Film Ireland Podcast

In partnership with RENDR Festival and supported by the National Talent Academy for VFX, we are delighted to present this very special speaker series.
Recorded live at RENDR 2026 in Banana Block, Belfast, we spoke with Belfast-born stand up, director, animator, and Associate Creative Director at BUCK, Jennifer Zheng.
Her BAFTA-nominated short film Tough – exploring the complexities of her and her mother’s cultural identities – has screened at over 80 international festivals, including Sundance and SXSW, and received 17 awards. Alongside her directorial work, Zheng has collaborated with global clients such as Netflix, Google DeepMind, Headspace, and The White Stripes.
Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.
https://www.filmireland.net/podcast-director-designer-animator-jennifer-zheng
This series of talks was recorded in The Spinners Mill Studio, a podcast and DJ studio based in Banana Block offering tailored solutions for DJ sessions, small-scale events and podcasting from concept to final distribution. Follow them on Insta / Facebook / TikTok
Jennifer Zheng
Jen learned to draw the normal way: by drawing the same boiled egg for a month because her dad told her 'Da Vinci started that way' – he didn’t*. After eggs, she drew exclusively Hollywood A-lister headshots with the grid method: Her Angelina Jolie was spectacular. Now Jen has found a career where drawing the same thing over and over isn’t considered crazy: animation.
She grew up Chinese in the rolling concrete flats of Belfast, Northern Ireland where it was so white she would sometimes forget that she was Asian ... so the other girls at school would complain that their fake tan kept rubbing off, and she’d say back 'I dunno what’s wrong with you girls, because mine never comes off.' The prejudices she experienced growing up taught her the importance of empathy, which is a theme that permeates her work.
Her short film Tough on her and her mother’s conflicting cultural identities was nominated for a BAFTA, won 17 awards, and screened at over 80 international film festivals including Sundance and SXSW. She is currently Associate Creative Director at BUCK and has worked with clients like The White Stripes, Netflix, Headspace & Google Deepmind. Notably, she’s led the design of genitals & illustrations for OMGYes, co-wrote & creative directed a short for GitHub starring Phil Wang, and recently directed the animated portion of David Wilson’s music video for Mabel ‘Look At My Body pt.II’ – a psychedelic feminist retelling of the original sin.
On the side, she is an award-winning stand-up comedian, Playgrounds In Motion London host, erotica zine publisher, and t-shirt tiedyer.
*Da Vinci never repeatedly drew eggs, this seems to be a China-specific conspiracy.
Website / Instagram
RENDR Festival
This is a unique event celebrating creative craft and artistry in a fully immersive two-day festival exploring the space between Creativity and Technology. Ignite your imagination with inspiring speakers from the worlds of Film, Gaming, Animation, Immersive, and more! Learn from the best, with 30+ creatives from the likes of Netflix, Pixar, Walt Disney Studios, and Epic Games among others.
Witness creative uses of new technology, explore the gallery of digital art, chow down at the food village or play in the arcade. You will be transported to the future, and provide you with unforgettable and inspirational nights.
National Talent Academy for Visual Effects
As the newest of the Academies, the National Talent Academy for VFX provides support and opportunities for anyone interested in a career in VFX. Launched in 2024, the National Talent Academy for VFX is an initiative of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, managed by Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet. Their mission is to transform aspiring VFX artists into industry-ready professionals while providing ongoing upskilling opportunities for current talent.

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!

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In this Film Ireland podcast, recorded live on location in Washington, D.C. at the Capital Irish Film Festival, Gemma Creagh chats with actor Eleanor O'Brien about her role as the lead in Irish language feature Báite. Winner of Best Irish Language Feature Film at the 2025 Galway Film Fleadh and nominated in four categories at the 2026 Irish Film & Television Academy Awards.
In this conversation, Eleanor discusses her experience of bringing Peggy Casey to life, reflects on planning her next steps following the film’s success, and reveals the types of roles that excite her.
Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts or watch the original recording here.
https://www.filmireland.net/podcast-actor-eleanor-obrien-baite-lynley

Eleanor O'Brien
Eleanor O'Brien is a theatre and film actress from Limerick, who trained at Bow Street Academy in Dublin. She was nominated for the Bingham Ray New Talent Award at the 2025 Galway Film Fleadh for her performance in Báite, which won Best Irish Language Feature Film. Her screen credits include the lead role of Emily Blast in RTÉ's Blasts from the Past, The Last Right alongside Colm Meaney, Michiel Huisman and Brian Cox, and the BBC One drama Lynley, directed by Ed Bazalgette.

