Limerick Film Lab

August 2025

Following the success of the inaugural Limerick Film Lab,the 2025 Irish and Scottish cohort and development slate, were unveiled at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. The event was hosted in partnership with Enterprise Ireland and Screen Scotland.

Photos from the Limerick Film Lab event at the Edinburgh International Film Festival

The Limerick Film Lab selected 18 producers from Ireland, Scotland, and Canada and brought them together for a week of international collaboration, creative exchange, and industry development in July in Limerick. Organised by Innovate Limerick through Film in Limerick, the regional film office for the Mid-West of Ireland, and delivered with Screen Scotland, Picture NL, Screen Ireland and Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, the initiative brought together producers from three countries for a week of international collaboration, creative exchange, and industry networking.

On 19^th August 2025, the producers presented their projects from the Lab at the Edinburgh International Film Festival with the ambition of finding international co-production, financing and distribution partners. The selected talent presenting their new features at EIFF include The Wayfinders’ Stephen Hall of Dark Day Pictures, Cynthia and Algorithm producers Copper Alley and Gravedigger producer Pius McGrath.

The event invited guests to engage directly with the Irish and Scottish producers developing international projects and provide the opportunity for them to learn about funding and support available in both territories.

The Irish features presented:

No Sleep ‘till Belfast

A fifteen-year-old punk rocker and his friend steal his embittered father’s car for a cross-country journey to a Clash gig that forces them to navigate truth, tragedies and threats

Writer: Greg Burrowes

Writer/Director: Jamie Delaney

Producer: Ronan Cassidy, Carbonated Comet Productions

Painting Saddam

A team of Northern Irish decorators travel to Baghdad to paint Saddam Hussein’s palace, but after Iraq invades Kuwait, they’re trapped as hostages and human shields. Inspired by a true story.

Writer: Colin Bateman

Producer: Anna Mannion, Tri-Moon Films

Bedsitterland

A sheltered young woman leaves her isolated upbringing to work in a city, but the eerie residents of her crumbling boarding house soon blue the line between reality and paranoia.

Writer / Director: Nick Kelly

The Crier

A banshee’s cry echoes through 1950s Ireland as a young girl from a travelling community races to uncover the truth behind her sister’s disappearance—facing vengeful spirits, a town’s buried sins, a generations-old family curse, and a legend that refuses to die.

Writer: Richard Lynch

Producer: Stephen Hall

The Singularity

A banshee’s cry echoes through 1950s Ireland as a young girl from a travelling community races to uncover the truth behind her sister’s disappearance—facing vengeful spirits, a town’s buried sins, a generations-old family curse, and a legend that refuses to die.

Writer: Jack Hickey

Producer: Jack Hickey, Cooper Alley Productions

The Scottish features presented:

Authenticity

A dark, satirical and moving comedy set in a world where physical travel is restricted but folk can 'Airbnb' themselves. Young folk thus hire their bodies out to tourists able to plug in remotely. Our hero ALI works in this humdrum gig economy and is desperate to get out, but a complication sets him on an unusual path.

Writer: Zam Salim

Producer: Zam Salim, Incidental Pictures

Miracle Season

When a seasoned private investigator arrives in the remote Scottish coastal town of Dunlairn to search for a missing teenager, she steps into a landscape alive with mystery. The locals are close-lipped, steeped in old stories – of the Blue Faced Witch who curses the cliffs, and the Each-Uisge, a shape-shifting water bull said to drag its victims into the sea.

Producer: Lena Vurma, Skye Films

The Honey Farm

When 22-year-old Silvia escapes her oppressive Catholic upbringing, she seeks freedom and inspiration at an isolated artists' retreat. There, she finds a seductive mentor in Cynthia – a once-celebrated poet whose charismatic presence and radical philosophies captivate Silvia.

Producer: Rakasree Basu | Momentum Films

Riptide

When Tara’s career as a dancer stalls, she returns to her home in Co. Down to heal and to look after her adult brother whose mental health is deteriorating. In order to get out of the house, she obsessively swims lengths at the local pool. There she meets Connor, a recently divorced, recently bankrupted man, who persuades Tara to teach him to swim.

Producer: Ciara Barry, barrycrear

Gift From God

Writer / Director Catriona McInnes

When a troubled Irish musician abducts a young girl she believes is her spirit child, the echoes of her choice follow her across continents until the mountains force her to face her truth.

Producer: Laura McBride, Compact Pictures

Committed

Jay Murphy – a charismatic, but troubled gay guy in his early 30s—is sectioned in a psychiatric facility after a bipolar episode. He doesn’t believe he should be in hospital and views other patients as being far ‘crazier’ than he is.

