National Film School
The National Film School (NFS) at IADT was launched in November 2003. It is a centre of excellence for education and training in film, animation, broadcasting and digital media. This status is based on: the consistently high achievements of its student productions in both professional competitions and festivals, at home and abroad; the careers of its graduates in the entertainment and media industries; the very high standard of applied film education that has been provided for nearly 25 years; and the excellence of its staff. IADT’s full-time and part-time staff possess considerable industry experience and a high proportion continue to work as practitioners.
IADT’s status as the NFS is consolidated in the high profile of its prestigious Advisory Board. The Board is chaired by Morgan O’Sullivan and is membership includes John Boorman, Pierce Brosnan, Donald Taylor Black, Toni Delany, Roddy Doyle, Clare Duignan, Joan Egan, Cathal Gaffney, James Hickey, Róisín Hogan, Neil Jordan, Sean Larkin, James Morris, Kevin Rockett, Jim Sheridan, Ken Wardrop and Bill Whelan.
IADT is the only Irish full member of the Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision (CILECT), the International Association of Film and Television Schools, the CILECT regional association, and GEECT, the Groupement Européen des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision.
The NFS has maintained a consistently high record of achievement for its student films in national and international competition over the years. Ken Wardrop’s documentary, Undressing My Mother, produced by Andrew Freedman, has gathered 21 national and international prizes at home and abroad, including the most prestigious of all: Best Short Film (Prix UIP) at the European Film Awards in Berlin. It has also won the Irish Film and Television Award for Best Short Film, and Best Documentary at the Tampere International Short Film Festival. It was invited to the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, the only Irish film selected that year. In May 2008 Vincent Gallagher won a prestigious 2007 Royal Television Society Student Award in the Undergraduate Drama section for his film, Bright Idea, and, in August, Robert Manson won the top prize, the Taylor Art Award (and €20,000), at the RDS Student Art Awards for his graduation film, The Silver Bow.
NFS students did extremely well at the 2008 Galway Film Fleadh: Sean Branigan’s Martin won the Tiernan MacBride Award for Best First Irish Short Film and Animation students won three prizes, including the James Horgan Award for Best First Irish Short Animation, which was presented to Matt Horan for Monolith.
In the last couple of years Animation students have had their films shown at more national and international festivals than ever before including: ReAnimacja (Lódz, Poland); Celtic Film Festival; Frames (Mumbai, India); Galway Film Fleadh; Kilkenny Film Festival; Kerry Film Festival; Vilnius (Lithuania); Foyle Film Festival; AniFest (Hungary); BIMINI (Riga, Latvia); Kinofilm (Manchester); CinemadaMare (Italy); and the British & Irish Film Festival (Berlin).
Fiona Walsh, a 2005 Make-up graduate, won 3rd place at the first international competition for European film make-up students in January 2006. The competition was organised by the prestigious US Make-up Artists Magazine and the final shortlist of eight, selected from hundreds of entries, competed in public at the annual International Make-up Artists Trade Show (IMATS/Europe) in London, judged by Oscar and Emmy winner, Michael Westmore.
Earlier this year we were delighted that NFS graduates were nominated eleven times across eight categories at the 2008 Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards.
The National Film School at IADT is a partner in the ENGAGE project, which is funded principally by the MEDIA programme of the European Community. It brings together 24 filmmaking students and graduates (writers, producers and directors) from different European countries during three residential workshops taking place in Ireland, Estonia and Scotland. A collaboration between three of Europe’s leading film schools, Screen Academy Scotland at Napier University, the Baltic Film & Media School at Tallinn University and the NFS, ENGAGE helps participants gain a better understanding of international co-production processes and the nature of collaborative project development.
The NFS, in association with The Irish Times, hosts a very successful annual series of NFS Lectures at IADT. Internationally respected participants have included Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan, Sir Alan Parker, Oliver Stone, John Sayles, Stephen Frears, John Landis, and Krzysztof Zanussi (directors); Stephen Rea (actor); Maggie Renzi (producer); Alex McDowell and Luciana Arrighi (production designers); Seamus McGarvey BSC (cinematographer); Deborah Nadoolman (costume designer); Roddy Doyle and Jeffrey Caine (screenwriters); and Caroline Leaf and Joanna Quinn (animators).
Our new NFS Building is due to be completed by Summer 2011. This state-of-the-art facility will include a High Definition TV/film Studio, a blue screen studio, two radio studios, equipment store/technicians workshop, four classrooms and staff offices. Click here to learn more about this project>>
The first phase of our fund-raising campaign has been successfully completed. 78 Founding Sponsors have made donations to the NFS. They consist of independent production companies from film, animation and television, broadcasters, facility houses, distributors, advertising agencies, individuals, and other industry friends. We are most grateful for their support.
