Film Ireland Podcast

In this Film Ireland Podcast, we are delighted to welcome a very special guest host, Mark Hernandez. He will be speaking with Emmy-winning filmmaker Marissa Aroy, discussing her inspiration, career and creative processes. Marissa’s short film Recipe is screening at Imbolg: Women Who Terrify on 31st January, while her latest short film, The Parting (funded by the National Talent Academies), is about to have its world premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival on 20th February.Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.Marissa AroyMarissa is an award-winning filmmaker whose work spans over two decades in documentary storytelling. She received an Emmy for her PBS documentary Sikhs in America and an Emmy nomination for The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farm Workers, which highlights the critical yet overlooked role of Filipinos in the American labour movement. A Fulbright Scholar, Aroy was honoured with the inaugural Hatsuye Yamasaki Award for Visionary Leadership by the College of William and Mary, where she also served as the Asian Centennial Distinguished Film Fellow in Residence.Her work extends beyond filmmaking to teaching and mentorship, having taught film at Trinity College Dublin, Berkeley City College, and The New School in New York, and now teaching New Media Studies at IADT in Dún Laoghaire. She has also contributed to Irish cinema through her leadership roles with Irish Screen America, the San Francisco Irish Film Festival, and as a board member of Women in Film and Television Ireland. She served as producer on the award-winning short film The Ferry that was shown on RTÉ and long-listed for the Oscars. Aroy’s projects reflect her commitment to amplifying marginalised voices and cultural heritage. She was commissioned by the Smithsonian Museum of American History in the US to create short films for the exhibition “How Can You Forget Me: Filipino American Stories.”Her short film Recipe, previously titled (Losing Cock/Talunang Manok), is a suspenseful short film shot in the Philippines and edited by award-winning editor John Murphy (The Quiet Girl). This film will be shown at Imbolg: Women Who Terrify film festival, in Strand C at 2.30 pm on Saturday 31st January at Griffith College. She has another short film called The Parting that she directed, which will be in the Dublin International Film Festival on 20th February. She is currently working on another short film called Birthday Swim, for which she received funding from Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown’s First Frames.Now based in Wicklow, Ireland, with her husband and filmmaking partner Niall McKay, Aroy continues to develop independent projects including the radio drama The Morrigan, a fictional radio drama about Ella Young that combines fantasy and history in early 20th century Ireland, which was broadcast on Dublin FM. They are also developing a historical documentary on the Philippine-American War. Her work reflects her passion for storytelling that bridges her Filipino, Irish and American identities. “I want someone to see our brown faces on the screen or behind the scenes and feel proud of who we are as a people,” she says, underscoring her dedication to creating art that inspires, entertains and empowers.

Taking place on 30th - 31st January at Griffith College Dublin, the Imbolg Women Who Terrify Film Festival celebrates women who terrify, both on screen and behind the camera. In today's podcast we catch up four of the wonderful filmmakers whose work is screening at the festival.Marjo Viitala, I Remember You - Strand AMargaret Kane-Rowe, ShadowFable - Strand ANadia Moosa, In the Season Thereof - Strand CVanessa Gildea, on leaving you - Strand CListen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.As winter draws to a close, this coven of creatives and connoisseurs will gather to mark the Celtic festival of Imbolg. In partnership with Film Ireland and Griffith College, join us for this jam-packed line up!The programme features Women Who Terrify Shorts (Strands A, B and C), alongside the Goth Film Club: Irish Network for Gothic and Horror Studies talk on horror film selection, appreciation and critique. Also included are Faoin Talamh (AV Experience), In Conversation with Filmmaker Laura Moss, and a screening of birth / rebirth, introduced by director and co-writer Laura Moss.Read more about the festival here:https://www.filmireland.net/imbolg-women-who-terrify-film-festival/Read more about the filmmakers here:https://www.filmireland.net/podcast-imbolg-filmmakers-vanessa-gildea-marjo-viitala-nadia-moosa-vanessa-gildea/

