MEET THE 140 PARTICIPANTS FOR
@X_Pollinator_
2024!
Taking place from Feb 23 – 25 at
@TUDublin_SoM
, with programme highlights including Aoife McArdle,
@Ella_Bee_G
, Claire Frances Byrne & Sofia Exarchou.
➡️:
We’re delighted to announce the participants for ELEVATOR, a new development programme that seeks to support 20 emerging and diverse female and non-binary writers, directors and creative partnerships, to become the inclusive leaders of the future.
➡️ :
We’re thrilled by today’s announcement of funding for
@X_Pollinator_
: INCUBATOR, which aims to support selected participants to develop feature film or TV drama pitched and treatments. 🙌
Supported by
@screenskillsire
,
@ScreenIreland
&
@BAItweets
. 👏
➡️:
✋ Appreciation Post for the
@X_Pollinator_
creative team: Co-Directors
@katieholly
and
@LaraHickey
and Producer
@evn_hrn
They've brought together an incredible group of creatives, established and emerging, from Ireland's film industry
@TUDublin_SoM
over the last three days!
It was fantastic to have today’s panel take place at
@GalwayFilm
- our first opportunity to meet in person for quite some time!
Thank you to Emma Foley from
@RebelPale
, and moderator
@DearbhlaRegan
for a insightful discussion, and to our funders
@ScreenIreland
and
@BAItweets
! 🙏
.
@X_Pollinator_
: ELEVATOR is a brand new development programme supporting up to 20 emerging and diverse female and non-binary writers and directors.
We want to support and inspire you to become inclusive leaders of the future in the screen industry.
➡️ :
We’re delighted to announce the twelve participants for CREATOR, an immersive residential talent development lab, encompassing a week-long residency, workshops with actors and mentorship and guidance from leading industry experts.
➡️ :
.
@AndieMcB
is an actor, screenwriter and emerging director. In 2021, disappointed with the lack of diverse roles for working class women she set up her own production company Shine Bright Productions. Her goal to amplify women in film over 40.
.
@shannonwelby
is a screenwriter with a love for storytelling & a fierce Donegal accent. Writer of debut short Every Limerence Helps, a comedy-drama about a woman in lockdown who falls for her delivery driver, Shannon has just completed an MA in Screenwriting.
After two years online,
@X_Pollinator_
is keen to get back in the room; we want to shift the focus to directors, by hosting CREATOR, an immersive residential talent development lab for 12 diverse female identifying and non-binary directors based on the island of Ireland.
✨Screen Skills Ireland is delighted to announce the participants for the first iteration of the Screen Mentoring scheme. Congratulations to those selected!
"Writing is going to the gym. It’s realising there are things I don’t know about this, who’s done it well? Watch that 18 times… It’s a mountain that you’re crawling up for a very very long. That’s okay. You’re supposed to be doing it that way."
@sonyakelly06
at
#xpollinator
Calling ALL female creative talent! X-POLLINATOR is a new cross-disciplinary professional development & networking initiative addressing the gender imbalance in Irish audiovisual industry. Free inaugural event on 2nd/3rd Nov+7th/8th Dec APPLY:
"I got the job... I was almost in tears wondering how on earth am I going to do this? I thought I’ve got to say I can’t do this... but I got off the phone with them and I felt so reassured."
#ABumpAlongTheWay
director
@ShellyLoveFilms
on being a single mum in film at
#xpollinator
Sin é for
@X_Pollinator_
2024... What a few days
@TUDublin_SoM
with this incredible group.
A huge thank you to everyone who shared this journey with us this weekend. Our hearts are full! ♥️
📷 Freddie Greenall
Many thanks to our panel
@SBourkeProjects
,
@frankberryirl
& Bonnie Williams for our joining our recent
@X_Pollinator_
: ELEVATOR Pitch, massive congrats also to our ELEVATOR participants on presenting their projects! 👏
.
@kimbartleydocs
is a director and doc filmmaker whose first feature doc THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED was released to international acclaim in 2003. Her recent feature
@PureGritFilm
was released theatrically in 2022 after winning Best Documentary Feature at
@GalwayFilm
.
📣📣Calling all female-identifying and non-binary DIRECTORS based on the island of Ireland. Apply now for X-Pollinator - CREATOR: an immersive, residential talent development lab under the guidance of renowned director Aisling Walsh. More info & apply:
Our
#xpollinator
participants are making the rounds at our high speed networking
@TheLirAcademy
Are you with us this morning? Let us know what you're learning from each other as you cross-pollinate 📽️
#womeninfilm
.
@AmadiEnyi
is a poet-performer, columnist, literary editor and arts facilitator from Lagos, Nigeria, currently living in Wicklow. Her work is widely published online and in print, notedly in The Art of the Glimpse: 100 Irish Short Stories anthology edited by Sinéad Gleeson.
Hard to believe that it’s been a whole year today since
@X_Pollinator_
- a chance for over 140 participants to meet, learn, share ideas and network all in one room.
It’s been incredible to see the progress from our participants, and we look forward to seeing what’s to come next!
