Galway City of Film, led by Ardán, and supported by Galway City Council, Galway County Council, and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media are launching an Irish Language Mentorship Scheme for 2023.

The aim of this scheme is to support both ENTRY and EMERGING talent as they work on a project and/or work to further their career and personal development as Irish language filmmakers in Ireland. 

This scheme is aimed at two different participant talent levels and filmmakers. Including those looking to begin their career in Irish Language live action and documentary filmmaking and those looking to further their career in this field.  

To find which would suit you best, read more about each of these two strands and applicant requirements below. 

New and Entry Talent Mentorship  

This mentorship scheme is aimed at new and entry level talent who are just starting out and/or are early in their careers within live-action Irish Language short filmmaking.  

We welcome talent who are pivoting from their current work into working in Irish, and/or talent with a demonstrable passion for filmmaking, that wish to avail of peer mentoring in Irish. 

Mentors 

Our first mentor for new and entry talent is filmmaker Mairéad Ní Thréinir (Cumasc; Seisiúin sa Black Gate, Éire Eile) and the second mentor is director Daniel Butler (Céim Eile, Conriochtaí).

Read the full bios below!  

Who can apply?

Applicants for this scheme must: 

• Be creative and self-driven individuals hoping to start a career in Irish language filmmaking  
• Be willing to use this mentorship to help them in the making of a film or in their own personal development as filmmakers. 
• Be over 18 years old and not currently enrolled in education. 
• Be from, based in, or working in Galway City or County. 
• Be capable of working professionally in Irish. (For your creative projects to be in Irish is not enough, you must also use Irish as your primary on-set language.)

No previous production experience is necessary, but applicants will be asked to provide a personal statement that supports the above requirements. 

Developing Talent Documentary Mentorship 

Talent working in the film and/or TV industry as a writer, director, producer or as a crew member who has an Irish Language short Documentary in development or emerging talent who wish to concentrate on their career development and skills as an emerging Irish Language Documentary Filmmaker. 

Mentors 

Our first mentor for developing talent is filmmaker Rachel Moriarty (Roise & Frank, Traders) and the second mentor is director and producer Luke McManus (North Circular, Crainn na hÉireann).

Read the full bios below! 

Who can apply?

Applicants for this scheme must: 

• Have made at least one and no more than four, Irish language production to date.
  OR 
• Be working and established Crew who is actively transitioning into writing, directing or producing Irish language Documentaries. 
• Must be over 18 years old and not currently enrolled in education. 
• Be from, based in, or working in Galway City or County. 
• Must be capable of working professionally in Irish. (For your creative projects to be in Irish is not enough, you must also use Irish as your primary on-set language.) 

Applicants will be asked to provide a personal statements & CV that support the above requirements. 

How to apply

Please send applications for this scheme to admin@ardan.ie by the deadline of 5pm, October 2nd, 2023, with the subject line ‘MENTORSHIP – EMERGING’ or ‘MENTORSHIP – DEVELOPING’ depending on which stream you want to apply for. 

Applications should come with: 

• An up-to-date CV
• A personal statement explaining why this scheme would benefit you. (500 words or less). (up to 2 pages MAX or filmed statement of up to 3 minutes)   
• Links to any relevant previous work 

Selection Process 

The applications will be assessed by a panel which will include representatives of Ardán and independent assessors.  

Further Information 

The structure of the mentorships, in terms of locations, dates, number of sessions and online verse in-person, will be flexible depending on the mentor and mentee requirements and needs.  

For more information on the mentorships contact admin@ardan.ie  

Subscribe to the Ardán newsletter and follow us on social media at Ardán and Galway City of Film for further updates on opportunities.

Daniel Butler 

Daniel is an Irish-speaking director from the Donegal Gaeltacht who has won awards for his work in both Irish and English. 

These awards include the LUMI award at the Belfast Film Festival for the RTÉ funded Leave The Road Behind You and ‘Best New Director’ at the Kinsale Shark Awards for his music videos for Irish-language rappers KNEECAP. 

His Irish-language short film Bean Feasa, inspired by Donegal folktales, received its World Premiere at LA’s Screamfest before winning ‘Best Irish Short Film’ at the Oscar-Qualifying Foyle Film Festival. 

Most recently, he has been nominated for a ‘Discovery Award’ at this year’s Dublin International Film Festival and been shortlisted for TG4’s Céim Eile TV Drama scheme with his Gaelic werewolf drama Conriochtaí (Cubs). 

Mairéad Ní Thréinir 

Mairéad Ní Thréinir is a Galway based documentary producer and director with over ten years’ experience across film and television. She has worked on stories that have inspired and informed audiences on BBC, Channel 4, TV3, TG4, and at film festivals worldwide. 

After studying in Galway, Mairéad built her career in Belfast where she completed NI Screen & the Irish Language Broadcast Fund’s Trainee Producer Scheme in 2015. She went on to produce hours of television with Below The Radar TV, including returning Irish language magazine series’ I Lár an Aonaigh and An Focal Scoir.  

Her first short documentary, Tit for Tatt, won the Best Short Documentary Award at the Galway Film Fleadh in 2017 and was then broadcast on BBC NI as part of their long running True North series. She then received her first hour-long documentary commission from TG4, Scéal na Beatha was subsequently nominated for a Celtic Media Award and an RTS NI Award. 

Luke McManus 

Luke McManus is an Irish director and producer based in Dublin. He has directed numerous award-winning projects for NBC, Netflix, RTE, TG4, Virgin Media TV, TV3, Al Jazeera, the Irish Film Board and Channel 4 – winning four IFTAs, one Celtic Media Award and the Radharc Award in the process. 

Directing credits include North Circular, Stories From The Street, Jump Girls, I Am Immigrant, Crainn na hÉireann, Jump Boys, Arkle, Making a Museum: The Story of MoLI, Dermot Bannon & The Big Build and Féile Dreams.  

Luke’s debut feature documentary as director, North Circular, screened at dozens of festivals across the world, winning eight awards in the process including the Grand Prix at FIPADOC and the American Cinematographer Award at Salem Film Festival. It ran for an unprecedented twenty weeks on its theatrical release in Ireland. 

His debut feature as producer was The Lonely Battle of Thomas Reid, which premiered in the Main Competition at IDFA in 2018, won the George Morrison Award for Best Feature Documentary at the Irish Film & Television Awards and the Best Irish Film Award at the Dublin International Film Festival. 

Rachel Moriarty 

Rachael Moriarty is a multi-award winning director in drama and documentary for film and television, previously winning an Irish Screen America award and two Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) awards for her work.  

Traders, a feature film which she co-wrote and co-directed was released in Irish cinemas in 2017, subsequently bought by HBO and took awards at festivals in Brussels, Belfast and LA. Her 2022 film Róise & Frank has won many awards such as the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2022, Winner Audience Award, Sonoma International Film Festival 2022 Winner Audience Award, Dublin International Film Festival, 2022, Best Ensemble Award , Stockholm City Film Festival, Best Feature Film, Best Director (Feature) and Best Actress (Feature) Paris Women Festival, 2022, Best Female Feature Film Writer.  

It was most recently winner of the Cambria Film Festival Audience Award, 2023. The film was nominated for 6 IFTAs in 2023, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Bríd Ní Neachtain won Best Actress for her lead role as Róise.