Hold on Tight

In 2012, Stephen Vaughan and Kay Ferreter are invited to address the congregation at St. Joseph's Redemptorists Church in Dundalk, Ireland for the Solemn Novena Festival. In a powerful speech, the pair describe their experiences being gay and lesbian in Ireland, feeling excluded by Catholic doctrine, and the importance of a more inclusive church.

Irish anti-homophobic bullying advertisement, created as part of BeLonG To Youth Services annual Up! LGBT Awareness Weeks.

An electric collection of the latest, award-winning lesbian and feminist short films.

As a young man from the Travelling community, Johnny Maughan always felt different. Growing up all around Ireland and the UK he experienced discrimination wherever he went – in every new school, in every town he was isolated and called names – a knacker, a pikey, a gypsy – and so he learned to stick with his own. But as Johnny got older, he began feeling different even within his own community when he started to realise he was gay.

With the help of the locals from the small town of Bijelina, artist and filmmaker Dragana Jurišić attempts to recreate the films of self-taught western director Aljoš Musli, also known as Hari Džekson

Irish comedian Joanne McNally doesn’t think she wants kids but whenever she shares her position either onstage or online, she’s told that she’ll live to regret her decision. Sick of being labelled a ‘Baby Hater’, in this documentary she sets out to challenge the concept of whether having a baby as a woman really defines you and why women who don’t want to have children are judged so harshly by society.

An unusual bond compels an Irish mother to travel to war torn Ukraine in order to bring her former surrogate and her family to safety. Directed by Anna Rodgers and Produced by Zlata Filipovic. After losing a baby late in pregnancy, Cathy turned to surrogate Ivanna in Ukraine who safely carried her twins in 2019. The two mothers developed an unusual bond. When the war broke out, Cathy felt compelled to cross the border into a war-zone and carry out the family of the woman who had carried hers. Knowing Ireland only recognised the birth mother in law, Cathy chose to risk bringing Ivanna and her three children to live together in their small cottage in rural Wicklow and forge a life together as a blended family. This is a film about connection, how we define family and ultimately the powerful ties of motherhood.

When Women Won tells the emotional inside story of the Together for Yes campaign to repeal the 8th amendment and change Irish society forever.

An Irish anti-homophobic and transphobic bullying advertisement, created as part of BeLonG To Youth Services annual Stand Up! LGBT Awareness Week.

A film that brandishes the documentry form and art to try to dismantle the stigma of being HIV positive that still persists in society. The film honours the past and the iconic Thom McGinty, the Diceman, who was one of the first to speak openly in Ireland about having AIDS but, other than that, it’s very firmly rooted in the here and now. Based on a theatre show, the stories in this film move between bodies of young men, migrant women, drag artists and activists. A form-flipping documentary, it features a cast of actors as well as ordinary people coming out on screen for the first time.

This beautiful and poignant film was commissioned by TENI (Transgender Equality Network Ireland) and is a conversational piece which explores gender identity and transgender experiences in Ireland.

Award-winning, British/Australian Actress and Activist, Miriam Margolyes, joins one of Ireland’s newest and most high-profile political figures, Dubliner, Senator Lynn Ruane on a road trip across Ireland in a documentary shining a light on the Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager, whose work, influence and impact on Irish political and literary life has often been neglected.