FESTIVAL TEAM
Founder & Director Dr Susan Liddy
Dr. Susan Liddy lectures in the Department of Media and Communication Studies in MIC, Limerick for her day job! She has published extensively on the screen industries and is especially interested in equality and diversity issues.
Susan is President of Women in Film and Television International and Chair of Women in Film and Television Ireland. She is a board member of the Writers Guild of Ireland, Raising Films Ireland and the Irish Film Institute. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the National Talent Academy Film and TV Crew South and the Mid-West Film and TV Training and Education Group. She regularly organizes and contributes to debates about the Irish screen industries nationally and internationally.
Festival & Programme Manager Aoife O'Toole
Aoife is an arts production professional with over 16 years experience in venue, theatre, event, festival management as well as curation and programming. As Director of Dublin Feminist Film Festival, Aoife has programmed for Kerry Int Film Festival, Flying Broom Women's Int Film Festival Turkey and Reykjavik Feminist Film Festival. Previous roles have included Audience Development Manager, Box Office Manager, Gallery Manager for dlr Mill Theatre Dublin, Stage Manager for various independent theatre productions, Production Manager Féile an tSolais/Festival of Light, Independent Visual Arts Curator and more recently production roles for Netflix and Subotica.
Outreach & Marketing Coordinator Smrithika Majukar
Smrithika (or Smithy) is an emerging Indian-Dutch writer and filmmaker. She graduated with a First Class Distinction from Trinity College Dublin’s MPhil in Screenwriting. She is passionate about telling stories from postcolonial, feminist, and migrant perspectives as they translate into the 21st century. With an undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of Amsterdam, she has experience in social media and event management, as well as film production. Her work as a Director of Photography has screened at the Dublin International Comedy Film Festival and won awards at the Dublin Universities Film Festival. She also serves as Communications Coordinator at Women in Film and TV Ireland and International.
Administrator Manuela Hartlep
Manuela is our Festival Administrator supporting the Catalyst Team since 2022. She is an experienced Arts Administrator working for over 6 years in the Limerick region. She is managing all day-to-day administration work for various non-profit organizations in Limerick and all over Munster. She has extensive skills in accounting and budgeting, as well as managing all invoices and payments. Her main work area includes managing budgets for Funding Applications and liaising with all funding stakeholders. She has a great knowledge of Child protection policies and procedures. Manuela holds a QQI Level 6 Special Purpose Award in Training and Development and has invented and facilitated various workshops for Children and Adults since 2018.
Shorts Programmer Céline Roustan
Céline Roustan has been a curator and champion of short films for over half a decade, programming and writing for the popular website Short of the Week, passionately promoting directors and their respective films. Currently a programmer at SXSW and the Palm Springs ShortFest, she has previously been on the programming teams of the Toronto International Film Festival, the San Francisco International Film Festival, the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Dublin International Film Festival. She has attended several international film festivals and markets as a jury member or an industry speaker, guiding filmmakers toward their paths of further success. In 2022, she joined French production company Films Grand Huit and is now handling the distribution of their films.
Documentary Programmer Vanessa Gildea
Vanessa is an award winning Producer / Director / Writer and Head of Department Film + Media and the National Film School, IADT. She has a Masters in Screenwriting (First class hons) from the NFS and a BA in Media & Communication and English. Vanessa has received five IFTA nominations including as writer / director of The White Dress, as producer in the Feature Documentary category for Dambé – The Mali Project , John Ford – Dreaming the Quiet Man, as Producer / Director of The 34th – A history of Marriage Equality in Ireland and as part of the team that made the IFTA winning 1916 The Irish Rebellion. She is a former Vice-Chair of Women in Film & TV Ireland and served on the board for three years.
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School Liaison Officer Shane McDonagh
Shane is a Secondary School Teacher at Crescent College Comprehensive Limerick and a Catalyst Board Member. Within his own school he is Arts and Culture Officer and amongst other initiatives leads up the Student Film Club.
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