Applications Open for Year Six of Ignite-Docs Talent Development Programme
Thu 21st August 2025
Applications for the 2025-2026 IGNITE-Docs programme are now open, and will be accepted until Friday, September 19th 2025 at 5pm. Successful projects will be announced in mid-October.
IGNITE-Docs is a talent development programme directed towards emerging Irish and Northern Irish documentary filmmakers embarking on their first or second non-fiction feature film. This cross-border partnership aims to foster a new generation of documentary filmmakers, and is an innovative collaboration between the island’s first and newest film festivals, Cork International Film Festival and Docs Ireland.
Applications are accepted in English and as Gaeilge, with a particular interest in Irish language projects:
Year six of the IGNITE-Docs Documentary Talent Development Programme follows the success of the previous five editions, through which feature documentary projects from emerging filmmakers were developed through training, workshops and one-to-one mentoring.
This is a project-led scheme, which supports the progression of the selected projects and their teams through training focused on the development process of documentary from inception to exhibition. The scheme fosters a new generation of creative nonfiction talent from all over Ireland to pursue their first or second feature, and to provide them with a platform to develop the spectrum of skills and knowledge required to succeed as a feature documentary filmmaker on an international level.
During this comprehensive training initiative, participants will gain a grounding in all facets of project development. They will acquire market knowledge of the documentary industry, learning about the current trends in non-fiction film production, and an expansive understanding of the sector. The programme will include workshops, masterclasses, and in person conversations with established documentarians, broadcasters, funders, sales agents, and other industry professionals. All training will take place in a relaxed learning environment to allow for maximum learning potential and the opportunity to network and foster new relationships.
The IGNITE-Docs programme will provide a long-term engagement, comprising:
Training days at the landmark 70th Cork International Film Festival in November 2025, and Docs Ireland in June 2026.
Regular online training days from November 2025 to June 2026.
The opportunity to attend Sheffield Doc Fest as a delegation in June 2026.
For further information, and to apply, please visit corkfilmfest.org/ignite/ or docsireland.ie/industry/ignite-talent-development/
The IGNITE-Docs Documentary Talent Development programme is supported by TG4, the Arts Council of Ireland, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland through the Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme, Coimisiún na Meán, Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet and Northern Ireland Screen.