€600,000 invested in ten bold, original short films for Screen Ireland’s expanded Focus Shorts film scheme
Posted: 21st December 2022
Ten successful filmmaking teams have been chosen for the 2022 round of Focus Shorts, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland’s cornerstone short film scheme. The scheme, which will see €600,000 invested in the development of up-and-coming creative screen talent, will support ten projects, each of which will receive €60,000 to go into production. Screen Ireland’s commitment to increasing supports for emerging filmmakers, as well as a highly competitive process with 110 applications, led to the selection of ten short film projects this year. The completed shorts will go on to screen in festivals around the world after a Screen Ireland-supported World Premiere at home.
Emma Scott, Head of Short Film Production at Screen Ireland, said:
“Focus Shorts is Screen Ireland’s flagship short film scheme, supporting diverse and emerging Irish filmmakers as they tell bold, original stories with strong production values.
This is an opportunity for filmmakers to really step up with a view to accelerating on to bigger, more ambitious projects. We’ve taken great pleasure in seeing the tangible progression made by our previous recipients including Kate Dolan, Claire Dix, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Lee Cronin, Lorcan Finnegan, Alan Friel and Ian Hunt-Duffy, all of whom have gone on to make their first features after a Screen Ireland-supported short.
This year, strengthened by an enhanced fund, we made an additional reach towards a wider range of voices. We’re delighted to be in a position to support more projects this year than ever before – particularly stories created by, and relating to, a country-wide breadth of talent. From new immigrant stories to dark Irish folklore, we’re now looking forward to these ten short films making their debut with audiences around the world in the near future.”
Focus Shorts aims to encourage strong, original storytelling, visual flair, and production values appropriate to the big screen, offering an opportunity for producers, directors and writers with at least one previous credit. Since its establishment in 2016, short films produced under the scheme have seen international success at the Tribeca Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival and the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival. The most recent 2022 slate of Focus Shorts have already seen success at the beginning of their festival journey, with Sinead O’Loughlin’s Lamb selected for Tribeca Film Festival, and Mia Mullarkey’s Safe as Houses selected for the Slamdance Film Festival.
The successful short films for 2023’s Focus Shorts are:
Waiting Day, written by Lynn Ruane, directed by Grace Dyas and produced by Claire Byrne for Alfonso Films. Rachael's life is controlled by social welfare payments. Recently split from her partner, Rachael raises her daughters by finding the humour in their repetitive existence.
I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On, written and directed by Laoisa Sexton and produced by Eamon Hughes for Samson Films. When a children’s entertainer sabotages a birthday party, they must find a way to leave their early troubles behind.
Pediment, written and directed by Derek Ugochukwu and produced by Robert Higgins for Harp Media. A precocious biracial boy embarks on a day’s journey to reconnect with an estranged relative, unaware of a long-existing dispute between both sides of his family.
Room Taken, written by Michael Whelan, directed by TJ O’Grady and produced by Colmán Mac Cionnaith for Vico Films. When Isaac needs somewhere to sleep, he secretly moves into the home of an elderly blind woman, leading them to form a unique bond.
Callus, written and directed by Ciaran Hickey and produced by Finbarr Crotty for Bear Print Media. When his daughter is born with an affliction warned of in fable, a widowed father struggles to defy the violent superstitions of their rural community.
Peat, written and directed by Paudie Baggott and produced by Maggie Ryan for Escape Pod Media. An underappreciated widow builds a mythological creature to work the bog. When she develops feelings for it, her possessive son sets out to destroy it.
Guinness & Coke, written and directed by Lochlainn McKenna and produced by Natalie Britton for Story Creative. Oscar travels around Ireland with his father every weekend. His journeys are filled with adventure, spontaneity and relentless outings to the pub.
Wrecker, written by Aoife Bradshaw, directed by Martina Glynn and produced by Garret Daly for Mixed Bag Media. In famine-stricken Ireland, a young girl learns just how far her father is willing to go to survive.
Uroboros, written and directed by Diarmuid Donohoe and produced by Victor McGowan for Constant Motion Pictures. A carefree young woman is trapped in an infinite loop of incarceration and escape in a 1950s psychiatric hospital.
Yellow Belt, written by Alan O’Gorman and Allyn Quigley, directed by Allyn Quigley and produced by Aisling Malone for Rye Films. As his parents’ marriage falls apart, a young boy develops an unrealistic infatuation with an older teenage girl in his Taekwondo class.
Previous Screen Ireland-supported short films from recent years, across both live action and animation, can be viewed on the Screen Ireland Shorts Player here.