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Podcast

Established in 1987, Film Ireland began as a print publication and has since moved into a popular industry podcast and digital format. Since the first episode went live in 2013, Film Ireland has produced over 500 podcasts. Interviewees include Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, Ciaran Donnelly, M. Night Shyamalan, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, Terence Davies & many more. Listen to Film Ireland where ever you get your podcasts.

Irish Film

As a Rotten Tomatoes–accredited outlet, Film Ireland has been covering Irish film, cinema, festivals and the wider screen industries since 1987. Originally established as a print magazine, Film Ireland moved online in 2013.

News

Dublin International Film Festival

For 11 unforgettable days in February, Dublin transforms into a vibrant hub of cinematic excellence. DIFF brings the best of Irish and international cinema to the capital for a celebration of storytelling. They welcome the lovers, the dreamers, and the curious newcomers. From world premieres to intimate screenings, exclusive Q&As to parties and celebrations, DIFF offers a unique journey into the world of film, all set against the backdrop of buzz of the Irish capital.

Gemma Creagh

Gemma Creagh is a writer-director and journalist whose work blends dark humour with emotional weight. Her debut funded short, Conveyance, premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh 2024 and has gone on to screen at festivals worldwide. Her plays have been staged and funded by Axis, About Face, Jerome Hynes One Act Play Series, Arts Council, and Barnstorm. She's the Associate Editor of Film Ireland and sometimes contributes to RTÉ Radio One's Arena.

Article

Paul Farren

Paul Farren is an Irish director and writer whose work spans over two decades across short and feature films. His feature Where the Sea Used to Be (2012) explores intimate interpersonal drama, while shorts including Saturday, Pandora, Choppers, Lift and Witch Hazel showcase a range of narrative and experimental styles. His short Saturday was nominated for First Prize at the Montréal World Film Festival in 2002.

Galway Film Fleadh

Galway Film Fleadh is a week-long international film festival taking place every July on the western edge of Europe in Galway, Ireland. Founded in 1989 as a platform for Irish filmmakers to exhibit their work to their peers, the central goal of the Galway Film Fleadh remains unchanged: to be a platform for the boldest new films, and to bring audiences & filmmakers from around the world together, to celebrate our shared passion for film.

Stephen Porzio

Sarah Cullen

Sarah Cullen is a research assistant from Dublin. Along with writing for Film Ireland she is also a film editor for Headstuff. She has written on film and literature in several academic collections and journals including the Irish Gothic Journal and the Irish Journal of American Studies.

DocArena

Wayne Byrne

June Butler

Cork International Film Festival

Cork International Film Festival an exciting and ambitious annual film festival, connecting audiences and artists through a curated selection of the best films. First recognised by the International Federation of Film Producers in 1950, it now hosts three Oscar®-accredited awards. Nearly 69 years after its Cannes beginnings, Cork International Film Festival’s influence stretches from Cork to Hollywood.

Loretta Goff

Loretta Goff completed her PhD in Film and Screen Media at University College Cork, where she also teaches. She has published articles in Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, Persona Studies, and MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States.

Michael Lee

Irene Falvey

Michael O’Sullivan

Irish Film Institute

The Irish Film Institute is Ireland’s national cultural institution for film & provides audiences with access to the finest independent, Irish & international cinema; it preserves & promotes Ireland’s moving image heritage through the Irish Film Archive, & provides opportunities for audiences of all ages & backgrounds to learn & critically engage with film. The IFI delivers the best of international & Irish film culture through a programme of new releases, seasons, festivals & events.

Conor Bryce

Mick Jordan

Mick Jordan is a writer and filmmaker. His latest film Letter To My 16 Year Old Self is presently screening at festivals around the country. He has a BA in Film and has written for TV and radio. He co-hosts the film review podcast Spoilerama.

James Bartlett

James has spent over 25 years writing and reporting on travel, lifestyle, history, food, entertainment, and the unusual for more than 150 outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, BBC, National Geographic Traveler, The Guardian, and Variety. Author of the true crime book The Alaskan Blonde and the Gourmet Ghosts guides, he has appeared on podcasts, radio, and TV, including Ghost Adventures and The UnXplained.

