Catalyst International Film Festival
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      • Our Mission
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    • WHAT'S ON
      • Fri 24 April
      • Sat 25 April
      • Bursary Award 2026
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      • Student Day 2026
      • Palestine Programme
    • PAST FESTIVALS
      • 2025
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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Our Mission
    • Festival Team
    • Safe To Create
    • Get Involved
    • Contact
  • WHAT'S ON
    • Fri 24 April
    • Sat 25 April
    • Bursary Award 2026
    • Screenwriting Day 2026
    • Student Day 2026
    • Palestine Programme
  • PAST FESTIVALS
    • 2025
    • 2024
    • 2023
    • 2022

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More events to be announced soon!

More events to be announced soon!

More events to be announced soon!

More events to be announced soon!

More events to be announced soon!

More events to be announced soon!

Saturday 25 April 2026

Irish Shorts Programme 01 Venue: Belltable Limerick @ 10:00

Yes we are screening them again this is not an error! 

Mary Is Missing

Director: Aisling Byrne
When a care worker disappears, conflicting eyewitness accounts challenge a detective’s investigation and blur the line between truth and fiction.

What You Will

Director: Jonathan Heed
During a seemingly ordinary day out, unspoken feelings between two friends quietly surface, exploring the uncertainty of youth, identity, and connection.

Bad Person

Director: Hildegard Ryan
After drunkenly kissing her best friend’s elderly father at a wedding, Cáit begins to question whether she’s simply a bad drunk — or a bad person.

The Parting

Director: Marissa Aroy
Nine-year-old Abbey believes perfect hair might help her escape the emotional turmoil unfolding within her fractured home life.

Heart of Stone

Director: Tara Doolan
A reclusive woman must step beyond her isolated world to fulfil her father’s final wish, confronting the community she has long avoided.

Sometimes, This Place

Director: Shane Vaughan
Children living in IPAS centres share everyday moments and personal challenges, offering an intimate portrait of adaptation, belonging, and resilience.

Parting

Director: Olivia McLaughlin
As one sister emigrates to Australia, the other faces the quiet emotional weight of staying behind.

I See A Voice

Director: Leah Egan
Following her father’s death, a Deaf woman finds solace through friendship and an unexpected moment of human connection.



TOTAL DURATION: 1hr 45 minutes   RECOMMENDED VIEWING AGE: 15yrs+

Irish Shorts Programme 02 Venue: Belltable Limerick @ 11:45

Purebred

Director: Caleb J. Roberts
During a heatwave, a transgender man returns to his on-again, off-again lover’s flat after taking a pregnancy test, confronting intimacy and uncertainty.

No Time Wasters

Director: Tara O’Callaghan
A young woman on the brink of homelessness accepts an offer of help that slowly reveals darker intentions, exposing exploitation hidden behind generosity.

Text Me When You're Thirsty

Director: Oisín McKeogh
At a ritual annual brunch, simmering tensions threaten to disrupt a fragile reunion between estranged friends.

Moan

Directors: Neil O’Driscoll, Róisín O’Donovan
An intimacy rehearsal between a director and two actors becomes a surreal exploration of vulnerability, power, and transformation within the filmmaking process.

Claonadh

Director: Ciara Ní É
Peigí is discovered in a bedroom she should not be in, setting off a quietly unsettling moment of revelation.

Irish Son

Director: Tolu Ogunware
Lost in the Irish countryside, a runner encounters a charismatic stranger at a remote café, leading to an unexpected connection.

Would You Rather

Director: Sophie O’Donovan
After recovering from a mental breakdown, a young woman attends a gathering uninvited, where a party game pushes her emotional stability to the edge.

Dance Like Someone's Watching

Director: Esosa Ighodaro
A podcaster misinterprets a dancer’s performance at Dublin’s famine statues as an ancient ritual, sparking a sharp satire on assumption and cultural misunderstanding.

Romance is Dad

Director: Dave Moran
A couple’s long-awaited romantic hotel getaway is derailed by a luggage mix-up, triggering a chaotic and heartfelt comedy of errors



TOTAL DURATION: 1hr 42 minutes   RECOMMENDED VIEWING AGE: 15yrs+

National Student Award Programme Venue: Belltable Limerick @ 14:30

 

On Belonging

Director: Areeba Naveed
College: IADT | Institute of Art, Design and Technology
A young immigrant and a lonely widow clash over a stolen bicycle, discovering an unexpected connection through shared loss.

Euro-Children

Director: Áindréas Fallon Verbruggen
College: National Film School at IADT, Dún Laoghaire
Former participants of a Troubles-era holiday programme revisit their host families, reflecting on how escape shaped their childhoods decades later.

Dear Dad

Director: Linda Scherhauferová
College: Dundalk Institute of Technology
A personal documentary exploring abandonment, betrayal, and how painful experiences can reshape identity and strengthen family bonds.

Aisling

Director: Hannah O’Keeney Conway
College: Technological University of the Shannon: Midwest
A hand-drawn animated film following a young woman confronting peer pressure and identity as her inner voice pushes her toward — and away from — conformity.

REM

Director: Laura Masterson
College: Institute of Art, Design and Technology
Blending 2D and stop-motion animation, a young protagonist journeys through her subconscious to confront fears of growing up.

God Save Us All

Director: Regina de Faoite
College: IADT, Dún Laoghaire
In an alternate 1960s Ireland threatened by cult invasion, a mother takes extreme measures to protect her children.

Assimilation

College: Technological University of the Shannon
A hand-drawn animated sci-fi journey follows a woman searching an alien world for her missing wife, unaware of a sinister presence controlling the planet.

ESC

Director: Ciara O’Neill
College: Limerick School of Art and Design
A stop-motion animation exploring escapism and workplace oppression, as an office worker’s dream of freedom comes at a disturbing personal cost.

Bao

Director: Sekera Mohamed Besta
College: Technological University of the Shannon: Midland Midwest
Two men debate identity, race, and shared histories while playing Bao, confronting uncomfortable truths about diaspora and belonging.

Theatrics

Director: Sadhbh McDonough
College: National College of Art and Design
Through interviews and observation, theatre makers reflect on what performance and creative practice mean to those who live for the stage.

Lipstick

Director: Éilis O’Neill
College: IADT
A portrait of three generations of women navigating ageing, illness, and interdependence within one family.

Toxic Astrology Ex-Best Friends

Director: Jack Warren
College: Institute of Art, Design + Technology – Dún Laoghaire
Two trans podcast co-hosts confront shifting feelings and hidden emotions that threaten to redefine their friendship.



TOTAL DURATION: 88minutes   RECOMMENDED VIEWING AGE: 15yrs+

Catalyst 2026 Gala Evening & Awards Ceremony

Venue: Belltable Foyer 

6pm

Join us for a night of inspiration, celebration, and cinematic excellence!

Taking place in the heart of Limerick City, Catalyst brings together filmmakers, industry professionals, and film enthusiasts to honour bold storytelling that champions equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Enjoy an unforgettable evening as we recognise outstanding talent from Ireland and beyond. With a vibrant atmosphere and the chance to connect with creatives shaping the future of film. 


No booking required - see you there!

Queen Lizzie Premiere! Followed directly by Catalyst's final feature screening (TBA)

Venue: Belltable, Limerick

7.30pm

More details to be announced! 


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