This year’s 68th Cork International Film Festival (CIFF) programme of industry events feature First Take, Doc Day Live and Doc Day Online taking place during the festival.

CIFF Industry Events are presented in partnership with Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, and supported by Coimisiún na Meáin.

First Take – Thursday, 16th November 2023 from 12.00pm

First Take is a training and development platform for newly established film professionals, film and media students and the wider film industry, which comprises case studies, presentations and panel discussions. Its intention is to promote fresh thinking amongst emerging and working filmmakers, inspiring them to be proactive in creating and promoting their own film work.

Learn more about First Take and book your ticket

Screen Greening: Fostering a Sustainable Industry

This session will draw on current sustainability practices on Irish productions, breaking down how filmmakers can implement sustainability as a standard practice in their productions. Presented in partnership with Screen Producers Ireland

Speakers: Kelly Campbell – Filmmaker, Alex De Velera – Sustainability Officer, John Gormley – Chairperson, Screen Greening

Hosted by: Anthony Muldoon – Director of Strategic Policy, Screen Producers Ireland

Uniting Perspectives: A Discussion on Inclusion

Cork International Film Festival is delighted to collaborate with the National Talent Academies to host an important discussion on inclusion in the Irish film industry, featuring voices and advocates who are working to foster a more equitable and dynamic screen sector. 

Speakers: Femi Bankole – Co-founder, Black & Irish, Ala Buisir – Co-founder, GORM, David McDonagh – Filmmaker, Mary McDonagh – Filmmaker, Allie O’Rourke – Comedian & Writer

Hosted by: Demi Isaac Oviawe – Actor & Radio Presenter

Spotlight on Short Filmmakers

A panel of short filmmakers who have presented their work at Cork International Film Festival will discuss the anatomy and processes behind the making of their short films, both creativity and practically, as well as providing insights and inspiration to the audience on how to step onto the filmmaking ladder and begin the process of creating their own work.

Speakers: Kelly Campbell – Director, An Encounter (Winner, Grand Prix Irish Award 2021), Luke Daly – Co-director, Mud Queen (Screening at CIFF 2023), Sinead O’Loughlin – Director, Lamb (Winner, Best of Cork 2022), Nathan Fagan – Co-director, Mud Queen (Screening at CIFF 2023), Allyn Quigley – Director, Yellow Belt & Findlater (Screening at CIFF 2023)

Hosted by: Don O’Mahony – Senior Programmer, Cork International Film Festival

Paul Duane: Career Interview

Paul Duane is one of Ireland’s most dynamic and distinct filmmakers, with an off-beat and varied career path that has included work across television, documentary and fiction feature. A true independently-minded filmmaker, Paul will discuss his journey so far and what he has learned along the way, with a focus on his new feature film All You Need Is Death.

Speaker: Paul Duane – Director, All You Need Is Death

Hosted by: Tara Brady – Film Critic, The Irish Times

The event will be followed by a networking drinks reception from 17:00.

Doc Day Live – Friday, 24th November 2023 from 12.00pm

Cork International Film Festival continues to develop its focus on high-quality Irish and international documentary cinema with Doc Day, connecting emerging and established non-fiction filmmakers with industry professionals and the wider documentary sector, with the objective of helping to inform, inspire and develop opportunities within the global documentary landscape.

Learn more about Doc Day Live and book your ticket

Adventures in Moving Image: Focus on Artist Non-Fiction Film

This session will focus on experimental filmmakers and visual artists and their work in the non-fiction realm, focusing on both their creative processes, and how they straddle the two ‘industry’ models. Featuring voices from across the moving image spectrum, the discussion will incorporate film diffusion strategies via festivals, streaming, broadcast and theatrical, and the divergent roads their practices have taken them down.

