Irish Short Documentaries We have pulled together the many amazing documentaries from across all our short film programmes and added a few extra standalone highlights to present this large collection of New Irish Short Documentaries.

Mary goes about her day, showing us her studio, paintings and demonstrating how she makes them.We follow her journey outdoors to paint in the tranquil countryside, then retreat to her home whereshe shows her love and artistic relationship with cooking.

Best Foot Forward

Mary Duffy, a painter born without arms gives us a glimpse into her life, process, and quirky methods of creating art.

Armour Off is a dance film commissioned by Croi Glan Integrated Dance Company. It captures a performance by dancer Linda Fearon who in lieu of presenting a cancelled live performance was instead filmed at her home in Co. Armagh, Ireland at the height of lockdown 2020. The film interweaves movement and spoken word written by Linda, exploring her relationship with her body and self throughout her life.The film is directed by award winning film-maker Anna Rodgers and Produced by Zlata Filipovic; the original live production of Armour Off! is produced by Croi Glan Integrated Dance Company and devised by Linda Fearon in collaboration with Australian based choreographer Caroline Bowditch and composer Niall O'Carroll, all artists with disabilities.

Armour Off

Armour Off is a dance film commissioned by Croi Glan Integrated Dance Company. It captures a performance by dancer Linda Fearon who in lieu of presenting a cancelled live performance was instead filmed at her home in Co. Armagh

Keith Byrne (10) and Noel Murray (13) from Darndale had run away before, but evading the authorities in three countries was a first – even for them ! In August 1985 they began an incredible adventure that would see the young duo leaving home and eventually ending up in New York having arrived there on an Air India flight from London. Their journey baffled security in three countries, caused a major terrorism alert and left their parents in the dark about their whereabouts for days. Now thirty six years later and for the first time on screen together, Keith and Noel recount their adventure. Their story had the Irish nation talking as they created international headlines, however they reveal the life that followed after the headlines faded. A nostalgic trip of adventure with two men who ran away from home and captured the heart of the nation.

Nothing to Declare

The charming true story of two Irish boys aged 10 and 13 on a stowaway adventure of a lifetime from Dublin to New York in the summer of 1985.

‘Permanent Placement Possible’ explores themes of identity and ownership of data by focusing on a legal anomaly that prohibits Irish adopted people born in Ireland from gaining access to records relating to their birth and adoption while allowing Irish people born in the United Kingdom full access to this information.

Permanent Placement Possible

Adopted people are searchers. In Ireland restrictions make this inquiry for personal information about their birth, difficult, slow, and often fruitless.

This short documentary is giving a voice to young adults, that we rarely hear. It highlights struggles of kids living in urban areas in the western world and challenges our preconceived ideas about teenagers.

My Home is Crumlin

This short documentary is giving a voice to young adults, that we rarely hear. Their testimonies are funny and and very touching.

Brendan O'Sullivan, an extraordinary young man with Down's Syndrome who leads an extraordinary life.Hailing from Listowel, Co. Kerry, Brendan is regarded by many in the town as a 'local celebrity'. Brendan often has cars "hoot and salute" him as he walks past. A dear friend of the late writer John B. Keane, Brendan is a brilliant, bright bubbly personality who touches the lives of those he meets.

BRENDAN

Brendan O'Sullivan, an extraordinary young man with Down's Syndrome who leads an extraordinary life in an extraordinary town.

The Eternal Memory "The key to the past, the seeds of our future" is a documentary short film about lifelogging from Irish composer and first time director Diarmuid J Kennedy. The film presents a fascinating insight into pioneering research on lifelogging. Dr Cathal Gurrin, who works at one of Europe's largest Research Centres on Data Analytics, has recorded every waking minute of his life for 15 years and developed a search engine to retrieve memories. The film poses fascinating questions about time, memory and personal choice and is accompanied by a music score by Diarmuid J Kennedy.

The Eternal Memory

The Eternal Memory "The key to the past, the seeds of our future" is a documentary short film about lifelogging from Irish composer Diarmuid J Kennedy.

It’s 1980, Charlie Haughey is in office, Ireland is in the height of recession, and a small soccer club in a rugby town is about to face football royalty Real Madrid in the first knockout round of the European Cup. This is the story of three Limerick players who played the game of their lives that no one remembers. Three men considered legends in their local parish yet work day jobs to make ends meet. Three men whose football club today is on the brink of financial collapse. Sit Down and Shut Up is a stylish portrait of Ireland in the 1980s, corruption, and a community dying out in modern times kept alive by the glory days of the past.

Sit Down and Shut Up

Sit Down and Shut Up is the David vs Goliath tale about when local team Limerick City FC faced football royalty Real Madrid in the 1980 European Cup.

Jerome reflects on his experience in Direct Provision, painting a picture of the psychological toll the system takes on the individual.

System

Jerome reflects on his experience as an asylum seeker in Direct Provision.

An experimental documentary, this film looks at the life of a Killarney man who has spent his life working with cars. Accompanied by his canine friends, he recalls his past, using car registrations as markers of memory to connect points in time.

197 DIU

This film observes the life of a mechanic and former rally driver who recounts his past through the recollection of a series of car registrations.

Memories they come and go. There are memories that we cherish and some that we lose sight of. We long for that feeling, but bit by bit we soon forget. The unreliability of a memory, isn't that enough?

Some Days

Some days we long for broken fragments, as we fear that it no longer contains the connection that was once there. Sometimes a memory is all it takes to spark that feeling within.

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Irish Short Documentaries

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