19/06/2025 - The seventh edition of Docs Ireland strengthens its industry programme with new talent development strands, an expanded Marketplace and a dynamic selection of documentary projects

Director Kathleen Harris, who is taking part in Docs Ireland Marketplace with Whitethroat

Docs Ireland returns for its seventh edition (25-30 June) with a strengthened industry programme featuring panels, workshops, mentorship initiatives and curated networking opportunities. This year, the Belfast-based festival renews its focus on sustainable growth for the documentary sector while broadening its international scope and underlining its support for Irish-language filmmaking.

As part of the BFI Doc Society’s “Creative Documentary Making in Focus”, the festival will host its first joint UK-Irish roundtable addressing pressing issues in the documentary world. Key panels include “How to Fund, Market and Sell a Documentary in a Post-COVID Landscape”, offering up-to-date insights into sustainable production and distribution strategies, and “Anatomy of the Frame”, a close-up on the craft of documentary cinematography featuring acclaimed DoPs Kate McCullough (The Quiet Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Colm Bairéad
film profile]) and Magda Kowalczyk (Cow [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]). A screening of Tom Burke’s The Gap in Consent will further spotlight the complex ethical terrain of documentary filmmaking.

The Docs Ireland Marketplace (28-29 June) remains the only industry market on the island of Ireland dedicated exclusively to documentary. It facilitates one-on-one meetings between selected Irish and international filmmakers and leading decision makers, including broadcasters, funders, sales agents and distributors. This year, 21 projects have been selected for the Marketplace, alongside eight projects developed through the IGNITE-Docs Talent Development Programme. The Northern Ireland Screen Pitch will once again offer emerging documentary filmmakers the chance to win up to £9,000 to develop a feature pilot. Held in association with Yellowmoon Post Production, the event will take place on 28 June. Past winners include A Want in Her [+see also:
film review
interview: Myrid Carten
film profile] by Myrid Carten, which closes this year’s festival.

Michele Devlin, chief executive of Docs Ireland, said: “Among the international guests, Docs Marketplace and brilliant films, audiences will find stories about incredible music, film culture, social justice, current world conflicts and the people who strive to resolve them. This year's programme is bursting with creativity and talent from across the island of Ireland and beyond.”

Furthermore, Docs Ireland, in collaboration with Cork International Film Festival and supported by TG4 and the Irish Language Broadcast Fund, has launched LASAIR, a new talent development scheme for short documentaries in the Irish language. LASAIR is an extension of the IGNITE-Docs programme, now in its fifth year, which nurtures emerging documentary filmmakers.

Richard Williams, chief executive of Northern Ireland Screen, commented: “Docs Ireland plays a key role in fostering cross-border collaboration, attracting international co-productions, and advancing the global reach of Irish documentary through sales and distribution opportunities.”

Here are the projects selected for the 2025 Docs Ireland Marketplace:

The Sixth Story – Ahmed Abd
Producer: Arij Al Soltan

Dodgeball: A True Northern Irish Story – Giordano Bonora Groome
Producers: Giordano Bonora Groome, Elisa Bonora
Executive producers: Paddy McCaughey, Melanie Miller

Rider Nearby – Tom Burke
Producers: Jessie Fisk, Thomas Kelly

D-Day: A Complicated Anniversary – Brendan Culleton

Long Way Home – Frank Delaney
Producers: Cormac Fox, Colmán Mac Cionnaith

Whitethroat – Kathleen Harris
Producer: Ross Whitaker

The Knockout – Alex Harron
Producer: John Archer

The Loneliest Boy in the World – Medb Johnstone
Producer: Ann Ní Chíobháin
Executive producer: Cormac Hargaden

The Seven Deadly Sins – Ross Killeen
Producer: Louise Byrne

Sumoland – Nicky Larkin
Producer: Alex Fegan

John Lennon’s Island – Gary Lennon
Executive producer: Niamh Fagan

Trona – Emanuele Mengotti
Producers: Kristian van der Heyden, Leonardo Barrile

Inner Lands – Seán Mullan

Mo and Me – Henrietta Norton, Alison Millar
Producers: Jackie Doyle, Rachel Lysaght

Something That Was Ours – Rosie Reed Hillman
Producer: Sandra Leeming
Executive producer: Amy Hobby

Hearing Voices Group – Leo Regan
Producers: Isabel Freer, Kwesi Dickson

Out for God – Anna Rodgers
Producer: Zlata Filipovic

Near Light – Second Lives of Murderers – Niccolo V Salvato (winner of the Docs Ireland Prize at East Doc Platform 2025)
Producer: Mara Cracaleanu

Artist Mother Seer – Paul Sng
Producer: Rebecca Wolff

Long Road Home – Paul Webster
Producers: Zlata Filipovic, Anna Rodgers

What Day Are We In? – Hussein Zuhour (selected by Filmlab Palestine)

IGNITE-Docs Talent Development Programme

Saving Sodomy From Ulster – Lewis Doherty

All the Lovely Animals – Kathleen Harris

An Tigh – Medb Johnstone, Seán Keeley

Tape Me Away From Home
Producer: Austin Kenny

The Queen of Matchmaking – Nicola Leddy

Shades of Blue – Katie McFadden
Producer: Simeon Costello

June 1982: A Massacre – Rabie Mustapha
Producer: Andy Wilkinson

Saint Michael – Niall Sheerin
Producer: Emma Keane

NI Screen Pitch Titles

The Loneliest Boy in the World – Medb Johnstone
The Man Who Wanted to Save Beauty – Loic Jourdain
Untitled Beat Carnival Project – Colm Laverty
Secrets of the Lough – John O'Rourke
Carving from the Soul: Stories of Two Master Wood Carvers - Damian McElgunn