Catalyst Special Guests and Panellists 2024

Born in Dublin, Ireland Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor studied theatre in the UK in the late 80s at  Dartington College of Arts. They graduated in 1992.  

From 1992 to 1999 they devised, directed and performed a series of internationally touring theatre  shows under the company name, DESPERATE OPTIMISTS, before shifting their attention towards  moving image based work.  

Between 2000 and 2003 Christine and Joe directed a number of episodic, interactive works for the  internet, and large-scale community video projects for galleries. Between 2003 and 2010, Christine  Molloy and Joe Lawlor, produced, wrote and directed 10 short films, under the title CIVIC LIFE.  

HELEN, their debut feature film, premiered at the 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival before  screening at over 50 film festivals worldwide including Telluride, Rotterdam and the London Film  Festival. Helen also won numerous awards.  

Their second feature film, MISTER JOHN also premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival  in June 2013 and was released in the UK and Ireland by Artificial Eye in September 2013. Mister  John was also acquired by the BBC. 

In February 2016 they completed their debut feature documentary, FURTHER BEYOND. FURTHER  BEYOND, which was released to much critical acclaim including a 5 star review in The Guardian .  In addition to its UK and Ireland theatrical release, FURTHER BEYOND was also screened online for  MUBI and is now on Amazon.  

In 2019 Molloy and Lawlor premiered their latest feature film ROSE PLAYS JULIE In Competition’  at the London Film Festival. The film received critical acclaim across many publications including  The Guardian, Sight and Sound, Film Comment and Little White Lies.  

Tony Schumacher had one dream when he was a kid, and that was to be a writer.

Instead of becoming a writer he bombed out of school aged 16 with no qualifications

and a sigh of relief.

He worked his way around the world as a roofer, a jeweller, a bouncer, a barman, a

binman, and on-board cruise ships selling underpants, before eventually returning to

Liverpool to become a response policeman dealing with 999 jobs morning, noon and

nights.

Eleven years later, after a breakdown and a period of homelessness, he found himself

driving a taxi around the night-time streets of Liverpool. That was when he remembered

his dream and finally started to write.

His first three novels were published by HarperCollins in the USA, and since then he has

been mentored by Jimmy McGovern as part of the ScreenSkills High End TV Writers

Bursary Scheme (2018) and been invited to join the BBC Writersroom Northern Voices

Scheme.

Credits Include:

THE RESPONDER 2 In Production

Dancing Ledge/BBC

Original Series

THE CAGE In Development

Element/BBC

Original Series

THE RESPONDER 2022

Dancing Ledge/BBC

5 Episode Original Series

Nominated for 4 2023 BAFTA awrads including Best Drama Series

Winner Best Script Writer at the Royal Television Society North awards

Winner Best Drama Edinburgh TV Awards 2022

Victoria trained as a lawyer before embarking on a career as a feature film producer specialising in international co-productions between Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. Her films have screened at Oscar and BAFTA-qualifying film festivals and have broadcast on television internationally, receiving awards and nominations from a variety of organisations including BAFTA Scotland.

She is now developing work as a Writer/Director and her most recent projects include the BFI/Screen Scotland funded A Birthday Party currently screening at festivals internationally and as a factual Producer/Director on the Untitled African Queens TV series for Netflix (executive produced by Jada Pinkett-Smith).

She is a Course Director and lecturer in the entertainment value chain and law across the value chain on the MA International Film Business at London Film School, a lecturer in the Value Chain and Producing at Queen Margaret University and South Bank University and an External Examiner on the MA Producing at Aberystwyth University.

She is on jury for the BIFA’s and the Athena List and sits on the board of Film Africa and the steering committee for ARTEF (The Anti-Racism Taskforce for European Film).  She is a voting member of the European Film Academy, BAFTA Scotland and BAFTA UK.

Ursula Rani Sarma is a Writer, Director and Executive Producer for TV, Film and Theatre. Her credits include Bodkin (Netflix/Higher Ground/Wiip), Smother (Treasure/BBC Studios/ RTE), Delicious (Sky One/Bandit), Red Rock (Element/TV3) and Raw (Ecosse/RTE) amongst others. Ursula is currently Writing and Exec Producing a series for television with Sister Pictures for the BBC as well as developing new work for Dancing Ledge,Smokehouse, Carvinal, Sleeper, and Film 4 amongst others. Ursula was the Programme Leader of the MA in Scriptwriting at Bath Spa University for the ten years until 2019 and believes passionately in the importance of supporting emerging artists. Before writing for the screen, Ursula worked in the theatre for many years and has written numerous plays which have been produced around the world. Her work is published by Oberon, Faber and Faber, Nick Hern and Penguin Random House. 

Niamh Moriarty, a rising young actress from Dublin,  entered the industry at 11. She recently starred in BBC's "Best Interests," a touching series by Jack Thorne and Michael Keillor. Her role as Marnie, dealing with life-threatening challenges, is at the heart of the show.

Niamh, who has Cerebral Palsy, champions accurate representation and accessibility in entertainment. 

