The fourth annual Boyne Valley International Film Festival (BVIFF) is set to take place from the 8-10 August and is currently welcoming applications for their Short Film Bursary.
Curated by Frank W. Kelly and Collette Farrell, produced by Droichead Arts Centre in partnership with LOVE Drogheda BIDS, BVIFF creates an environment for filmmakers and audiences to connect and celebrate film in the historical medieval town of Drogheda.
The 2025 BVIFF will once again feature an extended festival over three days featuring screenings, events and a range of awards to help support filmmakers. With funding from Louth County Council Festivals Fund, Meath County Council and sponsorship from the Clinch Family and Love Drogheda BIDS and supported by Boann Distillery, Dan Kelly Cider and Anglo Printers.
Applications for the BVIFF Short Film Bursary applications are open until 4 July. Screenwriters are invited to pitch a short film idea to be shortlisted by a panel of filmmakers including Clare Monnelly (Fréwaka), Naomi Sheridan (In America) and Peter McKenna (Kin).
The four shortlisted filmmakers will be awarded a bursary of €500, and each will be invited to present their short film idea to the panel during the festival. One lucky filmmaker will be chosen and awarded a further bursary of €2,500 to write the script.
Boyne Valley International Film Festival are also proud to announce that the 2025 Filmmaker in Focus is TJ O’Grady-Peyton. TJ O’Grady-Peyton is an award-winning filmmaker and commercial director who first gained recognition at the Young Director Awards at Cannes. He has directed international campaigns for Guinness, Under Armour, UEFA, BMW, the European Union and the Premier League.
His short film Wave won an Irish Film and Television Award and was featured in The New Yorker and by Disney after premiering at Tribeca. His latest short, Room Taken – funded by Screen Ireland and executive produced by Colin Farrell – has won 45 awards and was shortlisted among the final 15 for the 2025 Academy Awards. A member of the Directors Guild of America, TJ was also selected for a Werner Herzog masterclass and Les Nuits enOr, a UNESCO and French Academy of Film-backed showcase of standout short films.
“TJ has proven himself to be an exemplary filmmaker again and again, we believe he will be directing some of Ireland’s most celebrated releases very shortly. We are thrilled to honour TJ and his incredible work at this year’s festival with a dedicated programme of his films, a public interview afterwards and the Award for Filmmaker in Focus 2025.” Said Frank W. Kelly and Collette Farrell.
For more information on the bursary, please check www.droichead.com or email info@droichead.com Full programme information to be released soon.
