One Irish female screenwriter and one Irish female director will receive support funding from Screen Training Ireland (part of the IFB) to participate in UK’s renowned mentoring scheme Guiding Lights in 2016.
This initiative is part of the Irish Film Board’s on-going commitment to addressing the issue of the under-representation of women in the Film industry in Ireland as well as being part of Screen Training Ireland’s commitment to providing meaningful supports and career progression for female talent.
Previous Irish female talent who have participated in the scheme include, Carmel Winters, Director-Writer, Ursula Rani Sarma, Writer and Oonagh Kearney, Writer-Director.
On the scheme, each mentee is matched with a leading film industry professional who provides advice and guidance over a nine-month period. The current edition of the scheme saw, amongst others, Ben Wheatley (Sightseers, High Rise), Andrew Macdonald (Trainspotting, The Last King of Scotland) and Matt Charman (Suite Francaise, Bridge of Spies) join former mentors, including Abi Morgan, Barbara Broccoli, Lone Sherfig, Joanna Hogg, Hossein Amini, Sam Mendes, Alex Garland, Nira Park and Kenneth Branagh.
For any Irish based female screenwriters or directors interested in participating, the scheme is now open to applications directly through the Guiding Lights website. As Guiding Lights is a talent development programme, not a training scheme, applicants must demonstrate a proven track record in their field, along with a strong commitment to pro-actively trying to advance their film career.
The deadline date for applications is 5pm, Monday 14 March 2016. For more information and details on how to apply, go to the Screen Training Ireland website.