Writer: Philip Wright

Producer: Reece Cargan, Randan

July 2025

A major milestone in the development of the Mid-West of Ireland's screen industry was achieved with the first-ever Limerick Film Lab at the Engine Collaboration Centre in Limerick City in July 2025

The Lab brought together 18 talented producers from Ireland, Scotland, and Canada for a week of international collaboration, creative exchange, and industry development.

Organised by Innovate Limerick through Film in Limerick, the regional film office for the Mid-West of Ireland, the Lab was designed to support experienced producers and foster new co-production partnerships between three countries with strong storytelling traditions and dynamic screen sectors.

Photos from the Limerick Film Lab at the Engine Collaboration Centre

Opening the Lab, Cllr. Maria Donoghue welcomed participants and highlighted the Lab as “a landmark moment for film in the Mid-West and indeed, for a film training collaboration across Ireland, Scotland and Canada.”

“At the heart of this film lab is a simple but vital idea: connection,” said the Councillor.

“Connection between producers, across borders, backgrounds, and approaches. Connection between cultures, with their distinct perspectives and voices. And connection between our film industries, through co-production, shared learning, and international collaboration.”

Running from 6–9 July, the programme featured keynotes, case studies, and networking opportunities to support producers in developing creative and financial partnerships while deepening their understanding of the international co-production landscape.

Paul C Ryan, Regional Film Manager at Film in Limerick, commented:

“The Limerick Film Lab is all about connection – not just between filmmakers, but between cultures, storytelling traditions, and industry ecosystems. It is a huge opportunity for our regional producers to step onto the international stage and collaborate on stories that travel.”

Participants were selected from across Ireland's regions, from Scotland, and Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, with each region represented by six producers. The Lab provides a space for these producers to explore new creative relationships and potential future feature film collaborations.

The initiative is delivered in partnership with Screen Scotland and Picture NL (Newfoundland and Labrador’s film agency), with additional support from Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, Screen Ireland, Screen Producers Ireland, and Limerick City and County Council.

Jennifer Dempsey, Industry Development Manager at Picture NL, said:

“We’re thrilled to see local talent from Newfoundland and Labrador engaging with peers from Ireland and Scotland at this Lab. It’s an exciting opportunity to expand creative horizons and spotlight emerging voices from our province on the international stage.”

Leslie Finlay, Screen Officer at Screen Scotland, added:

“This international co-production lab in Limerick represents a powerful opportunity for creative exchange. Initiatives like this are essential to strengthening the future of independent film on an international scale.”

The Lab was hosted at Engine Collaboration Centre, a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in the city, and forms part of a wider strategy to position the Mid-West as a leading destination for film and television production.

By hosting this groundbreaking initiative, Limerick is not only showcasing its capacity as a world-class centre for screen collaboration, but also signalling a bold vision for the future of film in the Mid-West.

With its growing creative sector and proud storytelling tradition, Limerick, is now firmly positioned as a meeting point for global talent and ideas. As the Lab unfolds, it sets the stage for future co-productions, deeper cultural exchange, and a stronger, more connected independent film community across Ireland, Scotland, and Canada.

In closing remarks at the launch, Cllr. Maria Donoghue said:

“We are incredibly proud that Limerick is hosting this event. Limerick is a place with deep roots and big ambitions. Let’s make something extraordinary together.”

2025 Lab Partners:

Film in Limerick

Film in Limerick, is the film office for Limerick, Clare and Tipperary. We promote and support inward and local feature Film and TV production and run training programmes and company development initiatives to develop the crew base and local screen sector. We manage the National Talent Academies Crew Academy for Munster with Screen Ireland, offer Market & Festival Delegations with our partners and deliver the Engine Short Film Training and Production Scheme. We are funded by the local authorities in Limerick, Clare and Tipperary, by Screen Ireland (Crew Academy) and Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board.

Picture NL, Canada

PictureNL is the provincial film commission and funding agency dedicated to growing and promoting the film and television industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. Through targeted funding programs, business development missions, and strategic partnerships, PictureNL supports local talent and attracts national and international productions to the province.

With major streamers like Netflix, Disney, Apple TV+, and Amazon taking interest in the region, and an increasing number of local producers ready to scale up, Newfoundland and Labrador is emerging as a key player in the Canadian screen industry.

Screen Scotland

Screen Scotland drives development of all aspects of Scotland’s film and tv industry, through funding and strategic support.

Screen Scotland is part of Creative Scotland and delivers these services and support with funding from Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Find out more at screen.scot