Patricia Kelly is a writer and director and the founder of MnáMná Films, an Irish production company based in Dublin. Her debut feature film, Verdigris, won Best Independent Film at the Galway Film Fleadh, the audience award for Best Irish Film at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Best Narrative Feature at the Kerry International Film Festival and Best Feature Film at the Irish Film Festival London. Her award-winning short films have screened worldwide, she has had a comedy radio play broadcast on RTE Radio 1 and has an MA in Screenwriting for Film & TV. She recently won the Fís TV Pitching Competition for her TV series Humdrum. Passionate about amplifying marginalised voices, Patricia is represented by Imagine Talent. 

Verdigris is nominated for the IFTAS 2024 in the following categories:

Best Film (Paul & Patricia)

Best Film Script (Patricia)

Best Film Director (Patricia)

Best Film Actress (Ger)

Best Film Supporting Actress (Maya)

Paul FitzSimons is a producer and writer with 15 years’ experience film industry. He previously wrote and produced feature film THE GIFT, and worked as Development Executive at production company Danú Media and on the Irish TV Drama Fair City. He now runs production company Prelude Content, recently completed feature film Verdigris and is now in pre-production on his next film, a horror feature set in London. He is also developing TV Dramas and films in co-production with producers in Spain, Serbia, Japan and the UK. Verdigris won Best Independent Film at the Galway Film Fleadh, the audience award for Best Irish Film at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Best Narrative Feature at the Kerry International Film Festival and Best Feature Film at the Irish Film Festival London. 

Verdigris is nominated for the IFTAS 2024 in the following categories:

Best Film (Paul & Patricia)

Best Film Script (Patricia)

Best Film Director (Patricia)

Best Film Actress (Ger)

Best Film Supporting Actress (Maya)

IFTA 2024 NOMINATED BEST LEAD ACTRESS for Verdigris!

Geraldine is an actress, director, writer and producer.  She trained at The Gaiety School of Acting, the Focus Theatre, The Factory (now Bow Street) and  the Actors Comedy Studio (LA). 

Her acting credits include the multi award winning  Verdigris (written, directed and co-produced by Patricia Kelly and co-produced by Paul FitzSimons), The Last Rifleman, Ordinary Love, The Secret Scripture, Black 47, Who We Love  and Portrait of a Zombie, The Reavey Brothers and Sucking Diesel . Her  TV  credits include Bad Sisters, Maryland, Bloodlands, Blood,  Red Rock, Striking Out and Miss Scarlett and the Duke. Her theatre credits include The 24 Hour Play at the Abbey, The F- Word, Beyond Therapy and Philadelphia, Here I come!

Geraldine's directing credits include the plays The New York Monologues, Orphans and The Cripple of Inishmaan and the short films Helmets and Thorny Island. 

Geraldine is a fledgling writer. Her play Knowing was part of Fishamble's Tiny Plays for Ireland  in 2013 and her short film Being Human was produced by Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality in 2021. She has just completed an MA in Screenwriting for Film and TV at IADT and pitched her Masters feature film script Slippery Slopes at last year’s Galway Film Fleadh.

Geraldine is a co-founder of Alchemy 8 Productions with Elaine Reddy and  is drawn to themes of human connection and catharsis. 

She was delighted to be a participant in X-Pollinator 2024 initiative.

Claire Mooney

Co-Founder | Creative Producer

Claire Mooney is an Irish creative producer. She is the co-founder and leads the business end of Pure Divilment Pictures. She has experience across a wide variety of mediums from feature films to television content to animation and VFX.

Claire graduated from DCU in Digital Communication and Multimedia, before achieving a first-class Masters in Creative Production and Screen Finance from the National Film School IADT.

Claire worked as Senior Production Coordinator for Nora Twomey's acclaimed film, My Father's Dragon, at the Academy Award-nominated production company Cartoon Saloon. She has also worked as a Development Production Supervisor for several film and television projects at DNEG, one of the world’s leading animation and VFX studios.

Under Screen Ireland’s Frameworks scheme, Claire produced the acclaimed animated short film PORK. She also produced the anthology film Baths, directed by Nell Hensey and supported by the Arts Council of Ireland. Most recently, Claire produced the live-action television film Falling For The Life Of Alex Whelan for RTÉ and Screen Ireland.

Claire is committed to bringing fresh and exciting perspectives to the international landscape of television and film. With a track record of successful projects and a passion for championing new voices, Claire has emerged as a producer to watch.

Nell Hensey

Co-Founder | Creative Director

Nell Hensey is an Irish-Filipino director and screenwriter from the west of Ireland. She is particularly interested in female-centric narratives, coming-of-age themes, and stories that explore outsider identities.

After studying English Literature and Film Studies in UCD, Nell went on to complete a Masters in Creative Production and Screen Finance at the National Film School IADT. Nell has worked as a writers room assistant, showrunners assistant and writer on television shows for Netflix and Sky.

