01/07/2025 - Myrid Carten’s documentary has received the main award in the Irish Competition, while Agnieszka Zwiefka’s work was crowned as the winner of the Maysles Brothers International Competition

The seventh edition of Docs Ireland concluded on 29 June in Belfast, unveiling its 2025 award winners. The festival once again showcased compelling documentary voices, spotlighting stories that explore identity, resistance, memory and community across Ireland and beyond.

Director of Docs Ireland Michele Devlin said: “Every year, we are blown away by the standard of filmmaking at Docs Ireland. The reason we established this documentary-focused festival is to shine a light on Irish talent, and to nurture and support it. I would like to thank everyone who submitted films this year, those who participated in various jury panels, and all our event sponsors for making our seventh year such a success.”

The Pull Focus Competition, which celebrates excellence in Irish documentary filmmaking, awarded its top prize to A Want in Her [+see also:
film review
interview: Myrid Carten
film profile], the debut feature by Belfast-based artist Myrid Carten. The jury was enthralled by the film and selected it “for its painfully honest portrait of a mother-daughter relationship, in the shadow of addiction, showcasing a creative new voice in documentary filmmaking”. The film follows Carten as she returns from London to search for her missing mother, uncovering a fractured family, a contested home and a painful history that threatens to engulf them all.

The Maysles Brothers Competition, recognising outstanding observational documentaries from around the world, honoured Silent Trees [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Zwiefka. The movie centres on 16-year-old Kurdish girl Runa, who, after her mother’s tragic death on the Polish-Belarusian border, assumes responsibility for her four younger brothers. A partially animated coming-of-age story, Silent Trees is set against the stark backdrop of the global refugee crisis.

The inaugural Ross McDonnell Cinematography Award, presented in memory of the late Irish filmmaker and cinematographer, was bestowed upon the Irish-language film Focla At Chanbhás (Words on Canvas), directed by Paddy Hayes with cinematography by David Keenan. Four years after the breakthrough success of his debut album, Beginner’s Guide to Bravery, Dundalk songwriter and musician David Keenan finds himself at a crossroads. Following extensive touring and efforts to establish himself as one of Ireland’s leading live performers, he returns to the studio to record new music. Reflecting that “anger is easy to portray; it’s the hurt that’s hard”, the film offers an intimate portrait of his creative process over 500 days.

In the Short Irish Documentary Competition, the award went to No Mean City, directed by Ross McClean. The film follows two workmen and an apprentice as they drive through Belfast by night, replacing old sodium streetlights with LED lamps. An Honourable Mention was given to The New Policy Regarding Asylum Seekers by Dennis Harvey. The LUMI Programmers jury winner was We Beg to Differ by Ruairi Bradley, and an Honourable Mention was given to It All Comes Down by Meg Earls.

Finally, within the industry section of Docs Ireland, the Northern Ireland Screen Pitch Award, which supports emerging documentary talent with a £9,000 grant to develop a feature-length pilot, was awarded to The Loneliest Boy in the World, directed by Medb Johnstone and Ann Ní Chiobhan. The jury said, “As a story that looks beyond the headlines to reckon with history, The Loneliest Boy in the World has the potential to weave a personal account with a political appeal – we hope this prize allows the filmmakers to dive deeper into their narrative research and establish a strong visual treatment of this historical story.”

Docs Ireland is supported by Northern Ireland Screen through the Department for Communities, Belfast City Council, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, BFI/Film Hub NI and the British Council, and is proudly sponsored by TG4, BBC NI, Yellowmoon, FinePoint Films and Stellify Media.

Here is the full list of winners at the seventh Docs Ireland:

Pull Focus Irish Documentary Competition Award
A Want in Her [+see also:
film review
interview: Myrid Carten
film profile] – Myrid Carten (Ireland/UK/Netherlands)

Maysles Brothers Competition Award
Silent Trees [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Agnieszka Zwiefka (Poland/Germany/Denmark)

Ross McDonnell Cinematography Award
David Keenan – Words on Canvas (Ireland)

Short Irish Documentary Competition Award
No Mean City – Ross McClean (Ireland, short film)
Honourable Mention
The New Policy Regarding Asylum Seekers – Dennis Harvey (Sweden, short film)

LUMI Programmers Award
We Beg to Differ – Ruairi Bradley (Ireland/UK, short film)
Honourable Mention
It All Comes Down – Meg Earls (UK, short film)

Northern Ireland Screen Pitch Award
The Loneliest Boy in the World – Medb Johnstone, Ann Ní Chiobhan (UK)