The GALPAL Collective and NTA Film and TV are delighted to introduce the extraordinary lineup of writers who have been selected for the 2025 Writers Club. 


The Writers Club, spearheaded by the GALPAL Collective, invited applicants to submit a short film project that they would like to develop and work on throughout the duration of the club.

After an amazing response, we're excited to announce the brilliant writers who have been selected: 

 

  1. Beruh Pietx Prat 
  2. Dara Fennema 
  3. David Selva 
  4. Éadie Long 
  5. Gillian Grattan 
  6. Janna Kemperman 
  7. Jordan Murshed 
  8. Kate Brosnan 
  9. Megan Moroney 
  10. Nessa Matthews 
  11. Nicole Crowley 
  12. Olivia Masetti-Nolan 
  13. Pradeep Mahadeshwar 
  14. Sally Sumola 
  15. Sekera Mohamed Besta 
  16. Sydney Blackburn 
  17. Tolu Ogunware  
  18. Yoshua Petit-Frere 

These 18 talented creatives will be divided into three groups, each individually guided by facilitators Emer Hussey, Katie Lee Lynch and Ian Fallon. The program is carefully curated by Aisha Bolaji and Ashley Chadamoyo Makombe, the co-founders of The GALPAL Collective. 

With a mission to support voices from marginalised and underrepresented backgrounds, the Writers Club is committed to guiding these writers as they embark on their journey into the film industry. Participants will engage in a series of sessions and exercises, including peer-to-peer feedback and workshops led by industry experts, all while building a nurturing and supportive community. 

 

On Monday 22nd September, the GALPAL Collective hosted an introductory evening at Rua Red in Dublin, giving the writers and facilitators a chance to meet and chat in person before the Writers Clubs kick off their online meetings. 

 

Read a little bit more about each of our participants below: 

  • Beruh Pietx Prat is a third-year film student at IADT. Her short documentary ‘Three Mums’ screened at Generation Fleadh, and her production ‘My Baby’ won Best Fiction Short at DIFF First Frames 2025. 
  • Dara Fennema is a Wicklow-based writer, whose screenwriting career began when she was twelve, and uploaded short films to YouTube. Unfortunately, she forgot the password, and they remain public for friends to dig up at parties. 
  • David Selva is a screenwriter from Costa Rica based in Dublin. He recently graduated from the Kino Eyes Master’s Program in Screenwriting. 
  • Éadie Long is a writer based in Dublin. Their work has been published in Sans. Press, and they are the winner of Directed by Her Best Short Screenplay 2025. 
  • Gillian Grattan from Kilkenny, is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter with a love for comedy and rural drama and is currently developing her stage play ‘The Blitz’ about Gaelic football and a new short film ‘Faking Fungie’, winner of the 2025 Boyne Short Film Bursary. 
  • Janna Kemperman is a filmmaker from Dublin. Her project ‘Copper Alley’ was a finalist at the Galway Film Fleadh Pitching Competition in 2025. 
  • Jordan Murshed is a Writer, Director and Production Sound Mixer from Cork. He graduated from IADT in 2017 and is the Creative Director for Aperture Media. He was a Shadow Script editor on Deadpan Pictures ‘Video Nasty’ series 1 and returned to the production as a Development Assistant for series 2. In early 2025 he was a Finalist at the FÍS TV Pitching competition in Galway with his own series ‘It Takes Two.’  
  • Kate Brosnan is an actor, writer, and designer from Kilkenny. She recently co-created, co-produced, and acted in 'BEAN', a new short film premiering next year. 
  • Megan Moroney is an emerging actor and writer from Louth. With a background assisting filmmakers on major productions, she is now crafting original roles and stories that explore interpersonal relationships in bold, unexpected ways
  • Nessa Matthews is an actor, writer and director from Louth working in film and theatre. She is currently working on her debut film project ‘DOOMSCROLLER’ which was shortlisted for RTÉ Storyland 2025. 
  • Nicole Crowley is a writer from Dublin. She graduates from IADT in October and is now working as a story development assistant 
  • Olivia Masetti-Nolan is a Brazilian-Irish musician, actor, and writer based in Dublin. She earned a degree in Drama and Film Studies from Trinity College Dublin in 2022 and currently works with the production team at Samson Films. 
  • Pradeep Mahadeshwar is an experimental filmmaker and writer living in Dublin. Pradeep recently wrote and directed their performance-based experimental short film in Gaelic, ‘An Talamh Faoi Gheasa - The Enchanted Land’, which screened at the GAZE Film Festival. 
  • Sally Sumola is an emerging writer and actor, recently accepted into the Black & Irish x BNI Media and NTA Film & TV mentorship program, where she is developing her craft. 
  • Sekera Mohamed Besta is a Tanzanian artist and filmmaker whose work explores narratives of Black African identity. 
  • Sydney Blackburn is an actor and writing living in Dublin, Ireland. Her first feature, ‘American Schemers’, recently secured distribution and her second feature, ‘BRB’, is currently in post-production. 
  • Tolu Ogunware is a writer/director based in Belfast. His debut short 'Irish Son' will premier later this year at Newport Beach Film Festival. 
  • Yoshua Petit-Frere, a writer and director based in County Kildare, is preparing to shoot and direct his latest short film, 'The Space Between'. 

 

For more information, please contact: filmandtv@nationaltalentacademies.ie  

 

The National Talent Academy for Film and TV Drama is an initiative of Screen Ireland managed by Ardán