The Dept of Digital Arts & Media, LSAD, are thrilled to announce that submissions for Catalyst International Film Festival 2025 are now open! This is your chance to be part of a festival that celebrates DIVERSE STORIES and DIVERSE STORYTELLING.
Emerging Filmmakers:
We are keen to engage with emerging filmmakers, broadening the horizons of future filmmakers and audiences alike.
What We’re Looking For:
✨ Films that promote gender equality, diversity, and inclusion.
✨ Stories from voices that struggle for visibility in mainstream film festivals.
✨ Films that entertain, engage, challenge, and inspire.
National Student Short Film Awards 2025 – Free entry to LSAD students and 2024 Graduates
The award is open to all students enrolled in a film programme and films can’t be any longer than twenty minutes, including titles and credits and must be submitted through FilmFreeway.
The winning film will be screened at the Catalyst International Film Festival and will receive €1,000 sponsored by the TUS Digital Arts and Media Department in Limerick.
Catalyst International Film Festival National Student Short Film Award is designed to recognise and celebrate the work of emerging student filmmakers from across the country.
Catalyst International Film Festival is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the film industry, and this award is a key part of that mission.
The festival is keen to engage with emerging filmmakers, ‘new’ rather than inevitably ‘young’, in order to broaden the horizons of potential future filmmakers and audience members.
All Catalyst Award Judges comprise esteemed professionals and experts from the film industry, guaranteeing that the work of the finalists will be showcased to pertinent industry figures, thereby presenting an exceptional opportunity for the winning filmmaker.
Previous Catalyst Awards judges include Colm Bairéad, Rebecca Daly, Frank Berry, Ursula Rani Sarma, Paddy Breathnach and Nell Roddy.
“We are thrilled to launch this new Award in association with TUS” said Dr Susan Liddy, Director of Catalyst.
“We believe that talent is plentiful but opportunities can be limited, and we are committed to supporting emerging filmmakers from all backgrounds. We look forward to seeing the submissions and celebrating the work of the next generation of filmmakers.”
James Greenslade, Head of Department, Digital Arts and Media, TUS, added: “Empowering emerging filmmakers to share their diverse narratives and voices is not just a celebration of their talent but a pivotal step in shaping a more inclusive and expansive film landscape. Through this platform, we embrace the power of film to inspire, connect, and pave the way for the future of storytelling.”
Entries will be accepted up until February 6, 2024 and the festival will be on from April 18-20, 2024.
For more information or to submit a film, click here.
Catalyst International Film Festival presents a film programme that prioritizes stories and storytellers currently under-represented on screen and behind the camera. We want to create a more inclusive industry and films screened here will promote gender equality, diversity and inclusion whether in content, key creative roles or crew. Catalyst is dedicated to addressing under-representation in GENDER, RACE, SOCIAL + ECONOMIC EXCLUSION, DISABILITY, AGE and SEXUAL ORIENTATION on and off screen. This is not a definitive list!
We are currently open for submissions for the 4th Catalyst International Film Festival 30|31 March & 01 April 2023.
2023 AWARDS:
Best Irish Short Film
Best International Short Film
Best Documentary Short Film
Spirit of the Festival Award
Jury Special Mention Award
Breakthrough Award
Short Screenplay Award (in association with the Writers Guild of Ireland)
As we move closer to the end of this very weird 2020, there are slivers of hope forming on the horizon for the local film industry. Returning for its second year is the Catalyst Film Festival with its focus again on ‘diversity and diverse storytelling.’
“Catalyst International Film Festival will present a film programme that prioritises stories and storytellers currently under-represented on screen and behind the camera.
We want to create a more inclusive industry and films screened here will promote gender equality, diversity and inclusion whether in content, key creative roles or crew.
There will also be panel discussions, workshops and Q&As where topical issues of the day will be enthusiastically debated with filmmakers, guest speakers, industry personnel and audience members. We believe that equality is key to enriching filmmaking and audiences and it is core to this festival.”
If you are a film maker who is interested in presenting your diverse idea for film making to a wide audience then why not check out their submission page HERE and see if your work qualifies for the 2021 event. Or you can still check out last years programme of events as well on the website.
Well done to festival Directors and Programmers Susan Liddy and Venessa Gildea, and all the team who are persevering through these difficult times to give film makers a change to have their work recognized. Long may it last.
The deadline (Feb 7th) is fast approaching for the inaugural Catalyst Film Festival, which will take place in Limerick on the 20-21st of March.
The organisers are encouraging student entries to the festival “that prioritizes stories and storytellers currently underrepresented on screen and behind the camera.”
00-353-87-2678209
Simon McGuire 