Andrew Carroll

Matthew Briody

National Talent Academies

The National Talent Academies is an initiative by Screen Ireland to drive Irish creative talent from diverse backgrounds and disciplines at all levels into the sector and develop greater awareness of the sector as a career path.

Denis Condon

Naemi Victoria

David Neary

Tom Crowley

Shannon Cotter

Ellen Murray

Ross Whitaker

Host and Creator of the Doc Arena Podcast, and former Film Ireland Editor. Ross is a producer/director of documentaries including Beat the Lotto (2025), Katie (2018), Between Land & Sea (2016), Unbreakable (2014) & Saviours (2007). TV work includes Birdsong (2024) RTÉ/BBC, Peter the Great (2023) NBC, Rachael Blackmore: A Grand Year (2021) ITV/RTÉ & Barney Curley Beat the Bookies (2021) BBC/RTÉ. His award-winning shorts include Bye Bye Now & Home Turf. He is a former IFI DocFest director.

Irish Film by Year

From podcasts to in-depth discussion and reviews, from docs to dramas, each year we take a look back at the films that were released in Ireland.

Richard Drumm

Docs Ireland

Docs Ireland is Ireland’s international documentary film festival & celebrates the best of new documentary filmmaking, showcasing the work of Ireland’s indigenous non-fiction culture & creatives. Docs Ireland is regarded across the world for its cutting edge film programming & its distinctive industry initiatives. Established in 2019 as the sister festival of Belfast Film Festival, which happens annually in November, Docs Ireland takes place in June each year in the city of Belfast.

Sadhbh Ní Bhroin

Early Irish Cinema

Denis Condon’s blog Early Irish Cinema looks back at the early development of cinema in Ireland on the anniversaries of those developments and offers information on what cinemagoers could have seen in Irish cinemas a century ago.

Liam De Brun

Shauna Fox

Griffith College

Griffith College is Ireland's largest independent third-level institution, established in 1974, with campuses in Dublin, Cork, and Limerick. It offers a wide range of internationally recognized undergraduate and postgraduate programs, as well as professional courses, in fields like business, computing, law, and media. The college is known for its strong industry connections, focus on student success, and diverse student body of around 7,000 to 8,000 students from Ireland and around the world.

Mo O'Connell

Maureen O’Connell (Mo) is an award-winning actor, writer, director & producer. O'Connell got a BA and Diploma from RADA, London, then went on to get a Higher National Diploma in Film from Ballyfermot College followed by completing Screen Ireland/TUD Advanced's Producing Postgrad. Mo’s debut comedy feature, Spa Weekend, has been a hit at home & overseas at festivals across the UK, Europe, the US, Canada & Ireland. She produced award winning feature Horseshoe & is festival director at DCIFF.

Liam Hanlon

Will Penn

Screen Ireland

Lorcan Finnegan

Lorcan Finnegan is an award-winning Irish director, screenwriter & producer. His debut feature Without Name premiered at TIFF 2016, followed by Vivarium—starring Imogen Poots & Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg—which premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week & won the Ganne Foundation Award. In 2022 he directed psychological thriller NOCEBO with Eva Green & Mark Strong. His latest film, The Surfer, starring Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage, premiered in Cannes 2024 & received a 6-minute standing ovation.

Cannes Film Festival

Kimberly Reyes

Lynn Larkin

Niamh Algar

Seán Crosson

Cillian Murphy

Cork actor Cillian Murphy works in stage & screen & has won an Academy Award, a BAFTA & a Golden Globe. He debuted in Enda Walsh's Disco Pigs (1996) & starred in films including 28 Days Later, Breakfast on Pluto, Red Eye, Sunshine, & The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Known for Peaky Blinders, A Quiet Place Part II & collaborations with Christopher Nolan. He won an Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer. He is EP on Tim Mielants adaptation of Claire Keegan’s novella playing coal merchant Bill Furlong.

