Film Ireland Podcast

In this episode of the Film Ireland Podcast, we speak to IFTA-nominated director Gavin FitzGerald about LOMU, his latest feature documentary exploring the extraordinary life, legacy and cultural impact of rugby icon Jonah Lomu.
Widely regarded as rugby’s first global superstar, Lomu transformed the sport with his unique combination of size, power and speed. From becoming the All Blacks’ youngest-ever player to emerging as an international cultural icon, his influence extended far beyond the rugby pitch.
Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch the original recording here:
https://www.filmireland.net/podcast-director-gavin-fitzgerald-on-lomu
Following its London premiere at the London Breeze Film Festival on Thursday 3 September, LOMU comes to UK and Irish cinemas for one night only on Monday 7th September.
Book tickets here: lomu-doc.com
Lomu is a theatrical documentary about the legendary All Black, Jonah Lomu. An intimate and heartfelt character study tracing his Tongan upbringing, meteoric rise to fame, and the complicated personal and health battles he faced at the pinnacle of world rugby.

Gavin FitzGerald
Gavin is an IFTA-nominated film director whose slate of internationally acclaimed documentaries and television series has established him as a leading Irish voice in factual storytelling. His work often explores compelling sporting worlds and subcultures, driven by exceptional characters and crafted with a cinematic, intimate style. He began his career directing commercially successful, access-driven feature documentaries including Conor McGregor: Notorious and Liam Gallagher: As It Was, both of which went on to be acquired by Netflix. He followed these with the award-winning festival favourite Million Dollar Pigeons and a four-part boxing series Stable: The Boxing Game, later acquired by BBC. He is currently completing Soul of the Sea, an Irish-language documentary about a declining rowing tradition in the west of Ireland, supported by Screen Ireland and TG4. His latest feature, LOMU, explores the complexities of identity and Tongan culture through the life of one of rugby’s most iconic figures, Jonah Lomu, and is currently screening at festivals worldwide.

Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In partnership with RENDR Festival and supported by the National Talent Academy for VFX, we are delighted to present this very special speaker series.
Recorded live at RENDR 2026 in Banana Block, Belfast, we spoke with CG Supervisor for Sony Pictures Imageworks, Katherine Jones who served as CG Supervisor on K-Pop Demon Hunters and In Your Dreams.
With over a decade in VFX and animation, Katherine has helped bring some of the industry’s most iconic films to life. Her credits include Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Vivo, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Mad Max: Fury Road, Jurassic World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Godzilla, Terminator Genisys, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Thor: The Dark World.
We spoke with Katherine about her impressive career journey, the importance of strong storytelling, and the films that have meant the most to her.
Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.
https://www.filmireland.net/podcast-katherine-jones-cg-supervisor-at-sony-imageworks-k-pop-demon-hunters-spider-man-franchise

This series was recorded in The Spinners Mill Studio, a podcast and DJ studio based in Banana Block offering tailored solutions for DJ sessions, small-scale events and podcasting from concept to final distribution. Follow them on Insta / Facebook / TikTok

Katherine Jones
Katherine is a CG Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, where she supervised the animated features K-Pop Demon Hunters and In Your Dreams.
With more than a decade of experience in visual effects and animation, Katherine has contributed to some of the industry's most acclaimed films. Her credits at Imageworks include the Academy Award®-nominated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Vivo, the Academy Award®-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Smallfoot, Storks, and The Emoji Movie.
Before joining Imageworks, Katherine held several leadership roles at Stereo D, including VFX Supervisor, FX Stereo Supervisor, Stereo Lead, and Compositing Artist. During her time there, she worked on major blockbuster productions including Mad Max: Fury Road, Jurassic World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Godzilla, Terminator Genisys, San Andreas, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hercules, Need for Speed, Thor: The Dark World, and Truth. Katherine began her career at Angel Studios as a Digital Compositor, contributing to projects including La Vaca – Holy Cow.
Originally from Osceola, Indiana, Katherine studied Fine Arts and Film Studies at the University of Oregon before earning a degree in Computer Animation from Full Sail University. She is also an active member of Women in Animation.

RENDR Festival
This is a unique event celebrating creative craft and artistry in a fully immersive two-day festival exploring the space between Creativity and Technology. Ignite your imagination with inspiring speakers from the worlds of Film, Gaming, Animation, Immersive, and more! Learn from the best, with 30+ creatives from the likes of Netflix, Pixar, Walt Disney Studios, and Epic Games among others.

