DOCS IRELAND MARKETPLACE 2024
Docs Ireland is pleased to announce the projects for the fifth edition of its festival marketplace. The expanded event will take place over two days for the first time this year, on Friday June 21st & Saturday June 22nd, at 2 Royal Avenue in Belfast city centre.
Thirty-four Irish, UK and international projects will pitch to international decision makers at the marketplace, including Autlook Film Sales, BBC Alba, BBC NI, CAT&Docs, Cinetic Media, Conic Films, Documentary Association of Europe, Dogwoof, Dokufest Kosovo, DR Sales, e u R O P E doconsultancy, Fifth Season, Film Harbour, Finnish Film Foundation, INDOX Films, Java Films, Lightdox, Met Film Sales, Nordisk Panorama, POV, S4C, Sarajevo International Film Festival, SBS, Screen Ireland, Sundance Film Festival, SVT, Swedish Film Institute, SWR, TG4, Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, True/False, and Wildcard Distribution
The Docs Ireland Marketplace is an opportunity for filmmakers to meet with leading international documentary industry decision makers, including international funders, broadcasters, distributors and exhibitors on a one to one basis. It is the only marketplace dedicated to documentary on the island of Ireland, providing an opportunity for filmmakers to pitch their project through carefully matched meetings organised by the Docs Ireland team.
This year the festival will introduce the pilot of the ‘Doc-Shop’ section of the marketplace, which will invite a selection of new films screening at Docs Ireland 2024 that are seeking for sales & distribution to meet with buyers. These projects stand alongside the selection chosen from our open application process and by our festival partners Doc Society and East Doc Platform, as well as our IGNITE-Docs Talent Development programme projects.
The full list of selected projects are:
Abaas
Director/Producer: Alice McDowell
Executive Producer: Peadar King
Republic of Ireland
After arriving in Ireland stowed beneath a truck, a Sudanese refugee competes for the opportunity to represent Ireland in athletics.
Aida
Director: Peadar Ó Goill
Producer: Ainle Ó Cairealláin
Northern Ireland
A story of resilience in the most tear-gassed place on earth.
Participating as part of the IGNITE-Docs Talent Development Programme
All the Lovely Animals
Director: Kathleen Harris
Producer: Ross Whitaker
Republic of Ireland
Three determined women devote their lives to rescuing abused animals from across Ireland – a harrowing, heartwarming and, at times, hilarious task that makes us wonder: what is an animal?
Amanda
Director: José Miguel Jimenez
Republic of Ireland
Amanda intimately explores Irish painter Amanda Cullen’s life, from teenage institutionalisation to her transformative journey through art-making. The film is a visually immersive, non-linear diary, which crafts a portrait of the artist’s resilience
Participating as part of the IGNITE-Docs Talent Development Programme
Anam Na Mara (Soul of the Sea)
Director: Gav Fitzgerald
Producer: Ken Wardrop
Republic of Ireland
The ultra-competitive world of ‘currach-racing’ along with the Irish west coast, a hardened
community are rowing for more than medals.
Big in Gazi Baba
Director: Pauline Blanchet
Producer: Avdi Thachi , Jan Dunn & James Collie
Macedonia/United Kingdom
Log line: As a 14-year-old wrestling champion, Sadije is the only girl in her Skopje club and the lone Albanian on the National Macedonian team. Facing significant cultural and social obstacles, how will she forge her identity in environments that test both her gender and ethnic backgrounds?
Selected by Docs Ireland Festival Partner East Doc Platform
Burkitt
Director: Éanna Mac Cana
Producer: Chris Kelly
Northern Ireland
A documentary exploring the life of Irish surgeon Denis Burkitt, who discovered Burkitt’s lymphoma, as told by a survivor of this cancer.
Participating as part of the Docs Ireland Doc-shop
Canine
Director: Paul Webster
Producer: Brian Willis
Republic of Ireland
As time runs out for the Black Rhino in South Africa, Rory, an elite dog trainer in Cork trains specialist anti-poaching dogs for delivery to Niall another Irishman, a conservationist working on the frontline.
Participating as part of the IGNITE Documentary Talent Development Programme
Dancing in Corsica
Director: Julie Bonan
Producers: Jean-Pierre Alessandri, Jeremiah Cullinane
France/Greece/Republic of Ireland
While rehearsing Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa in a Corsican village, an amateur theatre
company discovers links with rural Donegal.
Don’t Forget to Remember
Director: Ross Killeen
Producer: Louise Byrne
Republic of Ireland
Don’t Forget to Remember follows the artist, Asbestos as he learns to cope with his mother’s fading memories. While the memories are fragile, the essence of their bond remains steadfast.
From the Back of the Room
Director: Peter O’Brien
Producer: Louise Byrne, Ross Killeen
Republic of Ireland
Through a treasure trove of personal unreleased live recordings, a sound engineer rediscovers the magic of his time with legendary folk band, The Dubliners, revealing a story of lifelong friendship, memories of the road, a musical legacy and the power of sound to transcend time and space.
Flight from Gaza
Directors: Garry Keane, Stephen Gerard Kelly
Producer: Brendan J. Byrne
Co- Producer : Alison Toomey
Northern Ireland / Republic of Ireland
From the makers of Gaza and In the Shadow of Beirut, Flight From Gaza follows the lives of families forced to flee their homeland after Israel’s response to the Oct 7th Hamas attack, causing the loss of over 30,000 innocent lives.
Hollywood Trailblazer
Director: Jim McMorrow
Director/Producer: Margaret McGoldrick
Northern Ireland
The movies you know, the woman you don’t.
Horse/Woman
Director/Producer: Lizzie MacKenzie
Producer: Emily Copley
United Kingdom
Lucy, a rebellious 80-year-old horse-scientist flees to the Siberian Steppes to make peace with her struggles in the human world.
