Film Ireland Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this Film Ireland Podcast, supported by Screen Ireland, we’re delighted to be chatting once again with director, screenwriter and novelist John Butler.

John is behind the popular feature films The Stag, Handsome Devil and Papi Chulo, and was a writer and second director on Stephen Merchant’s The Outlaws for BBC One and Amazon Studios. His latest series, These Sacred Vows, is now airing on RTÉ, with the first two episodes available to watch on the RTÉ Player, and episode three airing at 9.30pm this Sunday on RTÉ One.

This episode has been made possible with the support of the Screen Ireland Stakeholders Fund.

Secrets of love, lies, and betrayal unravel at an Irish wedding in Tenerife after the body of a priest is found floating face-down in the swimming pool of the young guests' villa.

John Butler Biography

John is a novelist and an RTS and IFTA award-winning director and writer for TV and film. He wrote on and directed Stephen Merchant’s “The Outlaws” (BBC/Amazon), starring Christopher Walken, Darren Boyd and Eleanor Tomlinson In 2019, “Papi Chulo” (which John wrote and directed) premiered as special presentation at TIFF. Other premieres included DIFF19 (Dublin), TFF (Torino), Palm Springs, LFF (London), BFI Flare, Guadalajara, Glasgow, Prague and Sydney. Prior to that, John wrote and directed “Handsome Devil”, which sold to Netflix worldwide and picked up awards including the DIFF Critic’s Circle Award, the Miami Film Festival audience award and best drama at the Celtic Film and TV Festival. In 2014, John directed and co-wrote “The Stag” which premiered at TIFF, TriBeCa, Turin and elsewhere. In 2012, John’s debut novel “The Tenderloin” was published by Picador and shortlisted at the Irish Book Awards. John’s other writing has appeared in Esquire magazine, The Irish Times, The Dublin Review, The San Francisco Chronicle, FilmMaker magazine, Shot List, and on NPR.

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Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Film Ireland Podcast, we are delighted to welcome a very special guest host, Mark Hernandez. He will be speaking with Emmy-winning filmmaker Marissa Aroy, discussing her inspiration, career and creative processes. 

Marissa’s short film Recipe is screening at Imbolg: Women Who Terrify on 31st January, while her latest short film, The Parting (funded by the National Talent Academies), is about to have its world premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival on 20th February.

Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.

Marissa Aroy

Marissa is an award-winning filmmaker whose work spans over two decades in documentary storytelling. She received an Emmy for her PBS documentary Sikhs in America and an Emmy nomination for The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farm Workers, which highlights the critical yet overlooked role of Filipinos in the American labour movement. A Fulbright Scholar, Aroy was honoured with the inaugural Hatsuye Yamasaki Award for Visionary Leadership by the College of William and Mary, where she also served as the Asian Centennial Distinguished Film Fellow in Residence.

Her work extends beyond filmmaking to teaching and mentorship, having taught film at Trinity College Dublin, Berkeley City College, and The New School in New York, and now teaching New Media Studies at IADT in Dún Laoghaire. She has also contributed to Irish cinema through her leadership roles with Irish Screen America, the San Francisco Irish Film Festival, and as a board member of Women in Film and Television Ireland. She served as producer on the award-winning short film The Ferry that was shown on RTÉ and long-listed for the Oscars. Aroy’s projects reflect her commitment to amplifying marginalised voices and cultural heritage. She was commissioned by the Smithsonian Museum of American History in the US to create short films for the exhibition “How Can You Forget Me: Filipino American Stories.”

Her short film Recipe, previously titled (Losing Cock/Talunang Manok), is a suspenseful short film shot in the Philippines and edited by award-winning editor John Murphy (The Quiet Girl). This film will be shown at Imbolg: Women Who Terrify film festival, in Strand C at 2.30 pm on Saturday 31st January at Griffith College. She has another short film called The Parting that she directed, which will be in the Dublin International Film Festival on 20th February. She is currently working on another short film called Birthday Swim, for which she received funding from Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown’s First Frames.

Now based in Wicklow, Ireland, with her husband and filmmaking partner Niall McKay, Aroy continues to develop independent projects including the radio drama The Morrigan, a fictional radio drama about Ella Young that combines fantasy and history in early 20th century Ireland, which was broadcast on Dublin FM. They are also developing a historical documentary on the Philippine-American War. Her work reflects her passion for storytelling that bridges her Filipino, Irish and American identities. “I want someone to see our brown faces on the screen or behind the scenes and feel proud of who we are as a people,” she says, underscoring her dedication to creating art that inspires, entertains and empowers.

Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Film Ireland Podcast, we’re shining a spotlight on the Dublin International Comedy Film Festival (DICFF), which returns for its sixth edition from 27th - 30th November, to Tailors’ Hall, The Liberties.

First up, festival director Mo O’Connell talks through this year’s jam-packed programme.

Then we have a live recording from the first heat of the DICFF stand-up competition, held earlier this year in collaboration with Culture 8 and the Dublin Liberties Distillery.

Finally, Film Ireland contributor Rachel Melita is in conversation with actor, writer, and filmmaker Laoisa Sexton. Laoisa’s short I Can't Go On screens as part of Shorts Block F on Friday, 29th November.