As a director, Nell’s work has been supported by Screen Ireland, RTÉ, Virgin Media Television, The Arts Council of Ireland, and more. Her latest short film, Good Chips, premiered at the 2023 Dublin International Film Festival. In 2023, Nell was one of ten international directors selected for the Toronto International Film Festival's prestigious Filmmaker Lab. It is through this programme that she is developing her highly anticipated debut feature film, Displacement.

Website: https://puredivilmentpictures.com/

IFTA 2024 BEST DIRECTOR NOMINEE for The Gone

Hannah is a film & TV director, currently directing The Boy That Never Was, a 4 part drama set in Morocco and Dublin for RTÉ. 

In 2022, she won the IFTA drama director award for her episodes on Vikings:Valhalla and was IFTA nominated for The Gone (RTÉ) and Blood (VMTV), 

Hannah previously directed Vikings:Valhalla Seasons 1&3 (Netflix),  North Sea Connection (RTÉ),  Disenchanted-2nd Unit (Disney), Fate – The Winx Saga (Netflix), The Stranger (Netflix), Eastenders (BBC1), Red Rock (VMTV) and award winning short films, Smithy & Dickie and My Bonnie.  

Before directing, Hannah worked as an Assistant Director and she is also a pilot.

Elaine is a freelance Script Editor/Story Consultant. She develops diverse screen content with writers, Women, LGBTQIA+, BAME, people with disabilities, minority groups. She also works in Corporate Finance, which is where her understanding of funding and impact investment comes from. She is particularly interested in ESG funding.
"I believe storytelling is a human right and story editing, script editing are my activism. I love working with all writers, from all communities, whether entry, emerging or established. You can see examples of my work on the Virgin Media Player, Never Kill a Femboy on a First Date - a thriller about cruising, cross-dressing and consent. And The Head on Him - about a 15 year old boy whose Afro grows so big he cannot get out the door. These two short films premiered at the Dublin International Film Festival in February." 

Maríssa Aroy is an Emmy award winning filmmaker of the documentary “Sikhs in America.” and the documentary ‘The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farm Workers.”  A Fulbright scholar, she was also the recipient of the first ever Haste Yamasaki Award for Visionary Leadership from the College of William and Mary and was awarded the Asian Centenniel Filmmaker-in-Residence at the same university. She has taught film classes at Berkeley City College, Trinity College Dublin and The New School in New York. Her latest projects include a commission from the Smithsonian American History Museum and producing an independent feature film here in Ireland with Spectra Entertainment.  She lives in Wicklow Town. 

An experienced screenwriter based in the West of Ireland, Jennifer has a strong background in documentary production and development. She’s been a core member of the writing team on RTE’s Fair City since 2011, having written almost 100 episodes to date. In her own writing she’s drawn to relationship dramas and rom coms. Represented by Christina Pickworth at Imagine Talent, she is currently developing an original rom com series with Wildfire Films, and has a number of other original series and feature films in development. Jennifer has been Chair of the Writers Guild of Ireland since 2020, and more recently was also elected Chair of the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds. A fierce advocate for Irish writers, through her work with the Writers' Guild, she has originated and run a wide number of training and development initiatives for new writers. She regularly delivers guest lectures to many of Ireland’s third level institutes. Her development credits includes work for Scratch Films, O’Sullivan Productions, Independent Pictures, Animo, Adare, Shinawil, Coco and Kite. In 2022, she set up her own production company, HeartFelt Drama and completed a Postgraduate qualification in Creative Entrepreneurship & Enterprise Development through CREW Digital/ATU Galway. She is currently studying for a Higher Diploma in Advanced Producing with TU Dublin to strengthen her skillset as a showrunner.  

Mary Kate O Flanagan is an award-winning writer, journalist and story editor.

She works in the film and television industry as story consultant, co-writer and an uncredited script doctor. With her sister Rachel O’Flanagan, she gives training in storytelling for the screen across Europe and North America (and once in Africa) as well as in her native Ireland. They are particularly interested in the true stories people and entities tell about themselves and how those stories inevitably shape their futures. You can see more about their work on www.adramaticimprovement.com

Mary Kate is Ireland’s first Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth. She is also a Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth in Los Angeles and a Champion Storyteller at The Dublin StorySlam.  You can hear one of her stories on The Moth Radio Hour at: https://themoth.org/stories/carry-him-shoulder-high This story recently went viral on TikTok getting 1.3 million hits in 48 hours.

She has turned her winning true-life stories into a piece of theatre, Making A Show of Myself which was performed at Dublin’s Smock Alley Theatre in November/December 2023. It received standing ovations and stellar reviews including:

"Mary Kate O’Flanagan has perfected the art of storytelling. She is an entertainer of the first rank"

"O’Flanagan is a joy” "endearing and uplifting” "get there while you can!"

“…full of positivity. This life-affirming show is a good antidote right now in a world that seems impossibly difficult and cruel.”

Paul C. Ryan is the Regional Film Manager / Film Commissioner at Film in Limerick, promoting the Mid-West region (Limerick, Clare & Tipperary) as well as the wider Munster Region as a premier film location and supporting the local independent film community. His background is in talent development and creative business development working in the UK, Denmark and Ireland.