Horsemeat
Director: Ross Whitaker
Producer: Jean Devlin
Republic of Ireland
This is the story of the biggest food fraud of the century – the horsemeat scandal of 2013.
If These Stones Could TalkDirector: Hana EliasProducer: Asmahan BkeratJordan / PalestineAfter 50 years in NYC, Nassib returns to his Palestinian hometown. His daughter, Hana, documents their quest of return.Jackie & Coco
Director: Gerard Walsh
Producer: Alex Fegan
Republic of Ireland
A grieving mother changes the law across Europe in respect of online bullying following the tragic death of beloved daughter.
Jamie Griffin: Merlin Twist
Director: Nathan Griffin
Republic of Ireland
An isolated yet ingenious teen skater in rural Ireland uses social media to propel himself from tricks in his cramped country shed to winning one of skateboarding’s biggest tournaments.
Participating as part of the IGNITE-Docs Talent Development Programme
Life of Tipu
Director: Bob Gallagher
Producers: David Clarke, Jeanie Igoe
Republic of Ireland
When acclaimed Irish painter Salvatore of Lucan discovers his absent father and mixed Bangladeshi heritage, a mysterious odyssey ensues, blending fact, fiction, and paint.
Love Letters
Director : Daniel Cook
Producers: James Heath, Marcy Paterson
United Kingdom
Love Letters is an intimate documentary that captures the daily ongoings in the historical fishing village of Gardenstown. At the heart lies Juliet and Bubbles and their eclectic extended family and friends. This film will document their resilience, joy, and profound connection to community in a lyrical exploration of human experiences.
Selected by Docs Ireland Festival Partner Doc Society
My Friend Lanre
Director: Leo Regan
Producer: Mary Carson
United Kingdom / Ireland
Drawing upon candid archive footage and no-holds-barred interviews with the controversial artist himself, My Friend Lanre paints an illuminatingly honest portrait of the life and death of maverick photographer Lanre Fehintola.
Participating as part of the Docs Ireland Doc-Shop
One Inch Eastward
Director: Irina Maldea
Producers: Brendan Culleton, Ralitsa Golemanova
Republic of Ireland / Bulgaria
How the post-Cold War dream of peace was shattered in the decade after 1989.
Last Night at Juniors Place
Directors: Patrick Bodenham, Pablo Correa
Producer: Chris Kelly
Northern Ireland
Who has the right to tell your story?
Our Lady Rebecca
Director: Nicky Larkin
Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland
From celebrity stylist at the Eurovision to heroin-addicted sex-worker in Soho, Rebecca Tallon DeHavilland was Ireland’s first trans person. Ireland never forgave her for it.
Participating as part of the IGNITE-Docs Talent Development Programme
Seamus Ennis: The Last Notes of an Era
Director: Feilimí O’Connor
Producer: Aisling Ni Fhlaithearta
Republic of Ireland
“Embark on a captivating journey into the heart of Irish music in ‘Seamus Ennis: The Last Notes of an Era.’ This biographical documentary explores the extraordinary life of Seamus Ennis, the ‘Godfather of Irish Music,’ whose quest to preserve tradition during the Second World War era shaped global musical landscapes.
Participating as part of the IGNITE-Docs Talent Development Programme
Silence of the Lams
Director: Ciaran Deeney
Producer: David Clarke
Republic of Ireland
‘A curry-war breaks out in a tight-knit community when a son opens up a Chinese takeaway right next door to his dad’s own establishment’.
Slane
Director: Garret Daly
Producer: Martina McGlynn
Republic of Ireland
An up-close portrait exploring 40 years of rock n’ roll at the iconic venue Slane Castle, a natural amphitheatre by the banks of the River Boyne and home to the best loved concert series Ireland has ever seen.
Participating as part of the IGNITE-Docs Talent Development Programme
Teta Ida
Director/Producer: Beta Bajgart
Producer: Jaro Waldeck
Czech Republic/Republic of Ireland
Despite their community’s scepticism, children from Roma slums join Ida’s famous choir, hoping to perform with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Amber Isle
Director/Producer: Adam Park
Producer: Daniel Hegarty
United Kingdom/Republic of Ireland
The Amber Isle is an alternative travelogue around Ireland, discovering a country and its culture through its spirits and drinking rituals.
The Commemoration
Director: Chris Nikkel
Producer: Frankie Fenton, Kathryn Kennedy
Canada/Republic of Ireland
A town plans a 200th commemoration of its founding by Irish settlers. Displaced First Nation will too. As a tragedy.
The Day of Trees
Director: Alan Gilsenan
Producer: Tomas Hardiman
Republic of Ireland
In this award-winning, highly original feature documentary, a middle-aged film producer, embarks on a journey of discovery into his childhood….
Participating as part of the Docs Ireland Doc-Shop
The Human Touch
Directors: Jonny Madderson, Jono Stevens
Producer: Gráinne Dwyer
Republic of Ireland
The untold story of John and Pat Hume is shared by those who knew them best, offering real-world inspiration for the next generation of peacemakers.
The Light Pours Out of Me
Director: Paul Sng
Producers: Nicola Black, Clare Stronge
United Kingdom
The Light Pours Out of Me celebrates Scottish guitar legend John McGeoch (Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Public Image Ltd) a unique musical visionary who defined the post-punk sound but whose story is untold – until now.
The Sperm King
Directors: Daire Collins, Mark Napier
Producer: Michael Mallie
Republic of Ireland
One man dreams to save the world’s wildlife from mass extinction by creating a modern day Noah’s ark.
Witness to the Witness
Director/Producer: Paul McGuigan
Northern Ireland
The story of a derelict farm in Northern Ireland which became a sanctuary for Jewish children fleeing Nazi atrocities in Europe.
