Catalyst International Film Festival returns for its 6th edition from April 3 to 5

The 6th Catalyst International Film Festival presents a film programme that prioritises stories and storytellers currently under-represented on screen and behind the camera.

The 6th Catalyst International Film Festival will present films, panel discussions, workshops and networking events in venues across the city 3rd -5th April

Based in Limerick, Catalyst International Film Festival will host the 6th edition of the festival presenting films, panel discussions, workshops and networking events in venues across the city 3rd -5th April.

Catalyst International Film Festival presents a film programme that prioritises stories and storytellers currently under-represented on screen and behind the camera. Its ambassador is Limerick native  Academy Award© and Tony Award nominee Ruth Negga.

Dr Susan Liddy, festival founder and director, said, “The festival has gone from strength since our launch in 2020 – its wonderful to be announcing our 6th programme!  We have an action packed few days and I’m particularly proud to present the world premiere of ‘Boobs’, which was awarded the inaugural Short Documentary Bursary Award last year and will be one of the closing films of the festival. Championing diversity and inclusion behind and in front of the camera, a key part of Catalyst’s mission, ‘Boobs’ is a bold and deeply intimate short documentary that reclaims the narrative around representation of women’s bodies.”

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The 6th Catalyst International Film Fetsival will present a full programme for students on Thursday 3rd April which centres on instilling an awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of filmmaking.  It includes an Interactive Masterclass in the Art of Shooting a Scene with Award-Winning Director Nell Hensey, Videographer & Editor Orlaith Martin, and Actor Síofra Ní Eilí.

The selection of short films curated especially for younger audiences are examples of excellence in short filmmaking and meet our equality, diversity and inclusion criteria. The day will include with a Meet the Industry panel and Q+A with participants representing different careers in the screen industries. They will discuss their role, their working lives and share with students their journey from school to set to screen.

An exclusive screening of this year’s first NextGen Perspectives Outreach Programme of short films, again focused on creating an aware of diversity and inclusion, will conclude the day with the NextGen Perspectives Award presentation to the winning school.

Catalyst Lab for Emerging Screenwriters  4th April – 6th April

Catalyst is proud to introduce the inaugural Lab for Emerging Screenwriters, with support from Coimisiún na Meán, which will take place over two days. 10 promising screenwriters who had previously entered the Catalyst Short Screenplay Award were selected for this opportunity. The will join script editors Lena Byrne and Sam Atwell visiting producers Fiona Kinsella and Leeona Duff and facilitator Jennifer Davidson (Chair Writers Guild of Ireland ) for an immersive two day focus on polishing their work and getting it screen- ready, forging links in the industry, creating a writing community, learning from successful career stories and developing the qualities necessary to thrive as a screenwriter in a competitive industry.

Festival Director , Dr Susan Liddy said, “We are delighted to be able to offer this exciting opportunity to emerging screenwriters. Our thanks to Coimisiún na Meán for supporting this inaugural initiative. Too often, promising voices are not identified or supported. As a result, potential talent isn’t developed and can fall off the radar resulting in a loss of authentic voices and fresh stories. Catalyst is taking the first step towards changing that”.

Short Film Programme 4th – 5th April

The Festival will present an exhilarating slate of documentary shorts, International shorts (Friday 4th April) Irish shorts and a family friendly programme (Saturday 5th) at the Belltable curated by our French/Tunisian live action programmer, Celine Roustan, and our documentary programmer, filmmaker Vanessa Gildea.

This year’s short documentary programme pays tribute to the power of personal testimony as a force for change and shines a light on the audacity of the human spirit. These films reveal the people behind the creative and personal struggle to be seen, to be heard and to be accepted. The filmmakers combine craft, visual poetry and sensitivity of approach to bring us the beautiful diversity of existence.

Seven films comprise this year’s international shorts programme and spotlight a diversity of narrative and directorial voice. From North America to Europe these stories feature characters that have often been overlooked on screen or whose perspective are rarely captured with authenticity. These different experiences are brought to the screen through different lenses and styles, with elaborate settings for some and very simple ones for others. All have an immersive quality that gives the viewer an opportunity to experience life through the protagonists’ eyes. Diverse in terms of storytelling, this program is also diverse tonally, with dark comedy, satire, psychological thriller and one animation film.

The two programmes of Irish short films in this year’s line-up are a true testament to the diversity of directorial voices and screenwriting talent that Irish cinema has to offer. From genre to romcom, from social drama to satire all convey powerful narratives and protagonists whose stories are often not seen on screen. Curated as an emotional ride, the selected films use the cinematic medium differently to tackle their characters’ conflicts. Heart- warming for some, thought-provoking for others, all are deeply engaging and compelling and provide an authentic insight into the different experiences of each of the main characters.

Shaping the Future in Screenwriting: Industry Day on Friday 4th April

The festival is dedicated to supporting and championing screenwriters; particularly those from under-represented groups or who write authentically about underrepresented communities.  In collaboration with the National Talent Academy for Film and TV Drama and with the support of the Writers Guild of Ireland, Catalyst is delighted to present Shaping the Future in Screenwriting: Industry Day on Friday 4th April, celebrating the importance of screenwriting as a craft and art form.  The day will include a range of panels, interviews, Q&As, and workshops on pitching and writing short films.

