Because we seek to encourage young filmmakers to pick up their cameras for the first time, what we look for is imaginative solutions to inevitable production budget limitations. In other words, if you don’t have enough money to hire the latest camera, lighting and sound recording equipment, let alone the best actors in the country, then don’t write a script that depends on these factors. As simple as it may sound, a good film always starts with a good script. A good script is one that both takes account of the limitations of the budget and seeks to rise above these limitations imaginatively. We would like to encourage film lovers to attend our festival and take part in each year’s extraordinary workshops and audiences with our guest film experts. Over the past few years we have had contributions from Jim Sheridan, Gerard Stembridge, Jack Gold, Kirsten Sheridan, Steve Coogan, Greg Dyke, Tony Barry, Lenny Abrahamson, Carmel Winters, Ken Wardrop, Andrew Freedman, Ian Power, David Puttnam, Sandy Lieberson, Mike Leigh, Maureen Hughes, Ros Hubbard, Stephen Frears, Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, James Nesbitt, Alison Oliver, Èanna Hardwicke, Moe Dunford and many others. Please check previous year’s programmes, available as downloadable PDFs elsewhere on this website. Annually over the last weekend in May, in up to 15 different venues around the village of Schull, we run Q&As, world class workshops, screen international short film programmes, alongside the screening of our competition entries. You will also find free family entertainment to make sure all ages are well taken care of.