Báite
Winner of Best Irish Language Feature Film at the 2025 Galway Film Fleadh and nominated in four categories at the 2026 Irish Film & Television Academy Awards, Báite arrives in cinemas nationwide on 6th March 2026 to coincide with Seachtain na Gaeilge (1–17 March). Directed by Ruán Magan (The Hunger, Our Blue World – A Water Odyssey), the film is a haunting Irish-language mystery set in rural Ireland in September 1975.
When a body is discovered in the receding waters of a lake, the find sends shockwaves through a small community. For 23-year-old Peggy Casey, who runs the local pub, the revelation threatens to upend not just her life, but an entire town built on secrets long submerged.

About Capital Irish Film Festival
Solas Nua’s annual Capital Irish Film Festival in Washington, D.C., presents one of the largest programmes of Irish cinema in North America, showcasing the latest Irish dramatic and documentary features, shorts, art films and animation releases by Irish and Ireland-based filmmakers. The 20th edition of the four-day festival takes place 26 February – 1 March 2026 in partnership with the prestigious American Film Institute’s Silver Theatre & Cultural Center.
The festival provides a US platform that amplifies the work of independent filmmakers working in Ireland and beyond, and celebrates the strength of Ireland’s contemporary cinematic culture. The programme highlights the country’s rich cultural heritage while fostering an inclusive and diverse community of Irish filmmakers. Capital Irish Film Festival champions emerging voices on Irish screens, showcases the exceptional talent and craft within Irish filmmaking, and reflects the robust and vibrant screen industry that has grown in Ireland in recent years.
The festival also presents the annual Norman Houston Short Film Award, dedicated to the memory of Norman Houston, the former Director of the Northern Ireland Bureau (NIB) in the United States. The award honours the best new short film created by a filmmaker based in or from Northern Ireland, made within the previous two years. The 2026 Norman Houston Short Film Award goes to writer-director Oliver McGoldrick for his film Three Keenings.
Read more on SolasNua.org, follow Capital Irish Film Festival on FilmFreeway 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 episode of the Film Ireland podcast, we are delighted to welcome producer Jack Tarling of Shudder Films.
In this discussion, Jack talks about his career producing acclaimed independent cinema, from God's Own Country and Kneecap to his latest feature, Learning to Breathe Underwater, which recently had its world premiere at the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and won the audience award at this year's Galway Film Fleadh.
Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts and/or watch the original recording here. https://www.filmireland.net/podcast-producer-jack-tarling-kneecap-learning-to-breathe-underwater

The World Premiere of Learning to Breathe Underwater took place at the 60th Karlovy Vary Film Festival and the film screened again on 10th July at the Galway Film Fleadh, winning the festival's audience award.
Starring Rory Kinnear, Maria Bakalova and Ezra Carlisle, Learning to Breathe Underwater follows eight-year-old Leo, who lives with his dad and a giant shark, which crashed through the roof of their home. Yes, you read that correctly. The shark is Leo’s best friend, to whom he can confide all his secrets. He can’t really talk to his dad; he must be missing mum, who’s been gone five years now. Then Anya the au pair bursts into their lives, and their world suddenly changes. It’s more cheerful and Leo discovers that the metal shark doesn’t have to be his only friend.
The film is directed by Rebekah Fortune from a script by Richard Barbin. The project is produced by Jack Tarling of the UK’s Shudder Films and Patrick O’Neill of Ireland’s Wildcard, co-produced by KeyFilm in the Netherlands, One Wave Films in Wales and made in association with Eiru Films in the west of Ireland.
Learning to Breathe Under Water was filmed in Galway last year and is proudly supported by Screen Ireland, BFI Global Screen Fund, Ffilm Cymru, WRAP Fund, Netherlands Film Fund, Finite Films, Bankside Films and Three Point Capital. Bankside Films handle international sales.

