Featuring 48 shorts across six different screening presentations, the 2022 Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival Shorts Programme features an eclectic and inspirational collection of short films from home and abroad by established and emerging filmmakers.
With a selection of highlights from Screen Ireland’s funding schemes, as well as a new selection of some of the best shorts from Glasgow Film Festival joining the four Virgin Media DIFF presentations, 2022 will big the biggest showcase of this unique artform yet.
Festival 2022 will showcase new work from exciting Irish directors including Dave Tynan’s (Dublin Oldschool) searing examination of race in Ireland, The Colour Between; Kelly Campbell’s engaging Dublin story An Encounter, written by Mark O’Halloran (Rialto, Viva) and Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair’s hyper-sensory sonic horror, Don’t Go Where I Can’ Find You, a genre-leaning drama about grief and the redemptive power of music and art.
Offering windows into the world, the programme will also show international shorts from countries as far afield as Qatar, Russia, Brazil, USA, Canada, Turkey, The Netherlands and more. Highlights include Greek American Filmmaker Laki Karavias’ look at race and immigration in Texas, The Night I left America; Hannah Currie’s BAFTA winning That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore, Leonardo Martinelli’s Brazilian musical comedy Neon Phantom, and Eliane Esther Bots award-winning experimental documentary following the narratives of three interpreters of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Flow of Words.
Selected for the VMDIFF presentations (from almost 800 submissions) by actor and screenwriter Tania Notaro, the programme offers a view of the exceptional filmmaking talent around the world.
The talent and vision exhibited by these filmmakers are extraordinary. The storytelling is really engaging and tackles pressing social issues of our time which will captivate our audiences. It’s a showcase of future talent and a great way for aspiring filmmakers to watch the different ways in which their peers work. There is an eclectic mix of films and something for everyone ranging from horror to comedy and we even have a musical this year. Included are films from emerging and established filmmakers from over 16 countries with performances from Amanda Seyfried, Sharon Washington and Ben Whishaw. Themes include: coming of age, immigration, race, grief, LGBTQ, trauma, social inequality and some hard-hitting women’s issues. I’m really excited about how diverse the programme is and I can’t wait to see what some of these budding filmmakers will do next.
Tania Notaro, Shorts Programmer
Screen Ireland/Fís Éireann is again delighted to support Irish shorts this year with a curated programme from Screen Ireland’s Focus, Framework and Short Stories funding schemes.
We are delighted that audiences will get to experience an engaging line up of short films created by upcoming talented filmmakers. Comprising of both live action drama and animation these films will embrace many themes including horror, grief, class, friendship and relationships through an imaginative and sometimes evocative lens.
Mags O’Sullivan, Marketing Executive, Screen Ireland
Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival are also delighted to announce a new partnership with Glasgow Film Festival, Scottish Shorts: Out of the Margins. A mix of fiction and documentary, the programme combines wider socio-political issues with deeply personal narratives, this programme demonstrates the variety of voices and stories in Scotland.
Glasgow Film Festival is delighted and honoured to be screening Scottish films alongside this exciting and vibrant collection curated by DIFF. We know that the Dublin Film Festival audiences will connect with the range of stories and tales in the films.
Allison Gardner, CEO/Co-director GFF
The short film format has always been a vital part of the festival, acting as both a showcase for future talent and as an art form in its own right and we have expanded our line-up to include the wealth of incredible films made under the most difficult of circumstances.
Gráinne Humphreys, Virgin Media DIFF Director
Tickets for all shorts programmes are on sale now at www.diff.ie
Currently also available is the Festival Pass priced at €250 will give access to the Festival’s regular cinema tickets as well as 20% discount on special presentations. Online 5 x film pass vouchers and 10 x film pass vouchers are also available to purchase.
Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival takes place from February 23 – March 6 in cinemas and with a selection of films also available online. If you would like to volunteer and work with like-minded film lovers please fill out the Volunteers application on www.diff.ie.
The full festival programme will be revealed on 26 January with tickets to go on sale from 12 noon that day.
All Festival screenings and events will adhere to government guidelines and Covid safety regulations.
PROGRAMME OF SHORTS AT VIRGIN MEDIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2022
VMDIFF Shorts #1
- Harvest – Tristan Heanue, Ireland
- Libre – Arthur Lopes, Ireland
- Hairy Monster – Oh Jisook Kim, Korea
- Mora Mora – Jurga Šeduikytė, Lithuania
- Store Policy – Sarah Arnold, France
- Film Found – Claudia Munksgaard-Palmqvist, Denmark
- Spirit Level – Eoin Heaney, Ireland
- Motorcyclist’s Happiness Won’t Fit Into His Suit – Gabriel Herrera, Mexico
VMDIFF Shorts #2
- Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You – Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair, Ireland
- Broken: A Lockdown Story – TJ O’Grady Peyton, Ireland
- Birdwatching – Samantha Soule, USA
- The Night I Left America – Laki Karavias, USA
- Conversations With My Dead Father – Maurice O’Carroll, Ireland
- Liminal – Dan Ambromovici, Canada
- Ruthless – Matthew McGuigan, Ireland
- In Flow of Words – Eliane Esther Bots, Netherlands
VMDIFF Shorts #3
- Nothing to Declare – Garret Daly, Ireland
- Cleaner – Edwin Mullane, Ireland
- Sucking Diesel – Sam McGrath, Ireland
- And They Burn in the Sea – Majid Al-Remaihi, Qatar
- Cuties – Theo W Scott, UK
- The Passion – Mia Mullarky, Ireland
- Lessness – Mahdi Safavi, Russia
- The Colour Between – Dave Tynan, Ireland
- Hello – Claire Byrne, Ireland
VMDIFF Shorts #4
- Neon Phantom– Leonardo Martinelli, Brazil
- This is Why – Sean Roberts, Ireland
- Bounce – Alexander Dinelaris & Lloyd Owen, UK
- Miss Fortunate – Ella Jones, UK
- Miss D – Paddy Hayes, Ireland
- Stiletto – Can Merdan Dogan, Turkey
- Nettle Bush – Francis O’Mahony, Ireland
- Squish – Xavier Seron, Belgium
- Sparkle – Ger Walsh, Ireland
Screen Ireland Shorts
- Bardo – Aisling Conroy, Ireland
- Signal – Diarmuid Donohoe, Ireland
- Lady Betty – Paul McGrath, Ireland
- Momento Mori – Paul O’Flanagan, Ireland
- Pork – Gareth Lyons, Ireland
- An Encounter – Kelly Campbell, Ireland
- If Neon Meets Argon – James Doherty, Ireland
- Hedy – Andy Clarke, Ireland
Scottish Shorts: Out Of The Margins
- The Shift – Laura Carreira, Scotland
- My Name is Anik – Bircan Birol, Scotland
- That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore – Hannah Currie, Scotland
- Once Upon A Time in Easterhouse – Paul Cochrane, Scotland
- Everyman – Jack Goessens, Scotland
- Expensive Shit – Adura Onashile, Scotland