Online platforms for local film, such as Local Film Ireland, are dedicated digital networks that connect regional filmmakers, actors, and crew members. They serve as community-building hubs where users can message peers, join video chat rooms, and collaborate on both small indie projects and larger national productions.
Here is a little write up about me from the lovely folks at Local Film Ireland, it’s a platform built for filmmakers and its totally free for filmmakers they are giving their own time and effort to keep the spirit of filmmaking a alive allowing real time video rooms, private messages, a unique custom profile, mine is currently https://roisin-dublin.localfilm.online/. Although not offically launched yet they are welcome to new memebers. Check them out! www.localfilm.online
Róisín Kearney.
Dublin, Ireland is where Róisín Kearney residess she is a member of local film online, she is good friend of mine, a creative writer, producer and director. I want to take a moment to celebrate her, to take a quick look over some of her achievements.
I’ve been fortunate enough to work alongside Roisin over the years and enjoyed many a few social evenings at festivals networking and making new friends. Festivals are a great place to meet like minded people, creative wizards and eccentric folk from all walks of life. Here is a little dive in to the wonderful talented Roisin Kearney Early life and return to film * Theatre & early film work: Róisín Kearney (sometimes written Roisin Kearney) comes from Dublin. She initially worked in theatre as a lighting designer and stage manager and toured widely. She later branched into film production, acting in short films and working in multiple departments on low‑budget productions .
In the late 1990s she acted as a script consultant for RTÉ pilots, rewriting female characters and providing gender‑consultancy before this was a recognised role . * Career break & comeback: After starting a family, she found the industry’s long hours incompatible with childcare and stepped away from film for several years . She eventually re‑entered the industry in 2014 when she wrote and produced The Love Agency, a short comedy that was later turned into a radio play .
Short‑film and documentary projects Project Role & details The Family Way (2015) Writer & producer. A multi‑award‑winning comedy about an Irish couple trying to conceive. The film toured internationally and won Best Comedy at the Dublin Independent Film Festival 2018 .
Civic Theatre notes that the film toured worldwide and won the festival’s Best Comedy award . No Dogs (2018) Writer & director. A short film about a Nigerian man who encounters racism when he tries to rent a house in Ireland. It premiered at festivals and earned Kearney a nomination for Best Female Director at the Indie Cork Film Festival 2018 .
WFT’s Member in Focus article lists No Dogs among her credits and notes the Best Female Director nomination . Algorithms (2017) Writer & director. A dark comedy exploring online dating. The WFT profile lists Algorithms among the short films she wrote and directed . RUN (2019) Writer & director. Premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh 2019 and later toured internationally . WFT notes that RUN was one of two films she premiered at Galway Film Fleadh 2019 . The Ferry (2019) Co‑producer. A drama about mothers and babies sent to institutions; it premiered at Galway Film Fleadh 2019 and was long‑listed for the Academy Awards .
The film was broadcast on RTÉ2 in September 2021 . A WFT article states that The Ferry qualified for the Academy Awards long‑list and later screened on RTÉ2 . PADDY (2020) Director. A period drama exploring Irish history. Actor Cian Hughes won Best Male Performance at the Femme Filmmakers Festival 2021 . WFT reports that the film premiered at Galway Film Fleadh 2020 and that Cian Hughes won an award at the Femme Filmmakers Festival .
Keep It Up (2022) Director of a six‑part hybrid documentary series produced by Macalla Teo for RTÉ. The show follows nine teenage girls who have given up sport and explores why girls drop out of physical activity. It is notable for its all‑female crew and its aim to provide positive role models .
The series was nominated for Best Children’s Programme at the Celtic Media Awards . WFT’s report on the series emphasises that it uses an all‑female crew and follows teenage girls re‑engaging with sport . Another WFT article notes the Celtic Media Awards nomination . The Laughing Boys (2025) Co‑writer & co‑director (with Caroline Grace‑Cassidy). A six‑minute short documentary in which Mary Murray recalls growing up in Dublin’s St Teresa’s Gardens. It premiered at the 2025 Galway Film Fleadh and won Best Dublin Short Story at the Bloomsday Film Festival 2026 .
The Bloomsday festival lists The Laughing Boys as the winner of Best Dublin Short Story . The Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival programme describes the film as a spoken‑word piece about childhood joy and loss . The Secret Life of Jim (producer) Kearney produced Emmet Kelly’s short film about a son trying to connect with his father, who has Alzheimer’s.
The film won multiple awards, including Best Film (Chicago Irish Film Festival), Best International Short Film (South Texas International Film Festival) and Best Short Film (Vienna International Film Competition) . Burning House Productions lists these award wins for The Secret Life of Jim . The Ballad of Olive Morris (executive producer) The short film about British civil‑rights activist Olive Morris was nominated for Best British Short Film at the 2023 BAFTA Awards and won Best Short Film at the Windrush Caribbean Film Festival .
WFT highlights the film’s BAFTA nomination and other festival accolades . Other work: Kearney also produced or co‑produced the shorts Prodigy and We Have Each Other with Academy‑nominated writer Naomi Sheridan; wrote and directed the science‑fiction short Algorithms; and has served as associate producer on RTÉ’s children’s series Gamer Mode .
