Creative Archives goes to Germany

Just back from the wonderful Slow Media Conference in lovely Mainz, Germany!

I was invited to talk about my Creative Archives project and how I have been using participatory filmmaking to help people of all ages to engage creatively with archive film collections in Northern Ireland and Brazil.

This was my first time speaking at a conference about the project and it was great to showcase two of my projects: The Future was Filmed Youth Film Camp and Um bairro, suas histórias, memórias e gerações. I spoke about how mobile filmmaking was used to involve participants in both rural and urban contexts and enable them to create films that reflect today's histories and collective memories.

My panel was called Agency on Screen: Participatory Filmmaking and it was great to hear about the inspiring work that colleagues Irene Gutierre Torrez (Reel Borders), Silke Beller (Glocal Collective) and Sezen Kayhan (Slow Media), and Laura K Mücke (JGU) are doing.

Bronagh McAtasney was also there talking about the wonderful work she does for Northern Ireland Screen Digital Film Archive and she showcased our Women in Heritage project too.

It's been a long time since I left a conference inspired by the insights shared by an incredible group of women working across participatory and green filmmaking, archives, heritage, and community storytelling. Even better when there is a wine festival happening right across the road!

Many thanks to organisers Sezen Kayhan & İpek Azime Çelik Rappas for a very special weekend!

The Future Was Filmed...By Young People

Back from two inspiring days at the lovely Glasgowbury where I worked with a brilliant group of 11–15 year olds, my partners in crime Brónagh McAtasney (Northern Ireland Screen) and Emma McAleer (Rural Community Network), and talented Cinematic Arts students Ben Lundy and Ben Duffy on another Creative Archives project: The Future Was Filmed.

Project participants and facilitators

This was a 2-Day Youth Film Camp designed to introduce young people to archives through filmmaking. Set in rural Mid-Ulster, more precisely at Paddy and Stella's wonderful creative hub Glasgowbury, the camp used the combo archives + filmmaking to get young people to think about how technology has changed over time and why archives matter.

Inspired by the quirky interviewing style of Charlie Witherspoon, the young filmmakers worked in teams to create three one-minute films capturing their views on today’s technology (smartphones, VR, and laptops) for future generations.

We showed them gems such as Charlie’s attempts to ride a bicycle and his discovery of the wonders of a microwave.

Along the way, they learned interviewing techniques, basic filming skills, and how to work collaboratively. It was fascinating to hear the young participants reflect on how smartphones, laptops, and VR feel to them now and to imagine how these everyday technologies might look to people in the future!

The Future Was Filmed was funded by Northern Ireland Screen's The Creative Industries New Entrants (CINE) programme and is one of my Creative Archives projects.

Since 2024, Creative Archives has opened up archives to diverse users, including young people, in a fun and accessible way. Using filmmaking as the entry point worked beautifully here as it allowed the young filmmakers not only to explore the past, but also to actively contribute to the archive themselves. Over two days, they didn’t just learn about archives; they became part of one!

The films are currently in post-production and will soon be added to the Digital Film Archive database. Stay tuned!

Rathmullan Film Fest No9

That's a wrap for another year!

2027 will be our big 10 and I can't believe how far we have come! Since 2018, our Rathmullan Film Festival has grown into a truly participatory event, rooted in community, creativity, and people coming together to make and enjoy films.

Each year, it has been REALLY rewarding to see more local talent step behind the camera and stronger collaboration develop between Ulster University and Atlantic Technological University, while rural audiences discovering new perspectives through cinema.

For this year’s programme we went a little big bigger and tried to strike a balance between Donegal-made work (including three local shorts programmes) and international cinema.

Highlights included two films from the Berlinale (Khartoum and Betania) and Paul Crompton’s fantastic Dogspiracy, alongside an exciting programme of workshops for all ages, sport, walking tours, and live performances that brought film to life in new ways.

Watching Rathmullan fill with creativity for one long winter weekend never got old. Once again, the festival reminds us that Rathmullan is a beautiful and inspiring place to visit all year round, not just in summer1