In this podcast - which was recorded last year - academic and journalist Naemi Victoria chats with filmmaker Daniel Draper about his documentary Iron Ladies, which will screen in the Nerve Centre on 30th January 2026.Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.Iron Ladies tells the story of the working-class women who became the backbone of the 1984–85 Miners' Strike. From Scotland to Kent, women from coalfield communities share their experiences of the year-long struggle, and how their actions reshaped political activism for working-class women.The film shines a spotlight on voices that have too often been overlooked. Featuring Heather Wood, Lorraine Stansbie, Rose Hunter, Kate Alvey, Betty Cook, Aggie Currie, and many more, Iron Ladies is both a vital historical record and a celebration of solidarity, resilience, and determination.The screening of Iron ladies will take place at 7pm on 30th January and is followed by a post-screening discussion with Daniel and contributor to the film, Rose Hunter. Get your tickets at NerveCentre.org.Daniel DraperDaniel is a Liverpool-based filmmaker. His debut film, Nature of the Beast was released across UK cinemas in 2017. Since, Daniel has produced and directed an additional three feature documentaries and continues to explore place, identity, class and politics through his current and forthcoming work.Meet the Iron LadiesHeather Wood: Born and bred in the pit village of Easington, Heather was chair of Save Easington Area Mines in East Durham, and became involved in National Women Against Pit Closures during the Miners’ Strike. Her activism remains strong - a key organiser of the National Women Against Pit Closures 40th anniversary event. She has written a book (Just a Pit Lass) and featured in two Ken Loach films - Sorry We Missed You and The Old Oak.Lorraine Stansbie: Now Sheffield based, Lorraine Stansbie was a student at Northern College when the Strike started. She became a key figure in Barnsley Women Oppose Pit Closures and was a speaker at the 12,000 woman-strong rally at Barnsley Town Hall in 1984.Rose Hunter: A key member of the The North Staffs Miner's Wives Action Group, a very active group during 1984/95 and beyond - occupying pits during the final closures in the 1990s and supporting causes across the country to highlight injustice and fight for workers’ rights. The group is still active today.Kate Alvey: Part of Chesterfield Women’s Action Group. Was politically active before the Strike and led a women’s group who campaigned for Tony Benn to be elected as MP for Chesterfield in the weeks before the Strike. Chesterfield was the centre of operations for organising support for miners and their families across the Derbyshire area.Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.

Last year, Film Ireland presented Screen Sessions Live, an afternoon of in-depth conversations on craft, career and creativity between talent from the Irish screen industries - made possible with the support of Screen Ireland and hosted by our partners Griffith College.In this special live podcast recording, graphic artist Annie Atkins (The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch, Bridge of Spies) is in conversation with production designer, art director, and concept illustrator Jill Beecher (Babylon, Elvis, The Revenant). Both creatives are key voices in the art department on some of Hollywood’s most ambitious and visually distinctive films. In this discussion, Annie and Jill explore the creative realities of working behind the scenes - from collaboration and artistry to problem-solving on set - and discuss how design shapes the stories we see on screen.Visit Film Ireland here to check out the images mentioned during the discussion: https://www.filmireland.net/screen-sessions-live-podcast-on-design-with-annie-atkins-the-grand-budapest-hotel-jill-beecher-babylon/Annie AtkinsAnnie Atkins has created graphic props and set pieces for multiple Oscar-nominated and winning movies such as Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, and The French Dispatch; Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies and West Side Story; and the map for the latest Indiana Jones movie, The Dial of Destiny.Her first book, Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps, was published by Phaidon and drew critical acclaim as a behind-the-scenes look at film design, winning accolades from Jeff Goldblum, among others: “Annie makes the unreal seem hyperreal, and the real more supremely alive and utterly magical...” Her latest book, Letters from the North Pole, is a children's picture book and is available now.Jill BeecherJill was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1984. She is a production designer, art director, and concept illustrator who has worked across Hollywood productions and local Irish projects (Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, The Revenant, Alien: Covenant, Babylon, Elvis). Jill is now represented by William Morris Endeavour and is a member of the British and American Art Directors Guilds. She is also a visual artist who has exhibited in Europe, America, and Australia.Subscribe now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.