Mutale Kampuni

Mutale is a reviewer, advocate, and graduate of the Silver Critics programme at DIFFl. She works as a Convener & Mentor for Insaka Ireland (African Youth and Cultural Movement), a Family Support Advisor specialising in community services & has served on the boards of the Dublin City Community Co-op and Diaspora Women’s Initiative. Mutale holds a Postgrad in Development Studies & certifications in Alternative Dispute Resolution, alongside her expertise in Entrepreneurship Development.

Silver Screen Critics

Liam Neeson

Ballymena actor Liam Neeson has enjoyed a career spanning over four decades, from theatre stages in Belfast and Dublin to Hollywood’s biggest films. He began with the Lyric Theatre and Dublin’s Project and Abbey Theatre before moving into cinema in the early 1980s. International acclaim followed his Oscar-nominated role in Schindler’s List. He has since balanced acclaimed dramas such as Michael Collins with global action success in the Taken franchise, alongside more recent comedic work.

Dublin Business School

Dublin Business School (DBS) is Ireland's largest independent third-level college, offering a variety of career-focused undergraduate & postgraduate degrees in fields like business, arts, law, & computing. The college emphasizes practical learning and industry-experienced lecturers, and its programs are validated by Quality & Qualifications Ireland (QQI). It also provides professional programs, and many students can use advanced standing to enter higher-level years of study. https://www.dbs.ie

Screen Sessions

Barry Keoghan

David Prendeville

Kerry International Film Festival

Kerry International Film Festival (KIFF) is an annual film festival held in the picturesque town of Killarney, Kerry. Led by a small but mighty team of staff and volunteers, KIFF champions diverse and unique storytelling by way of a compelling festival programme of Irish and International features, documentaries and short films. Films belong in the cinema with an audience and KIFF plays a vital role in providing access to unique cultural cinema in the region.

Ed Guiney

Aoife Kelleher

Aoife Kelleher is a multi-award-winning filmmaker who has sought, in her work, to tell hidden truths about Ireland and Irishness.

Martin Cusack

Khushi Jain

Khushi Jain holds an M.Phil in Classics from Trinity College Dublin and an MA in Reception from University College London. She writes about film, here, there and everywhere.

Underground Cinema Film Festival

Imbolg: Women Who Terrify

Lola Petticrew

West Belfast actor Lola Petticrew is a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Petticrew’s screen work includes Dating Amber, A Bump Along the Way, Bloodlands, Three Families & Anne Boleyn. In 2024, they received widespread acclaim for their portrayal of Dolours Price in Say Nothing, winning an IFTA for Best Lead Actress – Drama & earning a BAFTA nomination. Recent projects include Tuesday, Channel 4’s Trespasses, and a series-regular role in Netflix’s live-action Assassin’s Creed.

Mark Sheridan

RTÉ

Hugh O'Conor

A prolific, award-winning actor since childhood, Hugh has also built a bold body of work as a writer-director across live action, animation and opera, alongside acclaim as a still photographer. His screen debut was opposite Liam Neeson in Lamb (1985). Notable roles include the young Christy Brown in Oscar-winner My Left Foot, King Louis XIV in Disney’s The Three Musketeers, and films such as The Young Poisoner’s Handbook, Chocolat and comedy hit The Stag.

Carmen Bryce

Carmen Bryce is a writer, journalist turned communications specialist and currently heads up comms for a national mental health charity. Carmen has the family trait of a healthy(ish) obsession with film and in particular the horror genre much to her partner's dismay. Born in County Down, Carmen has lived in Dublin for over 20 years but still sounds like the lovechild of Nadine Coyle and Liam Neeson.

Sarah Griffin

Still Voices Film Festival

Roisin Kearney

Beginning in theatre lighting design & stage direction, Róisín moved into film after working on indies in the late ’90s & early ’00s. She returned to writing with the comedy short The Love Agency (2014). Her work includes The Ballad of Olive Morris (BAFTA-shortlisted 2023), Paddy, The Secret Life of Jim, The Ferry and Run. She produces the RTÉ Jr radio series Adventures of a Young Pirate Queen & is developing multiple film, TV & theatre projects supported by Screen Ireland & the Arts Council.

