Showcasing bold new voices, fresh perspectives and exceptional storytelling, our ever popular Irish Shorts programmes celebrate the creativity and diversity of Ireland’s filmmaking talent. Tickets are selling fast; don’t miss out on the chance to discover your next favourite filmmaker at the 2026 Festival.
All short films in competition are eligible for the Grand Prix Irish Short Award and when indicated Grand Prix Documentary Short Award [D], Redbreast UNHIDDEN Short Award [RU] and Best Cork Short Award [C].
IRISH SHORTS 1: IN COMPETITION
FRI 13 | TRISKEL | 20:15
A selection of national and world premieres. Portraits of people trying to find their footing in a rapidly shifting world.
Contains Adult Themes.
FULL PITCH – Róisín Leavy-Sahin
Returning to her football team after an absence, captain Meadbh struggles to find her place until an unexpected clash with a new teammate challenges her assumptions and helps her rediscover her confidence.
PAPER PLANE – Saoirse Ronan
When her daughter’s silent protest forces a reckoning, a mother must choose between the familiar confines of a troubled home and the uncertain freedom of a new beginning.
RITH MAITH – Oisin Misteil
A disillusioned Dubliner’s escape from his housing woes takes a deadly turn when he stumbles upon a murder cover-up, forcing him to outrun gangsters, bureaucracy and his own indecision.
Casadh marfach atá i gceist nuair a thagann Baile Átha Cliathach díomách, atá ag iarraidh éalú óna thrioblóidí tithíochta, ar cheilt dúnmharaithe, rud a chuireann iallach air teitheadh ó dhrongadóirí, ó mhaorlathas agus óna éiginnteacht féin.
THE DEAD HOUSE – Aaron Chalke
At his grandfather’s wake, Patrick is forced into a long-avoided confrontation with his father, unearthing buried shame, family secrets and the Traveller heritage that continues to shape their lives.
BEDCRUMBS – Ross O’Donnellan [RU]
As his boyfriend invites a carousel of lovers into their bed, Michael is forced to confront his relationship and himself.
THIS HAPPENED – Stuart Drennan
It was all great craic – until it wasn’t.
IRISH SHORTS 2: IN COMPETITION
SAT 14 | GRANARY THEATRE | 20:00
A selection of Irish and world premiere shorts by Irish and Irish-based documentary and artist filmmakers.
REFRACTIVE HYMN – Cíana Fitzgerald
Shot on 16mm amid Iceland’s volcanic winter, this psychospiritual odyssey explores the reclamation of a fragmented self and the search for transcendence, wholeness and divine connection.
SELF-PRESERVING NUDITY (YA NE ZNYKAIU) – Nelly Shylova [D]
Fleeing the Russian invasion with her children, a Ukrainian woman finds herself suspended between reality and dream in Ireland, as this poetic documentary explores exile, trauma and the quiet death of displacement.
MUSCLE BOUND – Colin Peppard [D] [RU]
A retired bodybuilder confronts the quiet collapse that follows the spotlight.
MIRROR MARTYR MIRROR MOON – Jesse Jones
Through 16mm film and operatic music, Jesse Jones reimagines Mount Sinai as a landscape of martyrdom, healing and contemplation, invoking Artemisia Gentileschi’s Saint Catherine as a “triple-headed goddess”.
GO YE AFAR – Frank Sweeney
An Irish-Nigerian taxi driver embarks on a miraculous journey through the streets of Dublin and Calabar, where two worlds converge in an extraordinary voyage.
A POOL IN WHICH I PLAY – Erik Nuding [D]
Once upon a time, a goddess becomes a river. A drifting barrel becomes a letter. And after decades of silence, my mother and grandmother begin to speak again through the ocean between them.
IRISH SHORTS 3: BEST CORK SHORT COMPETITION
TUE 17 | EVERYMAN | 18:00
From archival reflections to urgent calls, a selection of Cork filmmakers and films, including documentary, drama, dance, silent film.
Mature themes.
WHEN IMAGES NO LONGER CARRY TIME NATURALLY – Shuning Zhao [C] [D]
Combining archival footage of West Cork with contemporary recordings, this experimental film explores how digital images mediate memory, time and our experience of place.
