Strong reaction to Irish film and TV at SXSW 2025 as animated short Retirement Plan wins award
Posted: 13th March 2025
An Taoiseach Michael Martin introduces Screen Ireland-sponsored panel at the festival
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is delighted to congratulate director John Kelly and the entire creative team behind Retirement Plan, which picked up Best Animated Short at SXSW 2025. There has been a strong response to Irish-produced film and television at SXSW this week, with World Premiere screenings for projects like Hallow Road, Drop and The Surfer receiving positive acclaim from film critics and audiences alike.
Retirement Plan is an animated short film funded by Frameworks, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and RTÉ's flagship scheme. In the throes of his overstimulated, energy poor midlife, Ray fantasises about everything he’d love to do in retirement, once he finally has the “time.” The short film is directed by John Kelly, with a script co-written by Tara Lawall and John Kelly, and is produced by Julie Murnaghan and Andrew Freedman.
Critics called Irish co-production Hallow Road, directed by Babak Anvari, a “unique, propulsive thrill ride” (Variety) and “riveting” (The Hollywood Reporter), while thriller Drop, which filmed on location in Ireland, received 4 stars from The Guardian, who described it as “a perfect match of star, script and style”. Irish/Australian TV series Mix Tape previewed the upcoming romantic drama at the festival, garnering positive reactions as a “promising” and “tender and heart-wrenching” story.
SXSW also saw An Taoiseach Michael Martin introduce the Screen Ireland-sponsored panel ‘Through the Green Lens: Ireland, Your Co-Production Partner’, an official SXSW panel discussing opportunities for collaboration between American production companies and Ireland. Panellists included leading US producer John Sloss, Irish producer Tristan Orpen Lynch behind TV series Mix Tape, and filmmaker Jess Varley, who directed The Astronaut, which received its World Premiere at the festival this year.
An Taoiseach introduced the panel by underlining Ireland’s pride in its homegrown screen industry, and emphasising the Irish Government’s continued support for the screen sector. An Taoiseach attended SXSW as part of a schedule of events for Ireland House, a partnership between the DFA, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Screen Ireland, to support the range of activity at SXSW in Austin, Texas – a conference and festival that encompasses sectors across technology, music, film and television. As part of his engagements with the wider screen industry, the Taoiseach met with leading Irish and international filmmakers and producers, including actors Julian McMahon (The Surfer) and Scarlett Holmes (The Astronaut).
According to recent figures, Ireland’s screen industry supports over 15,899 full time equivalent jobs and is now valued at over €1 billion contribution to the Irish economy. During the panel, Jess Varley and John Sloss outlined their positive experiences working and filming in Ireland – where Sloss recently produced acclaimed filmmaker Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon, which filmed in Ardmore Studios and premiered at the Berlinale earlier this year.
There were 7 Irish-produced projects screening at SXSW 2025 – including World Premieres for the Screen Ireland-supported Hallow Road; animated short film Retirement Plan; and a preview screening of TV series Mix Tape. Other productions filmed in Ireland that debuted at the festival include the World Premieres of The Astronaut, directed by Jess Varley and starring Kate Mara; Drop, directed by Christopher Landon; short film We Beg to Differ, directed by Ruairi Bradley; and the North American Premiere of Irish director Lorcan Finnegan’s feature film The Surfer, starring Nicolas Cage.