Aer Lingus has partnered with Bord Scannán na hÉireann/ the Irish Film Board to launch a new Irish Filmmaker Competition that will celebrate and support the talent of up-and-coming filmmakers in Ireland. This initiative is part of the Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation which encompasses a range of charity and corporate social responsibility activity including support of Irish Culture and the Arts.

The Aer Lingus Irish Filmmaker Competition is open to short-film makers throughout the country and will give three talented individuals the opportunity to showcase their work at an international level by screening their short films on Aer Lingus transatlantic flights. The competition prize package received by the three winning filmmakers will also include complimentary flights to attend film festivals in North America and around Europe and promote their work on an international stage.

The three winning short-film entries will be chosen across two categories, live action and animation, by a judging panel consisting of three renowned Irish film figures along with an Aer Lingus representative. The judging panellists will include director and writer for film and television drama Neasa Hardiman, who has directed world-class drama with the BBC, ABC, Netflix and Amazon and was recently awarded her second BAFTA as well as an IFTA for drama Happy Valley (BBC/Netflix); and Dearbhla Walsh, Emmy, IFTA and BAFTA award-winning director, whose work includes Little Dorrit and The Silence for the BBC, Shameless for Channel 4, Penny Dreadful and The Tudors for Showtime and Borgia for Canal Plus/Netflix; and scriptwriter and actor Mark O’Halloran, who is known for films including Adam & Paul, Garage and Viva.