Upcoming Event: Programming Perspectives | A Roundtable Conversation

Join us for an exclusive webinar where the three largest film festivals in Ireland discuss their key film programmes, their selection criteria and programming policies.

As part of the DIFF Circle series, the lead programmers from Cork, Dublin and Galway film festivals will share their knowledge and insights of their festivals as well as the broader landscape.

From outlining the rules around submissions and premieres to recognising the unique style and focus of each festival, this panel will give you the knowledge you need to make your submission stand out.

Chaired by Emmy- and IFTA-winning documentary filmmaker Clare Stronge, this conversation, featuring Gráinne Humphreys (Dublin International Film Festival), Aurélie Godet (Cork International Film Festival), and Maeve McGrath (Galway Film Fleadh) promises candid advice and practical guidance to help you bring your work to the big screen.

Cork, Dublin and Galway film festivals are all members of the The Cultural Cinema Partnership (CCP), an alliance of Irish film organisations also including the Irish Film Institute and access>CINEMA, that aims to promote and strengthen cultural cinema exhibition and film culture in Ireland.

BOOK NOW

---

Meet the Panel

Gráinne Humphreys – Executive Festival Director at the Dublin International Film Festival

Gráinne Humphreys is Executive Director of the Dublin International Film Festival. She started her career working with young audiences with the Junior Dublin Film Festival in 1994 and she has worked in film programming for over twenty years. She was director of both the Stranger Than Fiction Documentary Festival and the Dublin French Film Festival from 2002-2007. She is a regular contributor on a range of cinema and culture related subjects to a number of radio shows on RTE and other media outlets and leads a course called Cinema Creatives which is a part of the Creative Futures Academy in UCD. She also lectures on film exhibition in Griffith College.

Aurélie Godet – Director of Programming at the Cork International Film Festival

Aurélie Godet is the Director of Programming at the Cork International Film Festival, which she joined in 2024. She previously was a member of the director’s advisory committee at Arte France Cinema for ten years, and a programmer for the Locarno film festival, followed by the Berlinale until 2024. She also programmed for French festivals 3 Continents and La Roche-sur-Yon, and contributed in launching the first international film festival in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She was the deputy director of Unifrance’s New York office between (2006-2010) and wrote for several publications, including Cahiers du Cinéma. In 2019, she co-founded The Red Balloon Alliance, a collective of film professionals aiming for a better work-life balance and helping festivals in the organization of daycare services for film professionals.

Maeve McGrath – Director of Programming at Galway Film Fleadh

Currently Director of Programming at Galway Film Fleadh, Maeve is an actress, producer and festival programmer and has previously worked as Artistic Director of Kerry International Film Festival, Producer at Carlow Arts Festival and as joint Short Film Programmer at Dublin International Film Festival. Maeve has a Masters in Media Studies graduating with her thesis, 'Irish Short Film: The Road To Oscar' which followed the route of Irish short films to the Academy Awards. As one half of award winning film production company, Dromglen Productions, she co-produces narrative and documentary films and is currently in development with two feature films.

CHAIR: Clare Stronge – Producer & Director

Clare Stronge is an Emmy and IFTA winning producer and director based in Dublin, Ireland. Her work includes CHASING THE LIGHT (Maurice O’Brien, 2024), THE DEEPEST BREATH (Laura McGann, 2023), TO THE MOON (Tadhg O’Sullivan, 2020), SHOOTING THE MAFIA (Kim Longinotto, 2019) and THE FARTHEST (Emer Reynolds, 2017).

A qualified journalist with an MA in Documentary Practice, Clare has won an Emmy Award, a George Morrison Best Feature Documentary IFTA award, the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism award, the National Academies Communication in Film/TV award, and the Sunday World Cup for Journalism.

She is the Founder of Plainsong Films production company in Ireland and is currently in post-production on a new immersive ocean feature film SHOAL; a verité film exploring news manufacture in a warzone FIXING A WAR and a two-part native biodiversity series for RTÉ called AN IRISH ATLANTIC RAINFOREST.