Ardán and RTÉ are delighted to announce the return of the Ardán / RTÉ Short Film Commission Scheme.  The Scheme is an excellent opportunity for writers, directors and producers to apply for an award of up to €15,000 to produce a live action short film of up to 10 minutes which will screen on RTÉ 2 and feature on the RTÉ Player.

As Ireland’s longest running short film scheme, a host of talent have graduated and gone on to have hugely successful careers in the Irish and international film and television industry including David Freyne (Dating Amber), Virginia Gilbert (Silent Witness), Eimhear McMahon (You Were Never Really Here, I, Daniel Blake) and Diarmuid Goggins (Kin, Red Rock, Silent Witness).  The films have also featured many household names including Nora Jane Noone, Peter Coonan, Gerard McSorley, Ned Dennehy and Liam Cunningham.

The most recent short film from the commission is The Radio, produced by Evan Horan of Blinder Films and directed by Laura Kavanagh. Written by Thomas Conway, it stars Lalor Roddy (Grabbers, Hunger, The Devil’s Doorway, Game of Thrones).

For 2022, the scheme is open to teams which must include an individual writer, director and producer.

A writer, producer or director may be a part of up to two applications, but no writer/producer/director team or combination therein (writer/director, director/producer etc) can apply for two projects together.

Each application will be independently assessed, with up to six teams being invited to an interview to pitch their film to a panel.

One team will be selected with the successful candidates receiving mentorship and guidance from a host of experienced industry professionals, including one month of script development before pre-production commences. Recent mentors have included Dearbhla Walsh (Director), Hannah Connell – Moylan (Script Editor) and Katie Holly (Producer).

Ardán and RTÉ have once again partnered to provide this platform for emerging Irish talent.  RTÉ want to build on their previous drama successes and develop Irish owned IP and expand the commissioned drama for 2023 and beyond, increasing the volume of drama offered, and providing a range of shows with variety and tone that truly reflects the diversity of contemporary Ireland.

As a part of RTÉ’s drama expansion, Storyland is moving to RTÉ television for the first time which will entail three single 30 minute dramas being broadcast in the autumn of 2022. The ambition is to expand the drama catalogue in 2023 which will include Storyland plus 10 hours of newly commissioned drama ready from September 2023.

While the Ardán/RTÉ Short Film Commission is looking for a self-contained film with brought to life characters, it is also an opportunity to develop a character or characters capable of becoming recurring characters in an RTÉ TV Drama.

The deadline for receipt of applications is 3PM on Monday the 11th July 2022.

Full guidelines and information on how to apply are available here.

The online application form is available here.

For further information please email kenny@ardán.ie