HERE & THERE – Bruna Barreto Fontoura [C]
WARNING! EXTRATERRESTRIAL SIGHTING! Cork City has been invaded by an extraterrestrial creature who’s only after one thing: to find a new home.
SEBASTIAN – Owen Warren [C]
A young sex worker has a client who comes from another time in their life and must decide if they wish to go ahead with their request.
LIFE/TIME – Terence White [C]
Through layered imagery and movement, this experimental dance film brings three stages of a woman’s life into dialogue, exploring the challenges, changes and complexities of ageing.
EMBROIDERING THE EARTH’S MANTEL – Aideen Barry [C] [RU]
Inspired by forgotten surrealist Remedios Varo, this experimental film merges historic cinematic techniques, motion design and performers’ personal journeys into a dreamlike exploration of art, identity and displacement.
HOSTILE ARCHITECTURE – Liadán Roche [C]
Grace, a recently evicted trans woman, and Billy, a trans man stuck at home, find intimacy in an extra-dimensional room – but just like the city outside, the room itself threatens to swallow them whole.
EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A HOME – Tomas Heising [C] [D]
After nearly four years of weekly protests against Ireland’s housing crisis, Cork musician Martin Leahy makes his 200th and final journey to Leinster House, joined by fellow campaigners determined to make their voices heard.
IRISH SHORTS 4: OUT OF COMPETITION IRISH SHORTS
SAT 14 | GRANARY THEATRE | 14:15
A selection of Irish shorts that have been screened elsewhere in Ireland this year but that we particularly like and want to share with our audience. Stories that take you from the rough and tumble roads of West Cork to the shiny surrounds of the Paris Metro. and some interesting points in-between.
BOWLING ROADS – Laura Mahler
It is only played in this small corner of West Cork, but here, it is king. Hannah wants nothing more than to be its Queen.
MÍ-ÁDH (BAD LUCK) – Damian McCann
A superstitious and suicidal taxi driver must confront his mortality when he finds himself complicit in the attempted murder of a diabetic black cat.
VERDIGRIS – Chloe Brenan
Drifting through Paris on digitised Super 8mm, Verdigris explores how architecture shapes movement and how wandering becomes an act of resistance against the rhythms, routines and standardisation of urban life.
THE LACEY WAY – Regina de Faoite
Seventeen-year-old George Lacey, an outsider in both her family and the world beyond, ventures into her first disco in search of belonging, only to confront a reality she has never been taught to navigate.
ROBIN IN THE HOOD – Kristin Vollset
When a travelling busker discovers Dublin’s rebellious inner-city horse community, she joins forces with an urban horse owner in a modern musical reimagining of Robin Hood, as they fight to escape an oppressive economic system and forge a new life.
FÍS ÉIREANN/SCREEN IRELAND WORLD PREMIERE SHORTS
THU 19 | TRISKEL | 18:15
SUN 22 | TRISKEL | 15:30
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is proud to present the World Premiere of an exciting selection of new Irish short films funded under the agency’s Focus Shorts, Frameworks and Real Shorts short film schemes. Frameworks are made with the participation of RTÉ.
Films in our programme can include mature themes/adult content. Viewer discretion is advised.
SHOWPONY – Shannon Haly [C]
At a queer bar in Cork, Claire is shocked to spot her traditional Catholic Nana, discovering backstage they have more in common than imagined.
SYNCTIUM – Mikai Geronimo, Josh O’Caoimh
A mortal encounters a celestial being in the forest, whose magical flute controls the flow of time.
FRIED – Zoë Brennan Whitmore
When a recent college graduate unwittingly buys a cursed air fryer, it triggers a dark, obsessive hunger that threatens her sanity.
KNITTED KNOCKERS – Naoimh Reilly [C] [D]
A gift from one woman to another.
STARLETS – Aisha Bolaji
As floods consume the world, 16-year-old Noelle prepares to audition for the Ark cruise ship, pushed by her overbearing mother.
THE COLONIST – Kevin Treacy, Jason Byrne
In a near-future Irish village where animals enjoy equal rights, a newly arrived doctor discovers a guest has moved into her home.
RAT STORY – John Kelly
I woke up at 5am with a giant rat lying on my chest.
