Docs Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen, in association with Yellowmoon Post Production, are offering a chance for new and emerging documentary makers to receive an award of up to £9,000 towards a pilot for a documentary feature. Established at Docs Ireland 2019, the Northern Ireland Screen Pitch is one of the festival’s flagstaff industry events and has ushered a wealth of non-fiction talent through the process of developing their feature documentaries.

This year the five selected projects are:

The Man Who Wanted to Save Beauty – dir. Loic Jourdain

Boris Deltchev, a renowned decorative artist, determined to preserve his expertise, decides to build a one-of-a-kind school in the Bulgarian mountains.

Secrets of the Lough – dir. John O’Rourke

Lough Neagh, the UK and Ireland’s largest lake, is dying in plain sight. Meet the community on its shores who are refusing to let it die on their watch.

Untitled Beat Carnival Project – dir. Colm Laverty

The history of how one carnival company carved out its own alternative culture bringing together fractured communities during The Troubles.

Loneliest Boy in the World – dir. Medb Johnstone

The island never leaves you. The last surviving evacuee from the Blasket Islands makes a final journey home.

Carving from the Soul: Stories of Two Master Wood Carvers – dir. Damian McElgunn

Two master carvers – an Irish currach builder and an Indigenous wood carver in Canada – preserve traditions through their craftsmanship.