Jack Tarling
Jack has produced five feature films and many short films through his company Shudder Films. Kneecap, featuring rap trio Kneecap alongside Michael Fassbender, premiered at Sundance 2024 and sold to Sony Pictures Classics. It was shortlisted for two Academy Awards, nominated for six BAFTAs (winning Best Debut), and won seven British Independent Film Awards.
God's Own Country, which won prizes in 2017 at Sundance, Berlin, Edinburgh, Galway and many other festivals, won four BIFAs, including Best Film, received a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding British Film, and was the highest-grossing UK debut of the year. Await Further Instructions was a Critics' Pick in The New York Times and sold to Netflix.
Currently in post-production for 2026 releases, Jack has produced:
Learning to Breathe Under Water, directed by Rebekah Fortune and starring Ezra Carlisle, Rory Kinnear and Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova, is financed by Screen Ireland, UK Global Screen Fund, Ffilm Cymru and the Netherlands Film Fund, and sold by Bankside.
Daughter of Eden, written and directed by Fateme Ahmadi, starring Yasmin Al-Khudhairi, Hiam Abbas, Amir El Masry and Lindsay Duncan, is financed by BFI, BBC Film, Screen Ireland and Civic Studios.
Jack has also line produced several other feature films for the BFI, BBC Films and others, including two which premiered at Venice, and he previously worked in development at Ridley Scott's production company, Scott Free. In 2019/2020, he worked to produce an unannounced US-set interactive feature film for Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Jack has produced short-form content for Disney/Hulu, executive produced a slate of ten short films for Northern Film + Media, and produced the short film Assessment, which was shortlisted for a BAFTA in 2010.
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, recorded live on location in Washington, D.C. at the Capital Irish Film Festival, Gemma Creagh chats with filmmaker Nuala O’Connor about her film In Time: Dónal Lunny. The documentary chronicles the enigmatic and innovative musician Dónal Lunny, tracing his profound influence on Irish music and his role in shaping its modern evolution.
In this conversation, Nuala shares insights into her varied career, balancing her two passions - film and music - her craft, and the challenge of capturing the spirit of such a pioneering artist on screen.
The episode was recorded live at the Irish film festival, presented annually by Solas Nua. The 20th edition of the festival took place in Washington, D.C., from February 26 to March 1, 2026.
Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts or watch the otigional recording here:
https://www.filmireland.net/podcast-filmmaker-nuala-oconnor-on-in-time-donal-lunny

About In Time: Dónal Lunny

Charting the life and legacy of the iconic Irish traditional musician Dónal Lunny, one of Ireland’s most outstanding artists, this film offers an insightful appraisal of his creative process, exploring the enduring and far-reaching influence he has had on Irish traditional music. The film reveals a life lived entirely for art’s sake. The major events of his creative and personal life have converged with major cultural, political and historic changes in Ireland and around the world and reflects the impact this had on his art from the 1950s to the present day.
Music fuses with the personal material of Dónal Lunny’s biographical journey and brings the artist into being in this film. That journey is the journey of Irish culture and people who lived through those decades from the 1950s to the present day.

