CFA is delighted to sponsor and participate in this year’s Cork International Film Festival (CIFF). On Thursday 19th November, join CFA for a panel discussion as part of First Take. First Take is a training and development platform for newly established film professionals, film and media students and the wider film industry.
11:25am
Distribution Strategies for Short Film
This practical session on strategy, distribution and audience development for short films will explore how to position a film on the festival circuit, navigate the changing distribution landscape, and give short films the best possible life beyond the festival run.
Speakers: Killian Coyle – Producer, Mary is Missing; Oisin Kealy – Programmer, Glasgow Short Film Festival; Tara O’Callaghan – Director, Call Me Mommy/No Time Wasters
Host: Jean Rice – Chair of Film and Television, IADT
Presented in association with Creative Futures Academy
Tara has always been drawn to the unexpected side of people. With a documentary instinct for character and performance and a love of bold, visceral filmmaking, she makes work that feels unmistakably human and anything but ordinary. Her debut documentary ‘Call Me Mommy’ premiered at Sundance and went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes YDA. Named one of The Irish Times’ “50 People to Watch,” Tara’s work has also been recognised at the Sharks and the EDAs, while her latest short, ‘No Time Wasters’, earned an IFTA nomination.
Killian Coyle (he/him) is an award-winning creative producer and actor working across theatre and film in Ireland and the UK. He is Executive Producer of Run of the Mill, an arts organisation championing artists with intellectual disabilities. His work as an actor informs a collaborative producing practice rooted in socially engaged storytelling and inclusive creative processes.
His film credits include three Oscar-qualifying short films directed by Aisling Byrne: Headspace (Grand Prix Irish Short, Cork International Film Festival 2022; European Film Awards candidate 2023), Turnaround (Tiernan McBride Award for Best Short Drama, Galway Film Fleadh 2024; Best Irish Short Film, Foyle Film Festival 2024), and Mary Is Missing (Grand Prix Irish Short, Cork International Film Festival 2025). Turnaround was also nominated for an IFTA, secured international sales representation with Salaud Morisset and was acquired by Disney+. His experience spans development and production through to festival strategy, distribution and audience development.
His theatre producing credits include Making a Mark, Real Life, This Solution, Good Sex and Animals. He is part of the field cohort and has been supported through Screen Ireland and the National Talent Academies’ EMERGE programme and Mentorship for Producers scheme.
Killian is currently developing his first feature, A Place Like Home, with writer/director Aisling Byrne and Arcade Film through Screen Ireland’s Perspectives scheme.
Oisín is a film programmer, writer and researcher from Donegal. He has worked with Glasgow Short Film Festival since 2018, leading the international selection committee as programme manager. He completed his doctorate with the University of Glasgow on the practices of human rights film festivals in South America, and has worked with selection teams, panels and juries with numerous festivals across Europe and the world including Document Human Rights Film Festival (Scotland), Go Short (The Netherlands), Beirut Shorts (Lebanon), IndieCork (Ireland), 2ANNAS (Latvia), Drama (Greece) and Entretodos (São Paulo). His writing has appeared on Talking Shorts, and as resident DJ hosts the monthly show Neighbouring Sounds on internet station Radio Buena Vida.