Congrats to
@GalwayFilm
on the launch of their programme for 2022 edition of the festival - taking place July 5 - 10.
We’re thrilled to see such a variety of work from our
@X_Pollinator_
participants included in the programme, and wish to highlight their projects.
"It’s really important to keep creating. Meet someone & go for coffee. Even if they tell you that you don’t have what they want, they will feedback & tell you why. It’s useful and it always moves you on… You just have to keep going."
@deeroycroft
's
#xpollinator
Break Out Session
"I remember turning up to a panel and having to leave early with my child because it was bedtime and I was like ‘I can’t believe this bloody
#womeninfilm
panel is on at bedtime.’ So I started talking to some friends.” Director
@hopedickle
on co-founding
@RaisingFilms
#xpollinator
Nell Hensey is a Filipino-Irish filmmaker, writer and director from Clare. She is particularly interested in telling stories that centre on the female experience and explore themes of coming-of-age.
Thrilled to have been selected for the
@screenskillsire
Stakeholders Funding Scheme. Thanks to them &
@BAItweets
for their support.
ELEVATOR is a brand new programme which aims to support 20 diverse and emerging female and non-binary writers and directors.
More to follow...
✨Congratulations to the 13 organisations selected for funding awards in the 2021 round of the Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme.
The funding will enable these organisations to deliver skills development initiatives for the Irish screen sector.
.
@KatieMcNeice
’s work is marked by exceptionally strong screenwriting and explorations of character which are at once emotional and cinematic, such as the older LGBT generation of IN ORBIT and the experience of intersex babies and their parents in the upcoming LAMBING.
"I want to put people on TV where they’re just existing & their purpose isn’t for non-disabled people to feel better about themselves... The aim is to realise that we all move through the same world, we just go through different doors."
@luberachi
talks to
#xpollinator
.
@allie_orourke
is a stand up comedian, screenwriter, actress and independent producer.
@taoiseachotrash
is the co-host of the podcast Journey of the Monkey King, and ⅙ of the line-ups of sold-out Dublin Fringe Festival 2020 show Token Cis.
"Artists are generally empaths and it’s a hard time to be a sentient being in the world… We need stories. Stories to understand ourselves better." Director and Writer
@oonaghmurphy
talks to
#xpollinator
#WomenInFilm
"We’ve inherited toxic structures. We’ve inherited systems which weren’t designed for us… Form is something we don’t speak about enough. Form is the one thing we as artists can control within systems that weren’t built for us." Writer & Director
@oonaghmurphy
at
#xpollinator
.
@esosaonline
is a writer & vocalist. She also works as an actor, with roles in film, TV & theatre. As a writer she is developing her own original TV series, as well as working in the writer’s room for other shows in development.
.
@KristinaRYee
is an award-winning screenwriter & director. Her MA graduate film, Miss Todd, went on to win a Student Academy Award, a Royal Television Society Award, and was adapted into a children’s book. It was shown at festivals worldwide and won numerous accolades.
.
@AmanoAyla
is a filmmaker of Japanese/British heritage. She grew up in New Zealand, and now resides in Cork, where her most recent short film, 4X4, was awarded Best Cork Short at
@FastnetFilmFest
and the Special Mention for Best Direction at the
@CorkFilmFest
.
.
@X_Pollinator_
has now concluded its eight-week development programme, ELEVATOR, which supported its participants in developing their networks and projects, and provided an access point to over thirty speakers from the screen industry.
"This is a kickstart... What about the future? What are your personal goals and what goals can we share and support each other in achieving?" Co-Creative Director
@LaraHickey
sets the agenda for
#xpollinator
Weekend 2
#womeninfilm
Congrats to
@GalwayFilm
on the launch of their programme for 2020 edition of the festival - streaming online July 7 - 12.
We’re thrilled to see such a variety of work from our
@X_Pollinator_
participants included in the programme, and wish to highlight their projects.
Happy
#InternationalWomensDay
!
After the
@X_Pollinator_
weekends and INCUBATOR, it’s clear that there is a wealth of incredible female creative talent in Ireland! 👏
It’s been inspiring to see the amount of female driven work coming through and we’re excited to see what’s next!
4 years ago today in
@TheLirAcademy
, our first
@X_Pollinator_
event started with 140 participants, 37 sessions & 63 industry speakers inspiring collaborations & networking amongst the next wave of female Irish talent over 2 weekends. Keep an eye out for our next venture in 2024!
.
@BeckyCheatle
is a comedian, screenwriter & director. She is co-writer & director of Punch Line, winner of the Virgin Media Discovers short film competition & has recently contributed a piece for the Trans Anthology book of stories about transgender life in Ireland.
Elaine O'Regan of
@sundaybusiness
spoke to
@katieholly
about kicking down barriers for women in film and the launch of
#Xpollinator
in this week's Media & Marketing page. Apply for the inaugural Professional Development and Networking Event at
33 actors. 33 creators.
Screen Ireland is delighted to announce the second round of successful recipients for the Actor as Creator showcase scheme, in partnership with
@12bowstreet
. 💚📽️
#IrishTalent
.