Nuala O’Connor
Nuala O’Connor has worked for nearly twenty years in broadcasting: in RTÉ for nine years as a researcher and radio producer, and for the past ten years in the independent film sector. In 1987, Nuala established Hummingbird Productions with Philip King to produce high quality music and arts documentaries. With Philip King, she worked as assistant producer on Bringing It All Back Home and is the author of the book which accompanied the series.
Nuala went on to produce documentaries including A River of Sound, Christy, Meitheal and Bláth Gach Géag Dá dTig, collaborating with Donal Lunny, Liam O’Flynn, Seamus Heaney, Sinéad O’Connor and Mary Black.
Subsequently, with Philip King and Tina Moran, she was a founder director of South Wind Blows Productions, initially directing the Irish history documentary series The Limits of Liberty with Professor Diarmaid Ferriter. In 2013, she co-directed An Glaoch: The President’s Call with President Michael D. Higgins and also that year wrote and directed From Moment to Moment about the Irish band The Gloaming. In 2014, she worked as co-producer on the acclaimed Ceiliúradhconcert at the Royal Albert Hall.
Nuala also worked as the traditional music reviewer for The Irish Times for many years.
Capital Irish Film Festival
Solas Nua’s annual Capital Irish Film Festival in Washington, D.C., presents one of the largest programmes of Irish cinema in North America, showcasing the latest Irish dramatic and documentary features, shorts, art films and animation releases by Irish and Ireland-based filmmakers. The 20th edition of the four-day festival takes place 26 February – 1 March 2026 in partnership with the prestigious American Film Institute’s Silver Theatre & Cultural Center.

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 very special festival podcast, recorded on location at Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) earlier this year, writer and academic Naemi Victoria sits down with writer-director Olive Nwosu to discuss her latest film, Lady, which screened in the festival's Panorama section.
Olive is also joined by members of the film's cast: Agu Chinenye Esthyraph (Fanta), Precious Agu Eke (Lolo), Fadesaye Olateru-Olagbegi (Lekpa), and Eva Ibiam (Cinderella). Together, they reflect on the making of the film, their performances, and bringing the world of Lady to the screen.
Lady had its European premiere on 18th February 2026 at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), where it screened as part of the Panorama programme.
Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.
https://www.filmireland.net/podcast-filmmaker-olive-nwosu-cast-of-lady-at-berlinale

About Lady
In the restless night of Lagos, one of the city’s few female cab drivers, Lady, survives by staying tough and focused. She dreams of escape, saving her earnings for a new life far from the chaos of this Nigerian metropolis. But when her long-lost childhood friend, Pinky – now a sex worker – returns with a burst of colour and trouble, Lady is pulled reluctantly into her orbit. Soon, she is driving a crew of glamorous, reckless, fun-loving women through the underbelly of Lagos nightlife. What begins as judgement develops into unexpected sisterhood: wild, tender and disarming. As Lady becomes entangled in their world, the nights grow more dangerous, and the city presses harder against old wounds that she has never confronted. Forced to face the trauma she has long outrun, Lady cracks open – learning to feel, to belong, to see herself through new eyes. When everything reaches breaking point, Lady must make a choice that will change her life’s direction forever.

Olive Nwosu
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Olive Nwosu is an award-winning screenwriter and director living in London. Olive graduated with an MFA in Filmmaking from Columbia University School of the Arts, where she received a BAFTA Pigott 2020 Scholarship and was named 2020 Alex Sichel Fellow for a Female Filmmaker demonstrating promise. Olive won the Zaki Gordon Memorial Award for Excellence in Screenwriting and the James Ponsoldt Award for Best Director in her graduating year. She has written and directed two short films. Troublemaker, 2019, played at film festivals around the world and was acquired by Dedza Films and Kino Lorber. It is the first Igbo-language film on the Criterion Channel.
Egúngún (Masquerade), 2021, was financed by the British Film Institute and British Council as part of their More Films For Freedom Programme. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2021, screened at Sundance 2022, won Best Short Film at Hamptons International Film Festival and Aspen ShortsFest, amongst others. The film was nominated for the Best British Short Film at the 2021 British Independent Film Awards and is now available on the Criterion Channel.
Olive is a 2022 Sundance Screenwriting Fellow, a 2022 TIFF Filmmaker Lab Fellow, the first recipient of the TIFF Share Her Journey Fellowship in honour of Viola Desmond, and one of four ‘African Promises’ directors selected by the Institute Francais. In 2023, she received the Sundance NHK Award, presented each year to one filmmaker on the basis of his/her past work (feature film, short film, television drama, music video or commercial) and the script for their next feature film project.
She is currently in development on feature projects with Film4, the BBC and Fox Searchlight Pictures. Her work is informed by the intersectional nature of her life across multiple continents and identities. Her mission is to tell urgent, cinematic, African-centred stories.
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.