Ardán and RTÉ are delighted to announce Little B*tch as the recipient of the 2024-2025 Ardán/ RTÉ Short Film Commission – awarded €15,000 to fund a live action 10-minute short film. 

There were 50 applications received from all over the country which were all assessed by independent readers, and five of those projects were invited to interview in Galway. A panel of industry experts hosted the interviews and chose Little B*tch as the recipient of the award. 

Little B*tch is a comedy about a 12-year-old girl, who entices a substitute teacher to confront her parents to establish what constitutes neglect, after her Christmas and birthday wishes are ignored. The team behind Little B*tch are Writer Niamh O’Connor, Director Sinead O’Brien, and Producer Kira Fitzpatrick. As part of the commission, the team will receive mentorship for directing, producing, and script development.  

The Ardán/ RTÉ Short Film Commission, now in its 33rd year, also offers the opportunity for the awarded short film to be broadcast on RTÉ 2 Shortscreen and to feature on the RTÉ Player. 

Meet The Team 

Producer: Kira Fitzpatrick 

Kira Fitzpatrick is an award-winning Irish producer, working across both short and feature films. 

As a producer, Kira is interested in strong, story-driven narratives about relatable life events told in unusual, unexpected ways. Kira’s previous work has been nominated for an IFTA award for Best Short Film, and she is both an EDA Ireland Producer of the Year nominee and an Edinburgh Film Festival Talent Lab delegate. Kira was an inaugural producer mentee for the Screen Skills Ireland mentorship scheme. 

Director: Sinead O’Brien 

Sinead O’Brien is an award-winning producer, director, writer and non-fiction author with a career that has spanned over twenty-five years. In 2024 Sinead began concentrating her efforts in writing and directing drama. This includes directing a DLR First Frames short film, being a finalist for RTE’s Storyland 2024, a finalist for The Stowe Connemara Lab 2024 and completing an MA in Screenwriting for Film and TV at IADT. 

Writer: Niamh O’Connor 

Niamh O’Connor was the True Crime editor of the Sunday World newspaper for over a decade before becoming a screenwriter. She was made a Lord David Puttnam scholar in 2021. Niamh has been a finalist in the BBC Writersroom (drama) competition, The Writers Lab (UK & Irl) competition, Final Draft, Big Break competition and The Bigfoot Script challenge. She is the author of seven crime novels and nonfiction books and has been nominated three times for an Irish Book Award. 

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We look forward to following the team as they take their script to the screen. Follow Ardán on social media and subscribe to our monthly newsletter to keep up to date on our initiatives.