IGNITE-Docs is a 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.
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 2025/2026 programme provides a long-term engagement, comprising:
- Training days at Cork International Film Festival in November 2025, and Docs Ireland in June 2026
- Regular online training days from November 2025 – June 2026
- The opportunity to attend Sheffield Doc Fest in June 2026
- Application process CLOSED on Friday September 19th 2025
- Participants will be announced in late October 2025
Applications for IGNITE-Docs are now open, and will be accepted until Friday, September 19th 2025 at 5pm. Successful projects will be announced in mid-October.
Full IGNITE-Docs guidelines are available to view below:
Applications are accepted in English and as Gaeilge, with a particular interest in Irish language projects:
If you have any queries, please contact ignite@corkfilmfest.org
The IGNITE-Docs Documentary Talent Development programme is supported by TG4, the Arts Council of Ireland, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland through the Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme, Coimisiún na Meán, Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet and Northern Ireland Screen.