IFTA Screen: Dynamic | Diverse 2024

IFTA SCREEN: DYNAMIC | DIVERSE is IFTA’s third annual forum of discussions & engagement, encouraging artistic development across diverse communities within the screen industries, exploring visibility and representation and looking to best international practice in this area.

The event is supported by Coimisiún na Meán and brings together inspiring talent, key decision makers and influential thought leaders from a broad spectrum of disciplines within Film, TV, Media and the Screen industries as a whole.  Key guests and speakers include filmmakers, actors, TV presenters, comedians and academics, who are showing themselves to be leaders and trailblazers in the industry, working both at home and abroad, to offer inspiring insights to our audience and attendees on the day.
 

Confirmed Speakers

Baz Ashmawy is an Emmy and IFTA winning broadcaster, as well as a writer and actor. He is best known for his hit series 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy, which was first broadcast on Sky One and earned him an International Emmy Award for Best Non-Scripted Entertainment. His semi-autobiographical scripted series Faithless, which he wrote and stars in, began broadcasting on Virgin Media One this year. In the series, Baz plays the father of three girls who has to raise them alone after the death of his wife.

Michelle Matherson is a BBC Creative Diversity Partner in Commissioning for Unscripted television, supporting BBC commissioners and indie suppliers in driving change across the industry. Part of her focus is to help indies deliver on the BBC’s 25% diversity target and the current £80m annual commitment to commissioning diverse content. During her broadcasting career, Michelle has produced numerous TV and Radio programmes across a range of genres including Drama, Comedy and Children's.

Dr Zélie Asava is a lecturer, author and public speaker on race, gender and representation in screen studies. Her first book, “The Black Irish Onscreen: Representing Black and Mixed-Race Identities in Irish Film and Television”, is the first major study of black and mixed-race themes in Irish Screen Studies. She also sits on the board of Screen Ireland and is an assistant classifier with IFCO.

Katja Mia is a presenter and model, and one of Ireland's fastest rising stars in the media industry. In 2022, she became a full time presenter on Ireland AM, and now co-hosts the Six O’Clock Show on Virgin Media One with Brian Dowling. She has also hosted music series Uprising, and took part as a contestant on RTE’s Dancing with the Stars this year.

Louise Kiely is one of Ireland’s leading Casting Directors. In 2005, she founded Louise Kiely Casting. For her work on Normal People, she was nominated for an Emmy Award and was the recipient of the CSA Artios Award & the co-recipient of the CDG Award for Best Casting in a Limited Series In 2023, Louise was the recipient of the CSA Artios Award for her work on The Banshees of Inisherin. She recently served as Casting Director for Baz Ashmawy’s series Faithless.

Yasmin Seky is an actress who grew up in Cabra. After appearing in Colin Thornton’s short film Messers, she was cast as Nikita in RTE’s crime drama Kin, her first professional acting role. In April 2022, she received the 'Best Newcomer' award at the Irish RTS Awards.

Martin Angolo is an award winning Irish comedian who is a regular at comedy clubs and festivals all over Ireland, the UK, Europe and the United States. Martin recently appeared on LOL Last One Laughing Ireland on Amazon Prime and has gotten millions of views on his videos on Instagram.

Trevor Kaneswaran is an actor/writer who began his career as an Electrical Engineer, before studying at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and Identity School of Acting. His recent screen credits include Bad Sisters for Apple, Clean Sweep for RTE/BBC, Riches for Amazon Prime/ITV, Redemption for ITV, and Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Trevor is currently writing his semi-autobiographical comedy/drama series Black Sheep, which is in development with Screen Ireland.

Michael Collins is  an actor, writer and Traveller activist. In addition to comprehensive theatre work, he has appeared in film and TV projects including Glenroe, Man About Dog, Pavee Lackeen, Killinaskully, Jack Taylor and King of the Travellers. He has also been presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by President Michael D Higgins at the Traveller Pride Awards.

Ursula Rani Sarma  is  a writer, director and executive producer for TV, film and theatre. Her credits include feature In The Shadows, Netflix’s Bodkin, RTE/BBC’s Smother, Sky One’s Delicious, TV3’s Red Rock and RTE’s Raw amongst others. Ursula is currently writing and exec producing The Split Up, a series for the BBC as well as developing new work for George Clooney's Smokehouse, Treasure Entertainment, Keeper Pictures and Wild Atlantic Pictures amongst others.

Nell Hensey is an Irish-Filipina screenwriter and director from County Clare. In 2023, she co-founded Pure Divilment Pictures with producer Claire Mooney and currently acts as Creative Director, overseeing and developing the company's slate of television and film projects. Nell wrote and directed the RTE Storyland short Falling for the Life of Alex Whelan.

Dr Anne O'Brien is an Associate Professor with the Department of Media Studies at Maynooth University. She has done research into gender in media, and diversity and inclusion in media industries , and her work involves partnership collaborations with NGOs to examine media representations of social issues. She has also undertaken research on community media in funded projects for the BAI/CnaM.

Vanessa Gildea is an award winning Producer/Director/Writer and Head of Department of Film + Media at the National Film School, IADT. Vanessa has received five IFTA nominations including as writer/director of The White Dress. She is a former Vice-Chair of Women in Film & TV Ireland and served on the board for three years.

Tolu Ogunware is a Northern Ireland-based multidisciplinary director, artist and photographer. His first documentary Black, Northern Irish and Proud was acquired by the BBC and broadcast in September 2022. He continues with a key focus on storytelling having two more documentaries and a Short film in post production. He has also exhibited work in Dublin, Belfast, Nottingham and London.

Maureen Hughes is one of Ireland's foremost casting directors for stage and screen, and has found talent for award-winning film and TV projects including Love/Hate, Once, That They May Face the Rising Sun and the upcoming Small Things Like These starring Cillian Murphy. She was also a major part of the RTE series John Connors' Acting Academy.

Aisha Bolaji is a Nigerian-Irish director, screenwriter and visual artist. They are the co-founder of The GALPAL Collective, dedicated to tackling underrepresentation and exclusion in the arts/media sectors. Outside of filmmaking and arts activism, they have 7 years of experience as a film curator, and is currently a shorts programmer at Dublin International Film Festival and programme assistant for Catalyst.

Suzie Seweify is an Irish-Egyptian actress based in Dublin. Most recently she can be seen in Virgin Media’s Faithless, starring opposite Baz Ashmawy, and Acorn TV’s Harry Wild. Suzie’s theatre credits include Translations at The Abbey Theatre, her one woman show YARA at Smock Alley Theatre and Rough Girls at The Lyric Theatre Belfast.

Zbyszek Zalinski is a native of Łódź, Poland. He joined RTÉ in 2007 and has worked in a variety of production and on-air roles across RTÉ Radio 1 and 2FM. As Diversity & Inclusion Lead, Zbyszek helps RTÉ better reflect the Ireland of today – among those who make the programmes and support our different services, as well as those who appear on them.