Stephen Burke

TJ O’Grady-Peyton

TJ O’Grady-Peyton gained recognition in 2013 as a Young Director Award finalist at Cannes and has since directed international commercials for brands including Under Armour, Asics, Peloton, Volkswagen and BMW. He received the DIFF Discovery Award and Galway’s Bingham Ray New Talent Award. His films have screened at Tribeca, Clermont-Ferrand and BFI London; Wave won an IFTA in 2018 and Silence was nominated in 2021. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America.

Arts Council

The Arts Council is the national government agency for funding, developing and promoting the arts in Ireland. They invest in high-quality art and excellent arts experiences through a number of competitive schemes for individual artists and organisations.

Nicola Marzano

James Phelan

Pat Collins

Pat Collins is a film maker from West Cork who has made 30 films over the last 20 years. In 2012, the Irish Film Institute curated a mid-career retrospective of his work to date. That They May Face the Rising Sun based on John McGahern’s novel premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in October 2023 and went on general cinema & critical acclaim. He has made films on writer John McGahern, poets Michael Hartnett & Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, singer Thomas McCarthy, & writer/cartographer Tim Robinson.

Young Irish Film Makers

Coimisiún na Meán

Emma Donnelly

Síomha McQuinn

Éanna Hardwicke

Éanna Hardwicke is an actor from Cork, known for acclaimed roles in Normal People, Lakelands, The Sixth Commandment & The Doll Factory, earning him IFTA & BAFTA nominations & wins. He trained at The Lir Academy & began acting as a child, with a versatile career spanning stage, film (Vivarium, About Joan, William Tell) & TV, even narrating Sally Rooney's Intermezzo audiobook.

Yorgos Lanthimos

Element Pictures

Writers' Guild of Ireland

The WGI represents over 500 Irish writers for film, television, theatre, radio, animation and games. They campaign to ensure writers are recognised as the creative force without which, there is no production. All Guild members have access to bespoke networking events, expert advice on contracts, funding alerts through the newsletter, and an annual awards ceremony that celebrates their achievements.

Berlinale

The Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival), held each February in Berlin, is one of the world’s major film festivals. Celebrating cinematic artistry and emerging talent, it draws global audiences and industry professionals for premieres, market deals through the European Film Market, and cultural exchange. Irish films such as Black ’47, 32A, Christy, The Butcher Boy, and An Cailín Ciúin have all premiered at the festival.

Guth Gafa

Maria Flood

Women in Film and Television Ireland (WFT)

Women in Film and Television Ireland is a voluntary body run by film and TV professionals. The committee members represent the creative, business and technical divisions of the Irish audiovisual sector. The intention in creating this organisation is to ensure that the film and television industry functions as a meritocratic, sustainable and successful force into the future. https://wft.ie/

Capital Irish Film Festival

Solas Nua’s annual Capital Irish Film Festival in Washington, D.C., presents one of the largest programs of Irish cinema in North America, showcasing the latest Irish dramatic and documentary features, shorts, art films, and animation releases by Irish and Ireland-based filmmakers. The 20th edition of the four-day festival takes place February 26- March 1, 2026, in partnership with the prestigious American Film Institute's Silver Theatre & Cultural Center (Silver Spring MD).

Brendan Gleeson

Dublin actor Brendan Gleeson began his career at 34, transitioning from his role as a teacher. He has since appeared in over 100 films and television series, from Michael Collins to The Banshees of Inisherin. He is an Emmy Award-winning performer & received numerous accolades, including IFTA & BIFA Awards, along with multiple Golden Globe nominations. His standout films include Braveheart, In Bruges, Gangs of New York and Harry Potter & his collaborations with writer-director Martin McDonagh.

Jonathan Victory

Emer Reynolds

Director Emer Reynolds is an Emmy nominated multi-award winning documentary director and feature film editor, based in Dublin, Ireland.

Steven Galvin

Brian Lloyd

Aoife O'Ceallachain

Natasha Waugh