Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland Invests in 26 New Initiatives to Boost Irish Screen Sector Skills Development
Posted: 29th July 2026
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland (Screen Ireland) has today announced the 26 skills development initiatives awarded funding from the eighth round of the Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme to deliver new skills development opportunities and initiatives to address priority areas for the Irish screen sector over a 6–12-month period.
The quality of applications for this round was again extremely high, resulting in a competitive selection process. Following a rigorous panel assessment of the applications, funding has been allocated to the following organisations to deliver on their proposals:
- ACE Producers for the 8th edition of the ACE Animation Special in Dingle, a workshop for experienced international producers looking to develop their animation production skills, and structural support from the ACE Network, including scholarships for Irish participants and participation in ACE Insight Sessions.
- Ardán for the FÍS Games Summit 2027, a national event for Ireland's video game industry, focusing on networking, skills development, and international partnerships for game developers and creative professionals.
- Ardán for the FÍS TV Summit 2027, a large-scale TV sector event for professionals (Producers, Broadcasters, Writers, Directors, Crew etc.) working across scripted and unscripted content across the island or Ireland.
- Atticus Education for Future Leaders of Screen: Screen Careers for Transition Year Students, a programme to encourage young people to pursue a career in the screen industry by teaching them and their teachers about the screen sector. It will include a series of online seminars with David Puttnam, an event at University College Cork, and an update to an existing careers resource pack.
- Createschool for the Rubbish Film Festival - Next Gen Screen Skills: Hybrid & Teacher-Led National Programme, a scalable national model to address gaps in early-stage screen skills development for Transition Year students, expanding access in regions impacted by funding cuts, building teacher capacity, and strengthening the screen talent pipeline.
- DV4 for the Entertainment IP Summit 2027, a 2 day online and on-demand international summit around developing and leveraging Entertainment IP for film, TV, animation, VFX, Games, podcasting and book publishing; the Entertainment IP Lab, an extension of the Summit consisting of two workshop days and 1:1 mentoring session.
- Emerging Limerick Filmmakers for Scenario X, a production-focused training scheme that equips next generation filmmakers with significant experience across crew roles. Participants will develop and deliver a resourced genre short, produced in a mentored environment, with a plan to premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival.
- Fresh Film CLG for Hothouse, a mentored film production programme supporting emerging filmmakers to create eight short films, premiered at DIFF and screened on the RTÉ Player; Fresh Futures, a programme focused on Virtual Production, offering mentorship and hands-on experience; In Focus, a micro-documentary programme exploring careers and roles, aimed at a more diverse, targeted young audience.
- Front Door Events Ltd. t/a NEXUS Games Conference for the NEXUS Games Summit 2026 taking place from 23-26 September 2026, including four days of live stage sessions, round table discussions and networking events.
- Front Door Events Ltd. t/a NEXUS Games Conference for the NEXUS Games Summit 2027, taking place earlier in the annual calendar from 12-16 May 2027 after consultation with Irish and international stakeholders to allow the event to grow in attendance and profile.
- Furthr (Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet) for Future Edge – Ethical AI in the Creative Industries, aa 3-month upskilling programme that supports creative company leaders to navigate and survive the current challenges that AI presents and guide them towards exploring new ethical AI opportunities to help their creative companies thrive in the future.
- GORM Media DAC for The Wideshot Programme 2027, a foundational series of workshops and events focused on filmmaking, digital storytelling and multimedia skills, designed for youth aged 15-17 (school engagements - storytelling as a tool for belonging) and 18-25 (Community Workshops) from underrepresented backgrounds.
- Green From Script to Screen for an Audience Assembly on Climate Change storytelling, an all island, deliberative democratic discussion on how to develop climate change themes in scripted storytelling.
- Guth Gafa Teoranta for the Impact Distribution Lab, a programme for filmmaking teams to develop actionable distribution plans and address existing industry shortfalls in sustainability, engagement and real-world impact of film.
- Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) for the IFTA Masterclasses, a series of in-depth masterclasses & high-level discussions for emerging and established screen professionals, focused on the key cornerstones of screen industry production.
- National Film & Television School for Creative Business and Leadership for Producers: Building Your Production Company, a course to equip screen professionals with the skills to run a successful creative business.
- Nerve Centre / Foyle Film Festival for Screen School North West, a series of screen production schools for Transition Year students in Donegal to train and inspire the next generation of story makers.
- Raising Films Ireland for Flexible Working Programme: Job Share 2.0, the next iteration of The Flexible Working Programme in partnership with National Talent Academies with focus on training HODs/Managers identified as a barrier to uptake.
- Screen Composers Guild of Ireland for the Composers Skills and Visibility Series including; a Composer Assistant Bursary; Composer Accelerator Support; a Pitch to Screen workshop; a Video Games Composer industry directory; Preparing your work for soundtrack and performance
- Screen Directors Guild of Ireland for The Cinematic Lab, an immersive residential lab for Irish directors to strengthen their creative voice through advanced cinematic storytelling.
- Screen Guilds of Ireland to enact a formal Guild Membership Model to create a more unified, efficient and responsive community between Crew Guilds.
- Screen Producers Ireland for a Production Access and Inclusion Programme focused on deaf, disabled and neurodivergent talent inclusion in the Irish screen industry.
- Storyhouse for the Storyhouse Screenwriting Festival, a 2-day screenwriting festival comprising of talks, workshops and screenings at Dublin’s Light House Cinema; and Storyhouse Lab, a week-long intensive initiative for emerging screenwriters, mentored by Malcolm Campbell.
- Stowe Story Labs for the Connemara Writers' Retreat 2026, placements for eight writers based in Ireland or Irish writers based abroad to join twelve international writers together with top industry mentors to develop their skills and projects, and the Galway Film Marketplace Fellowship.
- Women in Film and Television Ireland (WFT Ireland) for Greater Later: Building Sustainable Careers, an initiative spotlighting women 40+ across the screen industries. Featuring Irish and international speakers, panel discussions, and networking, the event will support professional development, career sustainability, and advance gender parity across the sector.
- Young Irish Film Makers CLG for the National Youth Film & Animation School, a 10-day residential pre-college training programme for young people aged 16-19 yrs preparing for a career or college placement in film or animation.
For the 2026 round of Screen Stakeholders, applicants were asked to address at least one of ten priority areas, which reflect some of the most significant challenges and opportunities for the Irish screen sector. These priority areas were:
- Careers in the Screen Industry for Young People and Transition Year Programmes (Next Gen)
- Company/Business Development/Entrepreneurship/Freelancing
- Creative IP and Leveraging IP
- Emerging & Future Technology/Virtual Production/Artificial Intelligence
- Gender, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
- Irish Language
- Nationwide/Regional Development
- Skills Gaps Priority Roles (significant skills gaps roles in areas such as Accounts, Assistant Directors, Locations, Intimacy Coordinators, among others as listed below)
- Sustainability/Green Production
- Sustainable Careers (including improving workplace culture, wellbeing and safety, job-sharing, returners and workforce retention)
Commenting on the award funding, Colman Farrell, Head of Skills and Professional Development at Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, said:
The response to this round of the Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme highlights a vibrant, forward-looking industry. We are delighted to support these new proposals, which target the sector’s most pressing challenges and exciting opportunities. Screen Ireland remains firmly committed to cultivating talent at every level, ensuring professionals across the country can access the skills needed to thrive and succeed. Driven by the expertise of our stakeholders, these initiatives will deliver vital learning opportunities nationwide, and we strongly encourage screen professionals and emerging creatives to engage with them.