2025 Guest Speaker – Gerry Browne
6 June 2025
Ashbourne Film Festival is proud to announce our fourth annual film festival on June 21st 2026 in the Pillo Hotel, Ashbourne, Co.Meath.
Ashbourne Community Initiative in conjunction with SiúySiú Productions Ltd and William Palmer Music and Entertainment Ltd are hosting the “Ashbourne Film Festival” in the Pillo Hotel, Ashbourne. The event is also proudly sponsored by McGroddy Brennan LLP Solicitors.
Once again, we’re holding a short film competition with some amazing prizes. There will also be some other events to make this an exciting community event.
We’re also bringing some great special guests for some extra cinematic glitz and glamour! Information will be added below as details are finalised so check back soon!
OAP & Student Discounts Available
COMPETITION 2026
Enter our short film competition to be in for a chance to win some great prizes.
Our short film competition will be open for registrations shortly!
Check back soon.
Festival Schedule 2026
*Note: schedule times may be subject to change without notice.
- 12pm Opening of Festival – Short Speech
- 12:05 – 13:15 Short Film Competition
- 13:15 – 14:45 Talk and screening of Children’s Movie ‘The 12 tasks of Asterix’
- 14:45 – 15:45 Talks and screenings from Industry Professionals
- 15:45 – 16:00 String Quartet [Part 1]
- 16:00 – 17:30 Performances by Ashbourne Stage Academy and Giovanna Feely to conduct a number of local choirs
- 17:30 – 18:00 AFF26 Awards Ceremony
- 18:00 Break for refreshments while entertained by String Quartet
- 18:30 – 19:30 Film Themed Pub Quiz
- 19:30 Closing Speech and thanks
- 19:45 – 21:45 Screening of ‘Taxi Driver’ introduced by Ken Edge, to mark the film’s 50th anniversary
- 21:45 Music entertainment and dancing by Eamon Toal
- 00:00 Festival Closes
Morning Session from 10am - Ticket price €7.50
- Festival Official Opening
- Introduction of Judging Panel
- Competition Short Film Screenings
- Announcement of Winners
- Prize Presentations
- Photo Opportunities
Afternoon Session 2pm - 6pm - Ticket price €9.50
- Short Film Screening – Why the Sun & Moon Live in the Sky
- Guest Speakers including:
Screen Writer, Script Editor, Producer Katie Lee Lynch
with Writer Director Aisha Bolaji. - Special Screening of the documentory film ‘Wilding’ which tells the story of a dying landscape that is healed
against all odds, going on to thrive in astonishing ways - Followed by a Q&A with a Guest Panel on a local wilding project.
- Entertainment: LIVE Screenplay Read through of ‘Early Cabs’ followed by a
Quick Q&A with writer Gerry Browne
Evening Session 6pm - Late - Ticket price €12.50
- Tasty Treats by Camile Thai.
- Q&A with Film Writer & Director Deirdre O’Connor, (Writer and Director of One Moment).
- Festival Closing speeches.
- Feature Film – ‘One Moment’- starring the late Danny Aiello in his final screen performance
written & directed by Deirdre O’Connor, a second-generation Irish-American whose roots trace back to Ashbourne in County Meath.
Tickets Now Available on EventBrite
Note: Our schedule is subject to change as new announcements are made.
Some highlights from the
2025 Ashbourne Film Festival...
2026 Feature Film
TAXI DRIVER
Taxi Driver is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in a decaying New York City following the Vietnam War, it stars Robert De Niro as veteran Marine and taxi driver Travis Bickle, whose mental state deteriorates as he works nights in the city. The film also features Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris and Albert Brooks (in his first feature film role).
Filming began in summer 1975, with actors taking pay cuts to ensure that the project could be completed on its low budget of $1.9 million ($11.4 million in 2025). For the score, Bernard Herrmann composed what would be his final score. The music was finished mere hours before his death, and the film is dedicated to him.
In 2022, Sight & Sound named it the 29th-best film ever in its decennial critics’ poll, and the 12th-greatest film of all time on its directors’ poll
Directed by Martin Scorsese | Starring Robert De Niro
Special Guests 2026
Kenneth Edge
Saxophonist
One Moment, Boondoggle
Kenneth Edge is a trailblazing saxophonist whose innovative approach to the instrument has made him a prominent figure in the music world. He has been a key player in various prestigious productions, including the original Broadway production of Boublil and Schoenberg’s The Pirate Queen and the original score for Coisceim Dance Theatre’s Touch Me. His collaborations with leading composers have resulted in new works for him, showcasing his versatility and creativity. Edge’s contributions extend beyond music, as he is also a saxophone lecturer at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, where he continues to inspire and educate the next generation of musicians. We are thrilled to welcome Ken to the Ashbourne Film Festival 2026, to help us understand how the saxophone features in the film score for ‘Taxi Driver’.
Giovanna Feely
SINGER| eDUCATOR | cHORAL dIRECTOR
GIovanna Feeley is an Ashbourne resident active as a professional singer, educator, and choral director. She recently curated a choral programme with the Department of Foreign Affairs at EXPO25 in Osaka, Japan. With a liturgical music specialism, she holds master’s degrees from Maynooth University and University of Limerick, and a PhD in Musicology from DCU. Giovanna has collaborated previously with William Palmer on Eimear Quinn’s Clann Ceoil Concert 2019 and the Orchestra Giovanile Diego Valeri’s Irish tour in 2022. For this year’s Ashbourne Film Festival, she is delighted to direct BUVINDA Choir, with special guest singers from Ashbourne Youth Choir and Grace Hanley, soprano.