Listen to this podcast now on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Soundcloud, Acast or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode has been made possible with the support of Coimisiún na Meán and the Screen Ireland Stakeholder’s Scheme.

As Mo mentions in the podcast, here is the GoFundMe link to support Haneen Koraz, as she empowers the children of Gaza through art. 

Here's the link to support Aisling & her three boys, Ted, Sonny & Max. 

The festival is the brainchild of Maureen “Mo” O’Connell, an award-winning actor, writer, director, and producer. Mo is co-producer on the dramedy Horseshoe, which will be released in cinemas this December. The filmmaking duo behind Horseshoe first met Mo through DICFF, after submitting their short to the festival.

Mo’s own debut comedy feature, Spa Weekend, has been a hit both at home and internationally, screening at festivals across the UK, Europe, the US, Canada, and Ireland. It won the ‘She Is On Fire’ Award at the Female Filmmakers Festival in Berlin. She has also received multiple awards for directing shorts including Haven, Bruise, and Hum.

Mo is the founder and head of the multi–award-winning company 3 Hot Whiskeys Productions Ltd., and was recently nominated for the TU Dublin TrailblazHer Awards in the Future Leader 2025 category.

Laoisa is an actress, writer and filmmaker originally from County Clare. She won a green card in school lotto which took her to study drama in New York City. Onstage, she has worked extensively in prominent Off Broadway theaters including Irish Repertory Theater (where she is a company member), Irish Arts Center, Labyrinth, The Actor's Studio, Symphony Space, 59E59 and more. She has also appeared in prestigious regional theaters across the US amongst them The Guthrie, Minneapolis and Studio Theater, Washington DC. She wrote and performed three of her own plays, all of them received Off Broadway productions in New York: For Love and The Last Days of Cleopatra (both received 5* NY Times Critics Picks), and The Pigeon in The Taj Mahal with further productions in Ireland and Canada. Her fourth play Blessed Art Thou Amongst Women received the Agility Award from the Arts Council.Laoisa has appeared in many independent films and TV appearances in the US and Ireland.  Laoisa wrote, acted and directed the short films- I didn’t... I wasn’t ...I amn’t, featuring veteran Irish actor Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones) . The film premiered at Cork International Film Festival and picked up multiple awards internationally, and was nominated for a ZEBBIE Award by the Writer's Guild. The Lucky Man premiered at Galway Film Fleadh and won multiple awards at Bafta recognized LOCO London Comedy Film Festival picking up Best Short, Best Script and Best Actor in 2023, and was broadcast on RTE ShortScreen. Laoisa received Screen Ireland funding for her third short film I Can't Go On which premiered at Galway Film Fleadh. Laoisa is represented by RBM Actors in London. 

This year’s line-up includes over 50 comedy films, sketches, live stand-up, script readings, Q&As, competitions, and a brilliant final awards ceremony. Explore the full programme at dublininternationalcomedyfilmfest.com or buy your festival pass here.

Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast, Gemma Creagh talks to Michael Kinirons, Writer/Director and Alicia Ní Ghráinne, Producer of ‘The Sparrow’.

Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.

In cinemas from 5th July 2024.

Starring: Ollie West, David O’Hara, Éanna Hardwicke, Aisling O’Sullivan, Isabelle Connolly, Dara Devaney and Mark O’Halloran 

Wild teen Kevin Coyle grapples with guilt over a deadly secret. As his world unravels and consequences mount, Kevin is pushed to confront the truth in a heart-wrenching climax that will change him forever.

AWARDS 

• Best First Irish Feature, 34th Galway Film Fleadh
• Punto Enuentro Audience Award, Seminici Film Festival, Valladolid
• Best Sound, IFTA winner
• Best Lead Actor, Ollie West IFTA nominee

Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland in association with RTÉ and Coimisiún na Meán / Broadcasting Authority of Ireland

Michael Kinirons is an Irish screenwriter and director. He studied, amongst other places, at the National Film and Television School, (NFTS) London and the Torino Film Lab, and is an alumnus of the Berlin Talent Campus. His first produced feature as screenwriter - STRANGERLAND (an Australian set mystery drama starring NICOLE KIDMAN, HUGO WEAVING and JOE FIENNES) had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2015.

In 2022, Michael made THE SPARROW, his debut film as writer/director. The film won Best First Feature at the Galway Film Fleadh, the audience award at Seminci FF, Valladolid and went on to win an IFTA. Kinirons’ short films have mostly been funded through Screen Ireland and have had successful runs on the international festival circuit with LOWLAND FELL winning the Special Jury Prize at the Seattle Int’l Film Festival in 2009 among other awards.

Producer, writer, and director Alicia Ní Ghráinne is founder and CEO of Tiger Darling since 2016. She has produced four shorts and two features: The Sparrow (2022) and Five and a Half Love Stories in an Apartment in Vilnius (2023), a Lithuanian-Latvian co-production. Both features won European awards, including Best First Feature at Galway Film Fleadh and Best Film in The Rebel With a Cause section at Black Nights, Tallinn. Alicia is developing a slate for 2024/25 and was selected for the Rotterdam Film Lab 2024.

Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.