Screen Ireland Supported Skills Masterclasses at the 37th Galway Film Fleadh
Posted: 2nd July 2025
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland (Screen Ireland) is delighted to support the and Directors, Casting and Cinematography Masterclasses at this year's Galway Film Fleadh. The annual masterclass series at the Fleadh’s industry section, Galway Film Fair, offers screen industry professionals a unique chance to learn from experts in their respective fields, in an intimate engaging environment.
Directors Masterclass with Ali Abbasi
moderated by Simon Perry
Saturday, 12th July 2025, 10:00-13:00 - The Galmont Hotel, Ballroom 3
Tickets: €50.00
Born in Iran and based in Denmark, Ali Abbasi’s fourth feature The Apprentice premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival — his third Cannes selection—and was nominated for two Oscars, two Golden Globes, three BAFTAs, and three Independent Spirit Awards. A co-production with Ireland’s Tailored Films, Donald Trump attempted to block the release of the film which explores the President’s early career. His previous feature, Holy Spider, also premiered In Competition at Cannes, where Zar Amir-Ebrahimi won Best Actress; it earned four European Film Award nominations. Abbasi’s second feature, Border, won the Un Certain Regard Award at Cannes in 2018, received an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and was nominated for six European Film Awards, winning for Best Visual Effects. In television, he directed the final two episodes of HBO’s acclaimed The Last of Us, season one. Abbasi studied architecture in Stockholm before attending the National Film School of Denmark. He is currently represented by UTA in the US and LARK in the UK.
Learn more and register for the Directors Masterclass with Ali Abbasi
Casting Masterclass
with Louise Kiely, Luci Lennox and Maureen Hughes
Saturday, 12th July 2025, 14:00-17:00 - The Galmont Hotel, Ballroom 3
Tickets: €50.00
This event is primarily aimed at actors, but will be of interest to agents, casting directors, and industry professionals interested in hearing from this trio of leading casting directors on how they conduct their business. The class will use practical examples to show what they look for in self-tapes, and will explore their broad experiences across film, TV, and theatre; from major US productions to independent features and series from Europe.
The masterclass will also cover the business of being an actor including negotiations, online profiles, contracts, streaming rights and more.
Maureen Hughes, over the past twenty years, has worked with screenwriter/directors, Martin McDonagh, Sam Shepherd, Paolo Sorrentino, Jim Sheridan and Werner Herzog. Films include The Martini Shot with Matthew Modine, Barber with Aidan Gillen. Maureen provided additional Casting for US Blockbusters Abigail and Oscar nominated The Apprentice directed by Ali Abbassi, That They May Face The Rising Sun, director Pat Collins for South Wind Blows, Frewáka, directed by Aislinn Clarke and most recently, critically acclaimed, Small Things Like These starring Cillian Murphy, director Tim Mielants for Parallel Films and the yet to be released Bucking Fastards directed by Werner Herzog. She has recently cast on This Body of Water currently shooting in Schull with Isaiah Whitlock Jnr, Aunjanue Ellis and Aidan Quinn. Currently casting The Crucible for the Gaiety 2027, a production of Beauty Queen of Leenane for West End 2027. She is also Casting Consultant with the Everyman Cork and recently helped cast The Second Woman with Eileen Walsh for Cork Midsummer Festival. The Factory in 2010, she joined John Carney, Kirsten Sheridan and Lance Daly to set up an informal acting workshop in an old warehouse which went on to develop the talents of many young Irish actors including Barry Keoghan, Jack Reynor and Niamh Algar. She then went on to set up Bow Street Screen Acting School with Paul O Connor and Shimmy Marcus. She resigned from Bow Street in 2021 to concentrate on casting.
Louise Kiely studied Law (UCC) & trained at The Gaiety School of Acting. She set up Louise Kiely Casting in 2005 and has since cast dozens of Films and TV series. TV credits include: Normal People (Hulu/RTÉ), Kin (Bron Studios/RTÉ), Bodkin (Netflix), The Dry (ITVX/RTÉ) and Faithless (Virgin Media). Film credits include: Four Mothers (Port Pictures), The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight), Disenchanted (Disney) & Sing Street (FilmNation). In 2020, Louise was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2021, she was awarded the CSA Artios Award & the CDG Award; for her work on Normal People. In 2023, Louise was again the recipient of the CSA Artios Award & the CDG Award for her work on The Banshees of Inisherin. Louise is a member of the CDG, CSA, IFTA, BAFTA & The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts & Science. She is a board member of IFTA and CSA Global.
Luci Lenox is an award-winning casting director from Dundalk, County Louth, based in Spain. She has cast over 120 productions for clients such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney and Lionsgate as well as for many independent European film producers, with her films collectively grossing over a billion dollars at the global box office and winning 300+ awards at international festivals. A champion of emerging talent, Luci is a member of the Casting Society of America (CSA), ICDA, APDICE, and the Catalan, Irish, and European Film Academies, as well as the Casting Chapter of the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA). She currently heads the diversity and inclusion committee for APDICE (the Spanish Casting Directors Association). Very keen on supporting Irish talent, Luci has cast numerous Irish actors in European productions, including The Head, Wake Up, and The Duchess. She continues to mentor and advocate for actors through The Actors Home, the industry platform she founded.
This event is primarily aimed at actors, but will be of interest to agents, casting directors, and industry professionals interested in hearing from this trio of leading casting directors on how they conduct their business. The class will use practical examples to show what they look for in self-tapes, and will explore their broad experiences across film, TV, and theatre; from major US productions to independent features and series from Europe.
The masterclass will also cover the business of being an actor including negotiations, online profiles, contracts, streaming rights and more.
Learn more and register for the Casting Masterclass
Cinematography Masterclass
with JJ Rolfe ISC and Brendan Dempsey
Friday, 11th July 2025, 14:30-16:30 - The Galmont Hotel, Ballroom 3
Cinematographer, JJ Rolfe ISC and Gaffer, Brendan Dempsey shall demonstrate the latest lighting tools supplied by Teach Solais/MBS Equipment Ireland, that they both use making films and TV shows in a practical masterclass.
JJ Rolfe is an IFTA nominated cinematographer with a career that has spanned many corners of filmmaking, from high budget episodic television to independent feature film and from experimental art pieces to glossy commercials with all the stops in between.
Throughout the past 15 years Brendan Dempsey has had the pleasure of working on high end TV dramas on the likes of Penny Dreadful, action/adventure of the set of Jurassic World and musicals and dramas on the recent features The End and Richard Linklater's Blue Moon.