Festival Team & Festival Board

Cork International Film Festival CLG is governed by the Board of Directors who support the Executive, led by Festival Director and CEO, Fiona Clark. A core year-round staff of eight is supplemented by seasonal staff and contractors to support the delivery of the annual Festival in November.

Festival Patron: David Puttnam

CIFF Core Staff:

  • Festival Director and CEO: Fiona Clark
  • Director of Programming: Aurélie Godet
  • Senior Programmer: Don O’Mahony
  • Programme Manager: Si Edwards
  • Head of Development: Michelle Reid
  • Head of Marketing & Communications: Deirdre O’Reilly
  • Digital Marketing & Development Officer: Michael McCarthy
  • Administrator & Bookkeeper: Claire Joyce
  • Financial Controller: Annette Creaton (Contractor)
  • Admin & Marketing Assistant: Matilda Malleus (CE Scheme)
  • Admin & Customer Support Assistant: Christian McCallum (CE Scheme)

2025 Contractors & Seasonal Staff:

  • Industry Manager & Programme Advisor: Róisín Geraghty
  • Publicity/Publications Manager: Glenn Hogarty (Limelight Communications)
  • Marketing Assistant: Sasmith Ananth
  • PR Assistant: Ashiling Walsh
  • Development Support: Katherine Fitzpatrick
  • YPCE Projects Coordinator: Jamie Hooper
  • Culinary Events Manager: Emer Yip
  • Events Coordinator: Benjamin Rupprecht
  • Cork Film Trail Coordinator: Eoin Gallagher
  • Production Manager: Alex Howells
  • Production Assistant: Jason O’Sullivan
  • Production Assistant: James O’Callaghan
  • Guest Services Manager: Yelyzaveta Zvarych
  • Guest Coordinator: Iris Došen
  • Guest Services Assistant: Penny McGovern
  • Technical Manager: Kimaya Heins
  • Senior Projectionist: Emma Buckley
  • Projectionist: Rob Noonan
  • Designer: Babelfís
  • Education & Marketing Intern:
  • Marketing & Admin Interns:
  • Venue Manager – Everyman:
  • Venue Manager – Triskel:
  • Venue Manager:
  • Box Office Manager: Eoin Gallagher
  • Box Office Deputy: Dimitar Stankov
  • Box Office Staff:
  • Volunteers Manager: Emma White
  • Website Design: Vitamin Creative
  • Festival Printers: Waterman Printers

Committees of the Board 

Cork Film International Festival CLG Board has sub-committees to monitor Finance, Risk and Governance, and a Development Committee to support fundraising activity.

Audit & Risk Sub Committee

  • Cian Blackwell (Director, Chair)
  • Annette Creaton (Financial Controller, external sub committee member)
  • Emma Jane Joyce (Treasurer)
  • Barney Whelan

Development Sub Committee

  • Cathy Cullen
  • Donal Daly (External Sub Committee member)
  • Nancy Hawkes (Chair)
  • David Merriman (External Sub Committee member)
  • Derek Sheers (External Sub Committee member)
  • Jean Van Sinderen-Law (External Sub Committee member)
  • Barney Whelan

CIFF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Cian Blackwell

Finance Director, Dublin Business School

Chair

Cian is Finance Director of DBS, the Irish subsidiary of Kaplan International, a global education services company. He is also a non-executive director of the AirNav, the Irish national air traffic management services provider. He is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years’ experience in finance, operations, risk and governance. He has previously worked as a management consultant with Accenture, as a partner with Grant Thornton, as Head of Internal Audit and Group Treasurer with Ryanair, and as Deputy CEO of Irish Management Institute. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Law and a Graduate Diploma in Corporate Governance from University College Dublin, and a master’s degree in Risk Management from New York University Stern School of Business. Appointed: 07/2021

Nancy Hawkes

Head of Marketing, UCC

Deputy Chair

Originally from Nottingham, Nancy began her career in Cork as manager of Collins Bookshop. She quickly found her feet in the city and joined the staff of Cork University Press, Ireland’s oldest academic publishing house. She is currently Editor-in-Chief and Head of Marketing in University College Cork. A lifelong lover of cinema, she remembers the gift of a season ticket to her first Cork Film Festival in 1999 as a passport to a new world of ideas and inspiration. Appointed: 06/2020

Frank Berry

Filmmaker

Director

Frank Berry is an award-winning Irish Director with an expertise in community filmmaking and television. His first feature documentary, the critically acclaimed Ballymun Lullaby (2011) follows music teacher Ron Cooney as he produces music which gives a voice to the children of Ireland's only high-rise housing estate. It won the 'Director’s Finders Series' from the Directors Guild of America. Berry’s next film, I Used to Live Here (2014), a drama which explores suicide clusters among teenagers, won the Best First Feature Audience Award at the Galway Film Fleadh and was released in Irish cinemas to critical acclaim. His latest feature, Michael Inside (2017) is a prison drama which follows 18 year old Michael who becomes caught up in a drug bust and is sentenced to 3 months in prison where he struggles to adapt to the brutality of prison life. It picked up the award for Best Irish Film at the Galway Film Fleadh where its young star Dafhyd Flynn also claimed the Bingham Ray New Talent Award, and the Audience Award at Cork Film Festival 2017. Michael Inside was awarded the IFTA for ‘Best Film’ in 2018 and has garnered numerous five-star reviews. It is now available on Netflix. Frank is currently working on a new film, a love story about an asylum seeker and the Direct Provision system. Appointed: 06/2019

John Casey

Nonprofit Lawyer

Director

John is an experienced lawyer currently working for a nonprofit research organisation with a public benefit mission to follow the science to help power global society toward a clean, reliable, affordable and resilient energy future. John previously worked at leading Irish and Australian law firms. He holds a BCL (International) from UCC, accreditation as a mediator and a certificate in negotiation. John loves all forms of storytelling, including novels, plays and, of course, film.