Aniss Stage Academy
The Aniss Stage Academy was founded by Yasmina Aniss in 2013 and has two locations: ASA ASHBOURNE and ASA SHANKILL. The Aniss Stage Academy was created to provide an affordable foundation level of training in all aspects of the arts to the community. Students take part in dance, drama and vocal training and our goal is to provide an opportunity for students to build confidence, develop skills and make friends in a fun and safe environment.
Natasa Paulberg is an award-winning Australian/Irish composer with compositions for the concert hall, television, film, advertising and gaming.
Brighid Breathnach
Television Producer
Brighid Breathnach is a Commissioning Editor for TG4 and is Executive Producer on a varied slate of multi-platform programming on behalf of the broadcaster.
Bob Corkery
TV & Film Director
Bob Corkery started working in film production beginning in London, and later in RTÉ in Dublin and has enjoyed a long career in Broadcast TV Film Production, TV Programme series and Independent documentary projects.
Festival Schedule 2023
5pm - 6:15pm
Short film screenings. These will be followed by a Q & A session with the film makers/composers
6:30pm - 7pm
Launching of a short film competition for Ashbourne Film Festival 2024 presented by RTÉ producer Brighid Breathnach and TV & Film Director Bob Corkey
7pm - 7:30pm
Live film music played by The Dublin String Quartet. Refreshments available!
7:30pm - 8pm
Special Guest speaker Natasa Paulberg gives us an insight into her career as a composer for screen and the music of Ennio Morricone.
8pm - Late
Screening of the classic film ‘Cinema Paradiso’
Note: Our schedule is subject to change as new announcements are made.
Special Kids Screening
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (French: Les Douze Travaux d’Astérix) is a 1976 French animated feature film, written and directed by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, produced by Dargaud Films and Studios Idéfix, and distributed by Gaumont. It is the third animated film based on the Asterix comic book series, while the first to feature an original story by Goscinny and Uderzo, the series’ creators, and is the only Asterix film to be produced using xerography animation techniques.
The film’s plot revolves around Asterix and Obelix attempting to complete a series of tough challenges set by Julius Caesar, who seeks to prove they and their fellow villagers are not gods. The film starred Roger Carel, and Jacques Morel; while the English cast included Sean Barrett, and Geoffrey Russell.
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix gained popularity over the years to later be considered one of the best Asterix films, achieving the status of a cult classic. The story was later adapted into a comic book by Marcel Uderzo, and an illustrated book of the film was more widely published in multiple languages than the comic adaptation.
Competition short film screenings 2026
This year we’ve a wonderful selection of shortlisted entries for our 2026 Short Film Competition followed by our Awards Ceremony later in the day for the winning entries.
STRANGE WEATHER
by Tom Shrapnel
Starring : Lex Shrapnel, Maxine Peake, Matti Houghton
Two strangers witness a mysterious natural phenomenon that reawakens their senses and draws their lives together.
The Pageturner
by Siúbhán Ní Ghríofa
Starring : Iarla McGowan , Seamas Griffin, John Palmer, Siúbhán Ni Ghríofa
A local of Ashbourne Siúbhán is a violinist in the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
A lover of films and in particular film music she wrote and directed her first short film ‘The Pageturner’ along with writing the films score.
The main theme for the film was recorded by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra with trumpet soloist Will Palmer (Brass Warriors) and can be heard regularly on RTÉ Lyric fm.
Since the film’s premier last year at the Ashbourne Film Festival the short has gone on to win several awards including : Brooklyn International Short Awards, LA Independent Women Film Awards, London Movie Awards, New York Movie Awards, Philadelphia International Filmmaker Awards: ‘Best Female Short Director’ ,Edinburgh Film Awards, Tokyo Shorts, Naples Film Awards, Frida Film Festival,8 & Halfilm Awards, Robinson Film Awards (International Film Festival).
RETURN TO SKYE
by Kurt Rosenberg
Kurt fell in love with the Isle of Skye, Scotland, during Spring Break from the University of Bath, some 45 years ago. He has returned to Skye several times since then – it keeps calling him back! Kurt was a British History Major at University. So, when he composed the music and wrote the lyrics for the Return to Skye song, Kurt always knew that it would be about a Scottish Clansman who fought at the Battle of Culloden, survived the melee, and fled to Skye to escape the pursuing British soldiers … just like Bonnie Prince Charlie did. Once the song was finished, Kurt asked Tim Gorman to orchestrate it. The WM Palmer Orchestra recorded the music in Dublin, Ireland and Jake Morgan conducted. When the soundtrack was ready to go, Mallard Productions, Glasgow, Scotland produced the film. Brent Rogers co-edited the film and Zach Stevens was a producer on the project. The film was shot on location on the Isle of Skye and in the Culloden Battlefield’s ancient, thatched-roofed bothy. Kurt thanks all involved for contributing to producing such a phenomenally lovely, cinematic, and poignant film.
THE KNACKERMAN
by Tom Shrapnel
Starring : Donald Sumpter, Adam Long, Charlotte Luxford, Teresa Banham
An aging Knacker, responsible for the disposal of dying horses must face his own mortality,and in doing so entrust responsibility to the next generation.
latest news
2025 Guest Speaker – Aisha Bolaji
23 May 2025
2025 Guest Speaker – Katie Lee Lynch
9 May 2025
2025 Guest Speaker – Deirdre O’Connor
9 May 2025
location
The Pillo Hotel, The Rath, Ashbourne, Co. Meath
2026 Sponsorship & Advertising Opportunities
Promote your brand with a unique
Movie Premier Cinematic Experience
As a way of making Ashbourne Film Festival a more inclusive event across the wider community, we’re now offering sponsorship and advertising opportunites to local businesses and organisations looking to enhance their visibility and connect with a diverse audience. This event promises unparalleled exposure in a cinema setting, making it the perfect opportunity for your brand to shine.