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From Shorts to Features: Screen Ireland Celebrates Leading Irish Female Directors for International Women’s Day

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From Shorts to Features: Screen Ireland Celebrates Leading Irish Female Directors for International Women’s Day

Posted: 8th March 2019

2019 has already been a high-profile year for Irish female filmmaking talent, led by Cartoon Saloon’s Louise Bagnall whose short film Late Afternoon received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Animated Short, as well as Irish actress Seána Kerslake winning international acclaim at Sundance following her starring role in Lee Cronin’s The Hole in the Ground. As Louise Bagnall now begins work as an assistant director alongside Nora Twomey on Cartoon Saloon’s upcoming Netflix feature My Father's Dragon, this International Women’s Day, we are profiling five of Ireland’s leading female directors who began their careers in short film.

Short film is a crucial proving ground for any director and at the most recent world premiere of Screen Ireland’s short films, over 60% of the short films screening were directed by women. Screen Ireland remains steadfastly committed to addressing gender equality in the Irish screen industries and you can read more about our schemes and initiatives for supporting and developing Irish female filmmaking talent here.

Nora Twomey: Cúilín Dualach (2005)

One of Ireland’s leading animators, Nora Twomey is co-founder of the Academy Award®-nominated Irish animation studio, Cartoon Saloon. Nora’s directorial debut, The Breadwinner, achieved a Best Animated Feature nomination at the 2018 Academy Awards®, for the film which tells a story of female empowerment and the resilience of the human spirit. Her 2005 short film, Cúilín Dualach, won the IFTA for Best Animated Short, and follows a young boy in the west of Ireland who strives to fit in as best he can.

Rebecca Daly: Joyriders (2006)

Festival favourite Rebecca Daly’s debut feature The Other Side of Sleep premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011, which was followed by the Sundance debut of her sophomore feature Mammal in 2016. Rebecca’s third feature Good Favour premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017. Like many directors, Rebecca began her career in short film and her debut 2006 short, Joyriders — which follows a young girl who struggles to come to terms with grief — went on to win a host of major awards, including Best First Irish Short at the Galway Film Fleadh and an IFTA for Best Short Film.

Neasa Hardiman: Pluck (2002)

One of Ireland’s leading TV directors, Neasa Hardiman is about to make her feature directorial debut with Sea Fever, which won the inaugural AvanPost Digital Cube Post-Production Award at the Frontières Platform at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018. Internationally renowned for her work on dramas such as Happy Valley (BBC / Netflix) and Jessica Jones (Marvel / Netflix), in 2017 Neasa won the Best Series BAFTA for her work on Happy Valley. Her debut short film, Pluck, chronicles a young stay-at-home father who struggles with his reduced social status. As he tries to find fulfilment in his new role, he starts to notice a strange preponderance of hair on his wife’s chin. Is it all in his mind, or is she really growing a beard?

Watch Pluck on Neasa’s website.

Juanita Wilson: The Door (2010)

Juanita Wilson is a multi-award-winning director and screenwriter, whose feature film credits include As If I’m Not There and Tomato Red. As If I’m Not There took home Best Film, Best Script, and Best Director at the 2011 IFTAs and Tomato Red received its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017. In 2011, she was named by industry bible Variety as one of the top 10 directors to watch — the only female director on the list. Juanita achieved critical acclaim early on in her career when her debut short film, The Door, received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Live-Action Short in 2010. The film sees a father's desperate attempt to come to terms with the devastating effects of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Cathy Brady: Small Change (2010)

Cathy Brady will make her feature directorial debut with Wildfire, supported by Screen Ireland following a critically acclaimed career as a TV and short film director. Her first short film, Small Change premiered at Sundance and won the IFTA for Best Short Film in 2011 — an accolade she received once again in 2013 for Morning. Cathy also directed the first series of Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope (written by Stefanie Preissner), which stars Seána Kerslake and Nika McGuigan as two young women trying to negotiate their friendship as their lives move in different directions. In 2013, Cathy was selected as one of Screen International Stars of Tomorrow, which is a prestigious and annual showcase of up-and-coming filmmaking talent from Ireland and the UK.

Small Change tells the story of a single mother whose life spirals out of control after she becomes addicted to slot machines.