill Martin, whose film The Good Farmer and the Failed Son won the Netflix Documentary Talent Fund.
This podcast has been made possible with the support of Screen Ireland.
https://soundcloud.com/film-ireland/netflix-documentary-talent-fund-podcast-producer-peter-kilmartin-director-ailill-martin-of-the-good-farmer-and-the-failed-son
This story follows Jack, a performance artist, and his father Bryan, as they face an uncertain future for their farm and questions around Jack’s place in it. In the traditional world of farming much is expected of Jack as the family’s only son, however up until this point Jack has never really considered farming an option.
Last December, Netflix announced the six teams of winners of the Netflix Documentary Talent Fund, which included the winning Irish team: filmmakers Ailill Martin and Peter Kilmartin from Dublin & County Roscommon.
Now in its third year, the Netflix Documentary Talent Fund supports emerging filmmakers to nurture their talent through making a short documentary. The six recipients were challenged to respond to the prompt “you’re never gonna believe this…”.
Each team was supported by Netflix to produce a short documentary between 8-12 minutes long with a budget of £30,000 each. As part of the process the team participated in a boot camp which provided training from experts at Netflix who coached them and host workshops covering Creative, HR and Production. The initiative provides filmmakers with a personalised experience to best suit their levels of expertise and help them further their careers.
The Netflix Documentary Talent Fund films had their global premiere on the closing night of London’s Raindance Film Festival on 26th June 2025.
Netflix has released the six films on the Still Watching Netflix YouTube Channel.
Peter Kilmartin
Roscommon native Peter Kilmartin is a multi-award-winning commercial producer and documentary filmmaker, with over a decade of experience in the film and TV industry.
In 2017, he founded Spicy Dog Media, and has since successfully produced hundreds of video campaigns for brands, agencies, and public bodies—including work for notable brands like Amazon Web Services, Mitsubishi Electric Ireland, Sennheiser, and Rockshore. In 2025, Peter launched CHASER, a new creative commercial company working with an international roster of directors and clients such as Netflix and Bus Éireann.
Peter's work spans commercial, documentary, and large-scale TV campaigns. His films have screened at top festivals including Raindance, DOC NYC, Toronto, Galway, Cork, and the IFI Doc Festival. In 2019, Peter was shortlisted for the Young Emerging Director Awards by Oscar-winner Lenny Abrahamson. Most recently, Peter was a part of 6 teams from all over the globe selected for the prestigious Netflix Documentary Talent Academy Fund.
Ailill Martin
Ailill Martin is an award winning Documentary Filmmaker and Cinematographer known for "Hit the Wall" (2024) and "The Good Farmer and the Failed Son" (2025).
His work centres around unorthodox characters and stories from the fringes of modern society.
Ailill’s films are known for their striking visuals, comedic undertones and engaging narratives.
His most recent documentary, "The Good Farmer and the Failed Son", was nominated for “best short documentary” at the Raindance Film Festival, and is now available to watch on the Netflix Still Watching YouTube channel.
“Hit the Wall” a short documentary focusing on the sport of Gaelic Handball, was also nominated for “best short documentary” at the Cork International Film Festival in 2024 and is available to watch on the TG4 player.
Ailill is currently working on a number of upcoming documentary projects.
Chief among them is “Where the Red Dirt Flies” (working title) a feature length documentary which follows a group of Irish bull riders in the Australian Outback. It is set to begin production in early 2026.
Hit the Wall (DIR: Ailill Martin)
Documentary about GAA Handball. Handball is an ancient game which was once a stalwart of Irish life. 50 years ago it was hugely popular, almost every town or village had an alley. Today only 10,000 people still play.