Recognising the pivotal role of screenwriting in diversifying the industry and promoting diverse representation, this dedicated industry day will showcase the importance of facilitating authentic stories as the initial and most crucial step in creating dynamic, diverse screenplays and characters. Guests include Jade Jordan, Actor (You Are Not My Mother; Kin; Blackshore), Jimmy Smallhorne, Actor and Screenwriter (The Miracle Club; Love/Hate; Taken Down), Sinead Collopy, Screenwriter (Smother; Hidden Assets; Every Five Miles), Jennifer Davidson, Screenwriter and Chair, Writers Guild of Ireland and Lena Byrne, Script Editor.

On Friday 4 April Catalyst is delighted to welcome multi award winning writer and director Paul Fraser for an unmissable Masterclass in which he will discuss the craft of screenwriting, his collaboration with Shane Meadows, and his upcoming film Saipan.

Saturday afternoon sees Raising Films Ireland and screen practitioners exploring barriers to entering and remaining in the Irish screen industries because of parenting and caring responsibilities . Panellists include Ailish Bracken (producer & Chair Raising Film Ireland), Michele Navarro (Costume), Aisling Malone ( Raising Films & creative producer) and Tara Doolan (Honest Arts) who explores a solution orientated case study.
Jaro Waldeck, (Director of Photography, leads a discussion on locating and training a more inclusive crew to work in the Irish industry.

This is followed by a Documentary panel discussing the power of documentary to be a challenging force and, importantly for Catalyst, a potential way for new voices to break through and be heard. Speakers include Ciaran Cassidy ( Housewife of the Year; The Last Days of Peter Bergman); Sinead O ‘Brien (Blood Fruit; The Two Killings of George Nkencho) ; Vanessa Gildea  (The 34th ) and Catalyst Short Documentary 2024 winner, Nicola Leddy (Boobs)

The festival is excited to screen two acclaimed features Fréwaka (Friday 4th April )  and Housewife  of the Year (Saturday 5th April ). The festival is delighted to welcome members of the cast and crew including Aislinn Clarke (dir. Fréwaka) and Ciaran Cassidy (dir. Housewife of the Year and The Last Days of Peter Bergmann) and Jaro Waldeck ( co-DOP on Housewife of the Year.

Filmmaker Aislinn Clarke’s (THE DEVIL’S DOORWAY) Irish-language sophomore feature firmly establishes her as a master of horror, as she deftly mines Irish history and folklore to craft a deeply unsettling and utterly terrifying story of generational trauma.  Official Selection, 2024 AFI European Union Film Showcase, Locarno and London Film Festivals.  Haunted by personal tragedy, home care worker, Shoo, is sent to a remote village to care for an agoraphobic woman who fears the neighbours as much as she fears Na Sidhe–sinister entities who she believes abducted her decades before. As the two develop a strangely deep connection, Shoo is consumed by the old woman’s paranoia, rituals, and superstitions, eventually confronting the horrors from her own past.

Housewife of The Year (Documentary, 2024, 1hr 21mins, Director Ciaran Cassidy) HOUSEWIFE OF THE YEAR tells the story of Ireland’s treatment of women through the prism of a unique, surreal, live televised competition, that has to be seen to be believed, where a generation of Irish women competed in front of a live audience for the title of ‘Housewife of the Year’. The former contestants share their direct experiences of marriage bars, lack of contraception, Magdalene laundries, financial vulnerability, boredom and shame and of course, of being contestants in the competition. It is a poignant, often hilarious, uplifting story of a resilient generation of women and how they changed a country. As part of Catalyst’s 2025 Outreach Programme Housewife of the Year will be subtitled in Ukrainian.

Prior to the closing film, Housewife of the Year, Catalyst is thrilled to present the world premiere of the short documentary film ‘Boobs’ recipient of the inaugural €10,000 Catalyst International Film Festival Bursary in 2024. Directed by Nicola Leddy and produced by Anna Rodgers and Zlata Filipović of Invisible Thread Films this vital funding facilitated bringing this powerful vision to life, allowing the film to champion underrepresented women at its core. From cinematography (Alba Fernandez)  to music (Æ MAK) and editing (Gráine Creighton), the project highlights the importance of women’s voices in shaping narratives that authentically reflect their experiences.

This year’s Award categories 2025 will be presented across the festival with the various categories below including National Student Film Award (€1000) in association with TUS Digital Arts and Media Department, Limerick, designed to recognize and celebrate the work of emerging student filmmakers from across the country.

The Catalyst Short Documentary Bursary Award, 2025 is open to emerging filmmakers. The successful applicant will be awarded €10,000 to support the making of a short documentary. Filmmaking teams should incorporate people from diverse backgrounds and aim for a gender balance in the following three areas: on-screen representation, story content and diversity behind the camera. Thematically, we at Catalyst expect the film to creatively explore some aspect/aspects of equality, diversity and inclusion in Ireland. At least one paid internship must be available for a member of a group traditionally underrepresented in the screen industries.

Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed on Sat 5 April by three experienced practitioners: documentary filmmaker Sinead O’Brien, Ciaran Cassidy and Vanessa Gildea. The recipient of the bursary will be announced at the Awards Reception in the Belltable later that evening.

Award categories are Best Irish Short Film; Best International Short Film; Best Documentary Short Film; First Time Filmmaker Award; National Student Film Award; Short Screenplay Award; and the Catalyst International Film Festival Short Documentary Award Bursary.

The calibre of Catalyst judges and their willingness to become involved in the festival is testament to its growing reputation and this year includes Kirsten Sheridan, Richie Conroy, Neasa Hardiman, Melanie Iredale, Cara Holmes, Ruth Meehan and Kwaku Fortune.

Catalyst International Film Festival will run from 3rd-5th April across Limerick City. Full programme and tickets available for the 6th Catalyst International Film Festival on the festival website.