National Talent Academy for Visual Effects
As the newest of the Academies, the National Talent Academy for VFX provides support and opportunities for anyone interested in a career in VFX. Launched in 2024, the National Talent Academy for VFX is an initiative of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, managed by Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet. Their mission is to transform aspiring VFX artists into industry-ready professionals while providing ongoing upskilling opportunities for current talent. Through comprehensive courses and programmess, we introduce participants to best practices both locally and globally, creating clear pathways and solidifying Ireland’s reputation as a premier destination for VFX.
Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Film Ireland podcast, recorded live on location at the Capital Irish Film Festival in Washington, D.C., Gemma Creagh talks film and politics with historical expert Dr Chanté Mouton-Kinyon, a Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame and PhD graduate of the University of Galway.
Chanté is a key contributor to the documentary Daniel O’Connell: The Emancipator and took part in the lively panel discussion following its screening at the festival. In her conversation with Gemma Creagh, she reflects on Daniel O’Connell’s legacy, gives historical context to shed light on today’s complex politics and explores the interwoven relationship between film, history, and identity.
We also catch up with Andrew Dolan, an artist, producer, and Executive Director of Solas Nua, the organisation behind the annual festival. Solas Nua is a leading multidisciplinary arts organisation that is dedicated exclusively to contemporary Irish arts. Finally, we spoke with some of the festival goers about their experience.
Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.
You can watch the original recording of our chat with Andrew and the audience back here. https://www.filmireland.net/podcast-dr-chante-mouton-kinyon-daniel-oconnell-the-emancipator
Dr. Chanté Mouton Kinyon
Dr. Chanté Mouton Kinyon is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame. A scholar of transatlanticism and race, Mouton Kinyon investigates African American, Irish, and Caribbean literature and culture from the end of the nineteenth century to the present. In addition to her scholarship on the long history of the Irish-Black cultural exchange, her research also considers the transnationality of writers and art that is often limited to discussions of its national impact and significance in contrast to the very international explorations of the artists themselves. In particular, her scholarship focuses on performative material that articulates race and identity; her goal is to illuminate a narrative of cultural exchange that is rooted at the intersection of literature and history.
Mouton Kinyon wrote the introduction to Black Matters: African American and African College Students and Graduates Tell Their Life Stories and her work has previously appeared in Modern Drama. Forthcoming, she will have an article on Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s engagement with the work of Dion Boucicault in Contemporary Theatre Review: Interventions on the afterlives of The Octoroon. In her 2025 book project, The Transatlantic Gesture: the Irish and African American Cultural Exchange, she studies the symbiotic relationship between Irish and African American authors; particularly the ways in which these authors signify and conceptualise race and marginality. This signaling, which she calls the transatlantic gesture, created intimate bonds between the work of Black and Irish artists and activists.
Daniel O’Connell: The Emancipator
In his time, O’Connell was renowned across the world as a visionary statesman, reformer, and champion of human rights. Known as
The Liberator and The Emancipator, O’Connell dedicated his life to the struggle to achieve Catholic Emancipation, pioneered non-violent mass political mobilisation, and inspired democratic movements around the world.
About Capital Irish Film Festival
Solas Nua’s annual Capital Irish Film Festival in Washington, D.C., presents one of the largest programmes of Irish cinema in North America, showcasing the latest Irish dramatic and documentary features, shorts, art films and animation releases by Irish and Ireland-based filmmakers. The 20th edition of the four-day festival takes place 26 February – 1 March 2026 in partnership with the prestigious American Film Institute’s Silver Theatre & Cultural Center.
Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest episode of the State of the Arts podcast (@sotapod), filmmaker and writer Des Doyle sits down with acclaimed television writer, producer, and co-creator of The Big Bang Theory, Bill Prady, for a detailed chat about his new show Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, getting a second shot at a pilot, and a shared passion for comic artwork.
Produced in partnership with Film Ireland and supported by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland through the Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme, the State of the Arts series explores the creative processes, industry challenges, and new opportunities that both Irish and international creatives face in today’s ever-evolving artistic landscapes.
During this conversation, Bill reflects on leaving his day job as a computer programmer, fondly recalls his work with Muppets creator Jim Henson and shares skills he developed along the way – ultimately leading to the co-creation of The Big Bang Theory.

Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.
https://www.filmireland.net/state-of-the-arts-the-art-of-the-tv-spin-off-with-bill-prady-the-big-bang-theory-stuart-fails-to-save-the-universe
Bill Prady
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Prady began his work in entertainment in 1983 at Jim Henson Productions (then Henson Associates, Inc.). This followed a brief career as a computer programmer and partner in a software company.
Working with Jim Henson, Prady wrote a wide variety of projects, the last being The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, a posthumous tribute to the late puppeteer, for which he received one of his five Emmy nominations. Following his work with Henson, Prady wrote for a number of television comedy and drama series. His first produced episode of series television was an episode of Married... with Children in 1991; his first staff writing job was on the HBO series Dream On in 1995.
In 1997, he joined the writing staff of Dharma & Greg, rising to executive producer and taking over as "showrunner" in 2001. In 2007, Prady co-created the hit CBS series The Big Bang Theory with television veteran Chuck Lorre. He served as an executive producer of that series until its finale in May 2019. He is now co-creator and executive producer of The Big Bang Theory spinoff Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, currently streaming on HBO Max. In addition to his Emmy nominations, Prady has received two Writers' Guild awards, a CableACE Award, and eleven People's Choice Awards for his work as both a writer and producer. He has also been nominated for two additional Writers' Guild awards and five Golden Globe Awards. For his work with NASA (a storyline on Big Bang promoting space exploration), Prady was awarded the Agency's Exceptional Public Achievement Medal, NASA's third-highest civilian honor. He is a graduate of the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and attended Wayne State University in Detroit. In the spring of 2022, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Wayne State.
Des Doyle
Des is a D.I.T. graduate who spent 15 years working in the Camera Department before moving into directing. He is the writer/director of the critically acclaimed feature documentary Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show, featuring JJ Abrams (Alias, Lost, Fringe), Robert & Michelle King (The Good Wife), Ronald D. Moore (Outlander, Battlestar Galactica) and Bill Prady (The Big Bang Theory) amongst others. He has created a number of courses in conjunction with Screen Ireland over the last few years, which provide breakdowns of all the major US and international streaming networks and what their evolving programming needs may be. He also initiated the Pitching Programme for TV Drama and Comedy with Screen Ireland, giving a selected group of writers the opportunity to pitch directly to some of the major Irish production companies and created the LA Writers Room Placements scheme, which allowed Irish writers to travel to LA and spend time in US writers’ rooms.
Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In partnership with RENDR Festival and supported by the National Talent Academy for VFX, we are delighted to present this very special speaker series.
Recorded live at RENDR 2026 in Banana Block, Belfast, we spoke with actor, producer and co-founder of practical effects company Pro Machina, Camille Balsamo-Gillis.
In this conversation, Camille chats about growing up on sets as the daughter of Oscar-nominated creature effects artist Alec Gillis, creating films for themselves at Pro Machina, working as a multi-hyphenate filmmaker, and continuing the family legacy of practical filmmaking through her work on blockbuster productions including Alien: Romulus and The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.
https://www.filmireland.net/camille-balsamo-gillis-actor-producer-co-founder-of-pro-machina-practical-effects-company

This series of talks was recorded in The Spinners Mill Studio, a podcast and DJ studio based in Banana Block offering tailored solutions for DJ sessions, small-scale events and podcasting from concept to final distribution. Follow them on Insta / Facebook / TikTok
Camille Balsamo-Gillis
As the eldest daughter of Oscar nominated creature effects artist Alec Gillis, it was inevitable Camille Balsamo-Gillis would follow in her father's footsteps with a career in practical effects. As co-founder of practical fx production company Pro Machina, her team builds and shoots miniatures for blockbuster films like The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Alien: Romulus, but she hasn't stopped there: Pro Machina's mission is to create unique films that celebrate practical effects as a powerful filmmaking tool. To date, she has produced two features under the banner, with two more in development this year.
RENDR Festival
This is a unique event celebrating creative craft and artistry in a fully immersive two-day festival exploring the space between Creativity and Technology. Ignite your imagination with inspiring speakers from the worlds of Film, Gaming, Animation, Immersive, and more! Learn from the best, with 30+ creatives from the likes of Netflix, Pixar, Walt Disney Studios, and Epic Games among others.
Witness creative uses of new technology, explore the gallery of digital art, chow down at the food village or play in the arcade. You will be transported to the future, and provide you with unforgettable and inspirational nights. Like nothing you have experienced before, our unique combination is guaranteed to provide two nights you can’t miss. Come for the talks, stay for the experience!
National Talent Academy for Visual Effects
As the newest of the Academies, the National Talent Academy for VFX provides support and opportunities for anyone interested in a career in VFX. Launched in 2024, the National Talent Academy for VFX is an initiative of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, managed by Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet. Their mission is to transform aspiring VFX artists into industry-ready professionals while providing ongoing upskilling opportunities for current talent.
Through comprehensive courses and programmess, we introduce participants to best practices both locally and globally, creating clear pathways and solidifying Ireland’s reputation as a premier destination for VFX. The National Talent Academy for VFX is dedicated to attracting individuals from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, fostering greater awareness of VFX as a viable and exciting career choice. Learn more about the work they do here.
Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.

So make sure to subscribe and listen back!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.