Speakers: Alice Butler – Co-Curator, AEMI, Myrid Carten – Director, Sorrow Had a Baby, Aoife Desmond – Director, Bury our Hearts in the Bend of the River, Tadhg O’Sullivan – Director, To the Moon

Hosted by: Don O’Mahony – Senior Programmer, Cork International Film Festival

Venom Films: Production Company Case Study

One of the most successful documentary-focused production companies in Ireland, Venom Films have gone from strength to strength since the company’s inception. Established by director Ken Wardrop and producer Andrew Friedman in 2006, successful releases have included His & Hers, Mom & Me, and Million Dollar Pigeons. The team will join Doc Day to discuss Venom’s company’s development structure and their filmography, with a focus on their new feature So this is Christmas, directed by Ken Wardrop, and screening at CIFF 2023.

Speakers: Samantha Corr – Producer, Venom Films, Heidi Fleisher – International Development Consultant, Venom Films, Andrew Friedman – Producer / Company Partner – Venom Films

Hosted by: Niamh Fagan – Project Manager, Screen Ireland

My Friend Lanre: Relating to your Subjects

An intensely personal portrait of friendship and creativity, My Friend Lanre draws on 25 years of footage with filmmaker Leo Regan’s friendship and collaboration with Lanre Fehintola. In this session, Regan, his producer Mary Carson and the film’s editor Chloë Lambourne will dissect the process of making this brave and intimate work.

Panel: Mary Carson – Producer, My Friend Lanre, Chloë Lambourne – Editor, My Friend Lanre, Leo Regan – Director, My Friend Lanre

Hosted by: Rose Baker – Programmer, Belfast Film Festival

Is There Anybody Out There?: Doc Day Keynote

A documentary which explores what it takes to love oneself fiercely despite the pervasiveness of ableism, Is There Anybody Out There? is a heartfelt and deeply personal film by filmmaker Ella Glendining. Doc Day invites Ella to join Doc Day to discuss her experiences making this deeply heartfelt, thought-provoking and important film.

Speaker: Ella Glendining – Director, Is There Anybody Out There?

Hosted by: Kim Bartley – Filmmaker

Doc Day will be followed by a networking event from 17:00, co-supported by Creative Europe Desk Ireland MEDIA.

Doc Day Online – Friday, 24th November 2023

In addition to the in-person offering for Doc Day 2023, the Festival will host a series of online sessions complimenting this year’s non- fiction programme and encompassing in-depth filmmaker conversations and case studies.

Learn more about Doc Day Online and book your ticket

One Night in Millstreet: Anatomy of a Sports Doc

The creative team behind new Irish feature documentary One Night On Millstreet, about the infamous 1995 boxing match in Millstreet, County Cork, between Steve Collins and Chris Eubank, will discuss the genesis, evolution and creative process of the film, with advice and anecdotes about the making of the film.

Panel: Morgan Bushe – Producer, One Night in Millstreet, Andrew Gallimore – Director, One Night in Millstreet, Peter Murnaghan – Producer, One Night in Millstreet

Hosted by: Esther McCarthy

Alan Gilsenan: Career Interview

One of the most prolific contemporary Irish documentarians working today, Alan Gilsenan has had many documentaries screen with CIFF in recent years, with two new films, The Day of Trees and The United Irishmen screening at this year’s festival. To celebrate these screenings, we will host a comprehensive conversation with Alan about his career, filmography and the mark he has made in Irish film.

Speaker: Alan GIlsenan – Director, The Day of Trees / The United Irishmen

Hosted by: Donald Clark – Chief Film Critic, The Irish Times

Landschaft & We Will Not Fade Away: Authorial Proximity

Taking into account contemporary ideas about authentic approaches to narration and who should get to tell what kinds of story, this session looks to explore two distinct approaches, working as a filmmaker on a subject from outside of the context and from within the context. Alisa Kovalenko and Daniel Kötter will discuss their unique relationships to their documentary subjects, with reference to their competition films at this year’s festival: We Will Not Fade Away and Landschaft.

Speakers: Daniel Kötter – Director, Landschaft, Alisa Kovalenko – Director, We Will Not Fade Away

Hosted by: Rohan Crickmar – Documentary Programmer, Cork International Film Festival