First Cut! Youth Film Festival is delighted to welcome Shaun O’Connor as the festival special guest for 2021. Shaun will be present his acclaimed short films A White Horse and Mary, followed by an in-depth Q&A.

A White Horse (2019)

1970s Ireland. A young female patient has escaped a psychiatric hospital and rings home from a telephone box…. but her parents are waiting for the call.

Mary (2018)

What can you do when you’ve accidentally smashed the local statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary? The only thing you can do: frame your older brother.

Shaun O’ Connor is a filmmaker whose work encompasses short films, music videos and television. His most recent short film, A White Horse, has won numerous awards, including Best Irish Film at the Oscar qualifying Foyle Film Festival.

Shaun has developed a diverse career over the past decade that includes commercial work (Lidl, Concern), animation (Yum Or Yuck), television (Republic of Telly, Ronanism), theatre, photography, and many short films and music videos. In 2017 he directed Mary, with the support of Screen Ireland’s Short Stories scheme. Shaun’s films have won awards at several international film festivals, including the Cork Film Festival, DC Shorts, Fastnet Film Festival, Kerry Film Festival, Kinsale Sharks, Richard Harris International Film Festival, the Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival, and the Irish Music Television Awards. He is currently developing a feature film and a new TV series based on A White Horse.

The Q&A will be moderated by filmmaker Ger Browne.