The National Talent Academy for TV Drama is delighted to announce that Lewis Doherty has been chosen to represent Ardán and the NTA at the Pitching Forum in Grimstad 2026.
Lewis Doherty is a Irish producer/director whose socially driven practice explores conflict, faith, class and queerness through ethnographic and archival documentary. They have directed a slate of impactful documentaries such as the Manchester Art Gallery commissioned SPLENDOURS OF THE SIKH RAJ and BBC NI commissioned documentary OUTLASTING which has received selection at over 15 international film festivals including being nominated for Best Irish Short at GAZE LGBTQ+ International Film Festival. Their talent has been recognised through selection for prestigious development labs including the Sheffield DocFest Queer Realities Director’s Lab, EURODOC, Cork International Film Festival Ignite-Docs, WEMW Docuseries Lab and the starGAZE programme.
Lewis applied for the Pitching Forum with their short doc idea named The Waiting List and are extremely honoured to represent Ireland and Ardán at the Screen Talent Pitching Forum in Norway and pitch a joyful and urgent story of queer resilience and hope from the North of Ireland. Beyond excited to meet all the selected filmmakers from across Europe and champion each other's stories!
The STE Pitching Forum will take place on 10th to 12th June during the Norwegian Short Film Festival in Grimstad, Norway. A total of 12 emerging filmmakers will take part in an intensive pitching workshop in Grimstad before presenting their projects in a 4-minute pitch before a jury and an audience with the best pitch winning the top prize of a €4,000 production grant.
Ardán & NTA wishes the best of luck to Lewis in their preparation for the pitching forum.
The National Talent Academy for Film & TV Drama is an initiative of Screen Ireland and is managed by Ardán.