Cathy Cullen

Communications Consultant

Director

Cathy has over 15 years of experience in communications, campaigns, and digital strategy. She co-hosts the award-winning and critically acclaimed film podcast The Cinemile. She holds a BA from UCC and an MA from DCU. She has a Professional Diploma in Diversity, Equity, Belonging & Inclusion from the UCD Academy, demonstrating her commitment to fostering inclusive leadership and advancing corporate responsibility. She's thrilled to combine her love of film and Cork City on the CIFF Board.

Emma Jane Joyce

Investment Director with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF)

Treasurer

Emma Jane is an Investment Director with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) where she leads on the design and implementation of the Fund’s unique Sustainability and Responsible Investment Strategy across the whole Fund, Global and Irish Portfolios, multiple investment structures and asset types and across the life-cycle of investments. She represents ISIF on a number of sustainability platforms including SIF Ireland and the CDP Ireland Network (past Chair). She has extensive investment experience and has held a variety of investment roles within the National Treasury Management Agency. She has recently completed the Executive Diploma in Corporate Governance at UCD Smurfit Graduate School of Business.

Mark Lynch

CFO of Pembroke Hospitality

Director

Mark Lynch is an experienced CFO, having worked at senior level in hospitality, leisure and tourism finance for more than 30 years, across a range of businesses from family-owned hotel groups to plc’s. Mark is a co-founder of Pembroke Hospitality which is a leading provider of hotel advisory and asset management services, both in Ireland and internationally. Mark is a Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Barney Whelan

Director

Former Director of Communications, Corporate Affairs, Brand Development and Marketing at An Post, former Public Relations Manager at ESB, with responsibility for public relations, public affairs and brand communications. Former Director of Sales and Marketing at The Food Safety Promotion Board. Former board member of the National Concert Hall. Extensive experience in fundraising/PR, marketing, corporate governance and business management.

Katie Holly

Managing Director, Keeper Pictures

Director

Katie Holly is the owner and Managing Director of Dublin-based Keeper Pictures, through which she has produced critically acclaimed feature films. She is a graduate of EAVE, Inside Pictures, was a former Producer on the Move at Cannes, a former board member of Screen Ireland and former co-Chair and a founding member of Women in Film and Television Ireland. She is a member of the Irish Film and Television Academy, BAFTA, BIFA and the European Film Academy. She is also founder and co-creative director of X-Pollinator, a cross-disciplinary training and networking initiative for female creative talent.

Dr Naomi Masheti

Programme Coordinator, Cork Migrant Centre

Director

Dr Naomi Masheti is a four-time graduate at the University College Cork. She is a Psychologist (CBT Therapist) with a huge interest and focus on Psychosocial Wellbeing of Non-Western Population. Naomi was instrumental in setting up the Cork Migrant Centre Psychosocial Wellbeing and Integration Hub at the Nano Nagle Place, focused on culturally sensitive services and premised on capacity building (emotional, cognitive, physical, social, knowledge and skills) conceptualised through a human rights and a strength-based perspective towards equity and transformative social justice work. She is a guest lecturer at the School of Psychology, UCC.

Cllr. Dan Boyle

Green Party/Comhaontas Glas Councillor

Member

Dan joined the board of the Cork International Film Festival in August 2024. Dan is a prominent member of the Green Party in Ireland and has had a long-standing career in politics. He served as the Lord Mayor (Admhéara) of Cork City in 2024/25, having been elected as a Green Party Councillor. Dan has been involved in Irish politics for several decades, with experience both at the local and national levels. He was previously a member of Seanad Éireann (the Irish Senate) and also served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Cork South-Central. Throughout his career, Boyle has been a strong advocate for environmental sustainability, social justice, and transparent governance. As a councillor and now as Lord Mayor, he focuses on promoting green policies, such as improving public transport, enhancing green spaces, and supporting initiatives that address climate change.

Cllr. Joe Lynch

Sinn Féin Councillor

Member

Joe joined the board of the Cork International Film Festival in August 2024. A Sinn Féin Councillor serving in the Youghal area of Cork County, Ireland, Joe has been an active member of the community and is known for his commitment to social and economic issues that affect his constituents. Lynch focuses on advocating for improved local services, housing, and community development. His work often involves engaging with local residents, addressing their concerns, and working within the council to implement changes that benefit the broader community.

Cllr. Ciara O'Connor

Labour Councillor

Member

Ciara joined the board of the Cork International Film Festival in March 2025.
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