In this podcast, we catch up once again with actor, writer and filmmaker Hugh O’Conor, whose quasi-autobiographical comedy series Showkids - co-written with Amy Stephenson and Shane Langan - is available to watch on RTÉ. We talk with Hugh about his expansive career, from performance and working with the greats at a young age, to training at NYU, and his move into directing features, animation, and now this witty and heartfelt show. Showkids is set around a very special after-school drama class for talented kids, run by the brilliant but super-intimidating Miss Bethany Jessop (Amy De Bhrún). The show is seen through the eyes of 12-year-old Sam Curtain (Flynn Gray), whose constant daydreaming has begun to cause mayhem in his life. When his parents, Sally & Con (Philippa Dunne & Killian Sundermann), stumble across Miss Jessop’s, they wonder if drama might be the perfect way to harness Sam’s overly active imagination? An initially reluctant Sam soon realises he’s discovered his tribe – other kids with equally vivid imaginations, inspired by Miss Jessop to use drama to help solve the problems they’re going through in their own lives. As well as experiencing his first, terrifying taste of showbiz, Sam has finally found somewhere he is free to let his cares and dreams run wild – but this time, with a purpose! Showkids is available to watch now on the RTÉ Player. Read more about this episode here: www.filmireland.net/podcast-hugh-oconor-actor-writer-filmmaker-on-showkids

In this episode of Film Ireland Presents, we chat with Margo Harkin, an accomplished and masterful filmmaker who has been directing and producing fiction and documentary work for over forty years. Her films span many aspects of life on the island of Ireland, from chronicling Northern Ireland’s political history, to examining the systemic oppression of women, to exploring the healing power of creativity, and much more beyond. The Irish Film Institute has curated a wonderful retrospective of her seminal works, available to watch back on their player now. Radical Witness Retrospective at Irish Film Institute After graduating in Fine Art from the Ulster College of Art and Design in 1974, Harkin worked as an art teacher and community worker in socially deprived areas of Derry. She joined Field Day Theatre Company in 1980 as an Assistant Stage Manager on Brian Friel’s Translations, before going on to work as a stage designer for the company. In 1984, Harkin co-founded Derry Film & Video Workshop with Anne Crilly and Trisha Ziff delivering critical perspectives that ran counter to the censored narratives then broadcast by British and Irish television. The signal works of this period were Mother Ireland (1988), Anne Crilly’s controversial documentary about feminism and Irish republicanism, and Harkin’s own Hush-A-Bye Baby (1990), a feature drama about teenage pregnancy following the 1983 abortion referendum in Ireland. Harkin established Besom Productions in 1992 making educational films for Channel 4 but her reputation as an astute, local documentarian of injustices was soon forged through a series of highly regarded television documentaries. Her cinema films, the surf documentary Waveriders (2003), by Joel Conroy (which she produced), and Stolen (2023), about the plight of unmarried mothers in Ireland in the 20th century, provided thoroughly researched, compelling accounts of their subjects. Margo Harkin is a member of Aosdána. Her work has won countless awards and is widely taught to third-level film and media students. Spanning over four decades, Harkin’s work has consistently challenged societal narratives, giving voice to the silenced and bearing witness to the social and political upheavals that have shaped the contemporary Irish landscape. The retrospective will span across the IFI’s cinema screens, as well as online via IFI@Home, IFI International and the IFI Archive Player.

In this episode of the Film Ireland Podcast, we celebrate two great new Irish films. First, Mo O’Connell chats with actor Carolyn Bracken about their feature Horseshoe, which is released in cinemas on 5th December. Mo, an accomplished actor herself, and a producer on the award-winning family dramedy, chats with about their Carolyn about their exciting new indie film. Then, contributor Hayley Jorja sits down with IFTA-nominated filmmaker Nathan Fagan to discuss his short animated documentary Inside, The Valley Sings, which has qualified for the 98th Academy Awards® and won Best Animated Short Film at the Dublin International Film Festival. The film follows three prisoners trapped in prolonged solitary confinement, who seek comfort and escape in the boundless landscapes of their imaginations. (Starting at 19:38) Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts. Horseshoe is in cinemas 5th December 2025.

In this episode of the Film Ireland Podcast, supported by Coimisiún na Meán, we shine a light on two powerful new documentaries. First, we catch up with director Daire Collins to discuss Beo Faoin Bhfód (Buried Alive), the story of two Irish daredevils who vied for the world record for the longest time spent buried alive, which recently aired on TG4 and is now available to stream on the TG4 Player. Beo Faoin Bhfód (Buried Alive) was supported by Coimisiún na Meán’s Sound & Vision Scheme, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Then, actor and musician Olivia Phoenix sits down with award-winning photographer and filmmaker Ian Thuillier to talk about his moving Oscar-qualifying documentary Conflicted, in which two mothers - one Israeli, one Palestinian - confront the unimaginable loss of their children. Through grief they find the courage to meet, forgive, and work together for peace. Starting at timestamp 30:20. Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.