Cork International Film Festival and Docs Ireland are delighted to announce eight new projects for Year Five of its cross-border Documentary Talent Development Programme, IGNITE-Docs.
IGNITE-Docs is a talent development programme directed towards emerging Irish and Northern Irish documentary filmmakers embarking on their first or second non-fiction feature film. It is a cross-border partnership that aims to foster a new generation of cinematic documentary filmmakers, an innovative collaboration between the island’s first and newest film festivals, Cork International Film Festival and Docs Ireland.
The participants and projects for year five are:
All the Lovely Animals
Director: Kathleen Harris
Three determined women devote their lives to rescuing abused animals from across Ireland – a
harrowing, heartwarming and sometimes hilarious task that makes us wonder: what is an animal?
June 1982: A Massacre
Director: Rabie Mustapha
Producer: Andy Wilkinson
The memories of an under-documented massacre haunt the inhabitants of a Palestinian neighbourhood in South Lebanon.
Saint Michael
Director: Niall Sheerin
Producer: Emma Keane
A grief-stricken brother uses home videos, diary entries, tattoo art, and paintings left by his late older brother to reconcile himself with his one-time childhood hero, their sometimes difficult relationship, and the huge loss his passing has left behind.
Saving Sodomy From Ulster
Director: Lewis Doherty
At the height of The Troubles, a generation of queer people battle their erasure against a
homophobic political campaign and oppressive police treatment, formulating a path to peace.
Sex Education (For Adults)
Director: Nicola Leddy
In Ireland we have never known what to do about sex, let alone how to embrace it, but one woman is on a mission to completely change that forever.
Shades of Blue
Director: Katie McFadden
Producer: Simeon Costello
Through the lens of his fading eyesight, a visually impaired man takes to the ski slopes with a group of friends, proving that even as vision decreases, his determination and lust for life does not.
Tape Me Away From Home
Producer: Austin Kenny
In a pre-telephone era, a story of emigration (and much more besides), is recorded to cassette by those who left, and by those left behind.
An Tigh
Directors: Medb Johnstone, Seán Keeley
The story of how a small pub in the Connemara Gaeltacht changed music forever.
IGNITE-Docs is a joint initiative of Cork International Film Festival & Docs Ireland, Belfast, and is supported by Screen Ireland, TG4, the Arts Council of Ireland and Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet.
MORE ABOUT IGNITE-Docs
Created in collaboration between Cork International Film Festival (Ireland’s first and largest film festival and destination for cinematic documentary) and Docs Ireland (the all-Ireland documentary focused festival from Belfast Film Festival), this cross-border partnership seeks to foster a new generation of Irish documentary filmmakers from the north and south of Ireland.
Feature documentary in Ireland has developed exponentially over the past decade, with countless award-winning non-fiction films gaining traction and being showcased both nationally, and on an international level; through festivals, cinema releases, television broadcast and VOD. The aim of IGNITE-Docs is to aid in the long term sustainable growth and artistry of talent in the Irish documentary film community, through training and skills development, mentorship and drawing from the resources and expertise of both festivals.
The scheme is project-led, and supports the progression of the selected projects and their teams, through training that focuses on the development process of documentary, from inception to exhibition. The scheme aims to foster a new generation of non-fiction creative documentary talent from all over the island of Ireland to pursue their first or second feature, and to provide them with a platform to develop the spectrum of skills and knowledge required to succeed as a feature documentary filmmaker on an international level.
During this comprehensive training initiative, participants will gain a grounding in all facets of developing their project, and will acquire market knowledge of the documentary industry, learning about the current trends in non-fiction film production, and giving them an expansive understanding of the sector. The programme includes workshops, masterclasses, and in person conversations with established documentarians, broadcasters, funders, sales agents, and other industry professionals. All training takes place in an intimate environment, which will allow a hands-on approach; facilitating maximum learning potential and the opportunity to network and foster new relationships.
The 2024/2025 programme provided a long-term engagement, comprising:
- Training days at Cork International Film Festival in November 2024, and Docs Ireland in June 2025.
- Regular online training days from November 2024 – June 2025
- The opportunity to attend Sheffield Doc Fest in June 2025.