@TaniaNotaroMuso
is an actor & screenwriter who was the winner of the John Boorman Award for the script Boxed & the winner of The Ronan Phelan Writers Award at IndieCork, 2019. Tania is also the recipient of the Dublin Artist Award 2021 from the Dublin Arts Council.
.
@X_Pollinator_
: ELEVATOR is a brand new development programme supporting up to 20 emerging and diverse female and non-binary writers and directors.We want to support and inspire you to become inclusive leaders of the future in the screen industry.
Info:
"There was this feeling of togetherness and absolute righteous anger. There was huge support on social media from women across the world... The one that cracked open the whole thing for us was Meryl Streep."
@lianbell
on the viral success of
#WakingTheFeminists
at
#xpollinator
🚨 APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN FOR
@x_pollinator_
: CREATOR 🚨
Our immersive residential talent development lab for 12 diverse female identifying & non-binary directors based on the island of Ireland.
Apply now:
⚠️ Applications close on Fri 25 November, 5pm.
"It’s about just writing characters… Don’t focus on the disability. Say you want to see disabled actors for different roles... Have the casting directors and the producers on board."
@Shannonemurray
Actor, Writer, Broadcaster, Disability Activist & Lawyer at
#xpollinator
Great start to the next stage of the CREATOR programme, in association with
@12bowstreet
.
Thanks so much to actors
@helenbehan
&
@MoeDunford
for joining us, the
@12bowstreet
actors, our funders, our CREATOR participants &, of course, our Lead Creative Mentor
@WalshAisling
! 👏
To mark International Women’s Day,
@X_Pollinator_
is delighted to post our highlights reel from
@X_Pollinator_
2024, made by
@WeAreEPiKMedia
.
140 participants. 23 sessions. 39 industry guest speakers.
➡️ :
"I don’t believe in unprepared instinct. I think there is absolutely no substitute for unbelievably rigorous preparation. By that I mean not the preparation they pay you for, it's the kind that happens way before."
@GinnyGilbert
on directing at her
#xpollinator
Break Out Session
We’re thrilled to hear this news to
@ScreenIreland
’s production and development team!
Thanks to
@tweetyceline
for previously being a part of the INCUBATOR Pitch panel; and Heather Browning for script editing on INCUBATOR and ELEVATOR, and for the
@X_Pollinator_
shout out! 👏
⚠️ 5 days left to apply for
@X_Pollinator_
: CREATOR! ⚠️
CREATOR is a brand new immersive residential talent development lab, under the guidance of
@WalshAisling
, for 12 diverse female & non-binary directors based on the island of Ireland.
APPLY NOW ➡️
Rachel McGill is a filmmaker from Limerick, she is currently living and working in Belfast under
@NIScreen
’s Aim High scheme. She has made a number of short films and most recently directed a short under the ENGINE Short Film Scheme.
"The intersection between creativity and graft and craft is massive… the real work is under the hood and that deadly writing talent that you have will never work unless the engine has been built.”
@UnaMullally
shares words of wisdom for writers at
#xpollinator
“I thought I’d get a treatment made into a film within a year & a half… There's no short cut. It made me realise lots of things & to just keep going. People always get there in the end if they keep going.”
@tailored_films
Ruth Treacy on
@CEDIrelandMEDIA
's
@EAVENews
#xpollinator
"You just don’t know where you’re going. You leave school and think you want to be an actor but haven’t got a clue where to go. We all need to start getting into transition years and tell them that these careers are available to them." Actor/Writer
@CharleighBailey
#xpollinator
Many thanks to Anu Henriques & Hannah Price
@fablepicsuk
, & writer Eve Hedderwick-Turner for joining our
@X_Pollinator_
: ELEVATOR production company session where our participants had the chance to gain insight into the inner workings of the company behind Anne Boleyn & Rocks.
Following the success of her
@IFTA
nominated and
@FastnetFilmFest
winning short film SISTER THIS for which she won the Discovery Award at
@DublinFilmFest
,
@clairefrancie
has since gone into funded development on several feature film projects.
Thank you to everyone involved who has made this past week at CREATOR such an incredible and enriching experience. We are absolutely thrilled with the impact that this much needed event has had on our twelve female and non-binary participants.
.
@LynnsDelighted
is an actor & writer who began writing in theatre, with several short plays including End of the Line at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and her short comedic film, The Arrival, winner of seven awards in Ireland, the UK, and New York.
“Right now, it feels like
@X_Pollinator_
will prove life altering. I’m already thinking differently and making plans.”
Some feedback from one of our previous participants!
Applications for CREATOR are now open :
Congratulations to
@RaisingFilmsIe
on the
@DublinFilmFest
launch of their new groundbreaking and much needed report, which reveals major challenges for parents and careers working in the Irish screen industry. 👏
WE ARE LIVE! After a wonderful launch this morning
@12bowstreet
you can now read this incredibly timely and in depth report
#PursuitOfChange
- Issues Affecting Parents & Carers in Ireland’s Screen Industries 🙌🏻