Scannain’s Filmmaker‑in‑Focus article lists these credits . Awards & recognition * Puttnam Script Award (€25 000) – In May 2025 Kearney was one of four finalists for the Fastnet Film Festival’s Puttnam Script Award.
She pitched Forget Me Not (later retitled ÉIST), a story about a boy who breaks his grandfather out of a nursing home. Two days later she was announced as the winner, securing a €25 000 bursary to produce the film . She noted that the script had previously won Best Script at the Waterford International Film Festival 2017 . * Film‑festival honours (2018–2020):
WFT’s Member‑in‑Focus profile lists numerous accolades: nominee for the Edinburgh TV Festival New Voice Award 2019; Best Film (Toronto Film Festival 2019); Audience Award (Chicago Irish Film Festival 2019); Best Comedy (Dublin Independent Film Festival 2018); Best Female Director nominee (Indie Cork Film Festival 2018); finalist at the Palm Springs International Comedy Festival 2018; finalist at the Inroads Screenwriting Fellowship 2018; winner of Best Comedy Writing (Top Indie Film Awards 2018); and winner of Best Short Screenplay (Waterford Film Festival 2017) . * Stowe Story Labs fellowship (2022): She was selected for the Screen Ireland fellowship at Stowe Story Labs in 2022, receiving script development mentoring for her crime‑drama series Patrius . * Film‑festival focus:
She was named Filmmaker in Focus at the inaugural Boyne Valley International Film Festival. Scannain’s profile notes that her films The Family Way, No Dogs and RUN were highlighted during the festival . * Other honours: The Ferry qualified for the Academy Awards long list in 2021 ; Cian Hughes won Best Male Performance at the Femme Filmmakers Festival 2021 for his role in PADDY ; and The Laughing Boys won Best Dublin Short Story at the Bloomsday Film Festival 2026 . Recent projects & bursaries * ÉIST (Forget Me Not) – After winning the Puttnam Script Award, Kearney produced ÉIST, a ten‑minute film starring Stephen Rea, Aaron Monaghan and Louis Kirwan. Film Ireland describes the film as a meditation on memory and childhood trauma; a boy hears his ailing grandfather call out and plans a daring escape to return him to his island home .
The film premiered at the Fastnet Film Festival on 24 May 2026 . * Youth‑led projects: A 2025 press release for the “Our Take” youth peer‑education project notes that Kearney, along with Frank W. Kelly and Siún O’Connor, directed short films created by teenagers in counties Louth and Meath.
The release emphasises Kearney’s ongoing work and states that she is in production on the Puttnam prize‑winning short film Forget Me Not (working title) and is developing the script into a feature . It also mentions that she is developing the feature film Spoke, the psychological‑thriller series Patrius (Of Thy Father), and the comedy‑drama series RIP, all with support from Screen Ireland .
* Upcoming films: According to Film Ireland, Kearney’s development slate includes the feature documentary Playing for Ireland (with Tile Media), the feature script Spoke, the theatre piece Moon Walk (supported by the Arts Council), and the comedy‑drama feature Like, Vintage . She is also developing TV series including Patrius (a Belfast‑set thriller) and Bloodlines . Involvement & advocacy * Women in Film and Television Ireland (WFT) & Writers Guild of Ireland (WGI): Kearney is an active member of WFT. She participates in panels on industry issues; for example, WFT’s 2021 Changing the Conversation panel on supporting parents and carers in the Irish screen industry featured WFT chair Susan Liddy and Kearney discussing how the industry can better support parents .
The Writers Guild of Ireland’s description of the 2022 Galway Film Fleadh panel lists her as a multi‑award‑winning writer/director/producer with credits including The Family Way, No Dogs, The Ferry, RUN and PADDY . * Mentoring & youth work: The press release for the Our Take project emphasises that Kearney is committed to working with young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds; she helps them develop films and encourages them to consider careers in the film industry .
The Fastnet Film Festival biography likewise notes that she is “dedicated to working with youth, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, and her storytelling often elevates under‑represented voices” . * Focus on women’s participation:
Through her all‑female crew on Keep It Up and her involvement with WFT and Raising Films Ireland, Kearney advocates for gender equality in the Irish screen industry . Summary Róisín Kearney’s career spans theatre, film and television. After an early career in theatre and script consultancy, she returned to filmmaking in 2014 and has built an impressive portfolio of award‑winning short films and documentaries. She writes, directs and produces, often focusing on socially conscious stories that explore family, memory and identity.
Her work has been recognised at major festivals (Toronto, Chicago, Bloomsday), earned a BAFTA nomination for The Ballad of Olive Morris, and secured development fellowships from Screen Ireland and Stowe Story Labs. In 2025 she won the €25 000 Puttnam Script Award for ÉIST, which premiered at the Fastnet Film Festival in 2026.
Beyond filmmaking, she mentors young creatives, advocates for better support for parents and carers in the industry, and champions female‑led crews and under‑represented voices. These achievements, combined with her ongoing slate of feature and series projects, make her a significant and inspirational figure in contemporary Irish cinema.