Doc Day Live
Cork International Film Festival continues to develop its focus on high-quality Irish and international documentary cinema with Doc Day, connecting emerging and established non-fiction filmmakers with industry professionals and the wider documentary industry.
Doc Day 2026 will explore the making of the new feature documentary Whiddy, from multi-award-winning Cork filmmaker Adrian McCarthy, provide a platform for composers to discuss the creative process of composing for documentary, and host a keynote interview with Sophie Fiennes about her new film The Pervert’s Guide to Utopias and the impact of The Pervert’s Guide Trilogy, a long-term collaboration with philosopher Slavoj Žižek.
A networking reception will conclude the event from 17:00 to 17:45, followed by the Documentary Gala screening of Here We Remain at 20:45 at the Triskel.
All First Take sessions will be accompanied by Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing on screen.
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DOC DAY:
11:00 - 17:00
10:30 - Door opens / registration
11:00 - Intro
11:10 - Session 1 - Whiddy | Local Stories, Global Resonance
12:05 - Session 2 - The Sonics of Non-Fiction | Documentary Composers in Focus
13:00 - Lunch
14:00 - Session 3 - Irish Language Documentary | Amplifying Voices for Justice
14:55 - Session 4 - Amazomania | Questioning the complexities of consent
15:45 - Break
16:00 - Pervert's Guide to Utopia | Evolution of a Trilogy
17:00 - Drinks Reception
17:45 - END
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11:10
1. Whiddy | Local Stories, Global Resonance
Despite the historical theme of Whiddy, and its rural Cork setting, it is a story with significant global resonance. This discussion will encompass the vast breadth of research involved in the creation of the film, and its ambitious production. From pitching & financing, to working with contributors, archive, and navigating legal implications, as well as the collaborative editing process, the focus will be on how the team took a local story and gave it global impact, putting a critical lens on the capitalist structures that allowed the Whiddy disaster to occur, and how its painful legacy still reverberates today.
Speakers: Adrian McCarthy - Director, Whiddy; Brenda Morrissey - Co-Director / Editor, Whiddy
Host: Pat Collins - Filmmaker
12:05
2. The Sonics of Non-Fiction | Documentary Composers in Focus
Presented in partnership with the Screen Composers Guild of Ireland, and featuring a complement of Irish and international composers, the session will dissect the importance of sound and score in elevating documentary, meticulously probing the intricate relationship between the director and composer.
Speakers: Paul Hartnell - Composer, Whiddy; Stephen Shannon - Composer, Ancestors
Host: Sarah Glennane - CEO, Screen Composers Guild of Ireland
Presented in partnership with Screen Composers Guild of Ireland
13:00 - Lunch
14:00
3. Irish Language Documentary | Amplifying Voices for Justice
Fáisnéis i nGaeilge / Ag cur le glórtha ar son an chirt
In this era of social and political upheaval, Irish language documentary is making an impact. This session will feature filmmakers working in the Irish language who are unapologetically outspoken in their work, making films with strong contemporary relevance that chart our changing world, exploring activism, advocacy and injustice, and giving voice to communities whose stories must be heard.
Speakers: Ainle Ó Cearrailláin - Co-director, Here We Remain; Jamie Goldrick - Director, Flotilla, NORAID: Irish America and the IRA, Reds in Éirinn; Ciara Nic Chormaic - Director, Gníomhaí ,Ó Bheal, Aisling Trí Néallaibh
14:55
4. Amazomania | Questioning the complexities of consent
Esteemed documentarian Nathan Grossman joins Doc Day to probe his award-winning documentary Amazomania, which re-examines a first-contact expedition in the Amazon, questioning its morality in a thought-provoking observation of colonial legacy, and the complexities of consent.
The session will discuss the making of the film, the difficult questions it raises about responsibility towards documentary subject, and the wider question of ethics in documentary filmmaking.
Speaker: Nathan Grossman - Director, Amazomania; Host: Tom Burke - Documentary filmmaker / Academic
15:45 - Break
16:00
5. The Pervert's Guide to Utopia | Evolution of a Trilogy
This in-depth conversation with filmmaker Sophie Fiennes will delve into the final part of her Pervert's Guide trilogy with Slavoj Žižek, The Pervert’s Guide to Utopias - a film wherein they endeavour to map the utopian illusions of our time. The session will analyse the political, social and cultural context for the film within our turbulent global landscape, discuss the wider significance of the trilogy, and include thoughts and reflections on her twenty-year collaboration with the prominent philosopher and cultural theorist.
Speaker: Sophie Fiennes - Director, The Perverts Guide to Utopias
Host: Tara Brady - Film Critic & Features Writer, The Irish Times
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