The National Lasta Festival will launch here online on June 2nd at 6pm. We are delighted to be kicking things off with this online short film programme and live Q & A with special guest judges Harp Media. Our curators held an open call and chose 5 short films for you to enjoy. Harp Media will be announcing the winner of the Best Short Film Award on June 9th. Please follow us on social media to find out more about all the events happening nationwide. Lasta Festival has emerged from the Young Curators Programme which is supported by the Arts Council.

The Lasta Festival, based on a project originally conceived and delivered by Backstage Theatre in Longford and now in its third year, has blossomed to include venues and individual curators nationwide, and an expanding programme of exciting, multidisciplinary work. In an innovative and exciting approach to programming, 19 young curators have been engaged by seven regional venues (including the Backstage Theatre) to programme a festival of work for young people nationwide. Under the guidance of theatre artist Maisie Lee, these young people will work collaboratively to deliver an ambitious line up of work. Featuring multiple disciplines and reflecting the diversity of modern Ireland, this festival offers a unique opportunity to develop our future arts programmers and producers. The line-up for this year’s festival will feature theatre, music, comedy, dance, film, photography and experiential moments promising a fresh, fun, and exciting festival.

The seven regional venues involved in the initiative are Backstage Theatre (Longford) www.backstage.ie Dunamaise Arts Centre (Portlaoise) www.dunamaise.ie glór (Ennis) www.glor.ie An Grianán (Letterkenny) www.angrianan.com The Lime Tree Theatre (Limerick) www.limetreetheatre.ie Siamsa Tíre (Tralee) www.siamsatire.com and Town Hall Theatre (Galway) www.tht.ie

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