This curated mentorship programme is designed for writers, script editors, directors and producers working in live action drama who are also parents and carers seeking professional mentorship and support.

The aim of the Mentorship Scheme is to provide one to one mentoring that supports career and professional development. RFI and NTAFT recognise the vital contribution that carers and parents make to the creative industries, both through their work and their lived experience. The initiative seeks to create opportunities that enable them to maintain, sustain and return to their careers alongside their caring responsibilities. By connecting mentees with mentors who have successfully navigated similar challenges, the programme aims to build a more inclusive and accessible screen industry.


The 2025 Mentors

Chosen earlier this year through an open application process, the mentors are:

Anna Mannion Brendan Canty Christina Nowak Deborah Doherty Gilly Fogg Jennifer Davidson Patricia Kelly Sam Atwell and Sinead O’Brien 

Each mentor brings a wealth of experience and a shared commitment to fostering new voices and perspectives in Irish film and television. 

The 2025 Mentees

We are honoured to announce the 2025 mentees:

  • Anna Pytlowany (Cork) is a  TV producer with a PhD in 17th-century Dutch colonial linguistics. Turns out there’s not much money in VOC manuscripts in Ireland, so I make television instead, exploring the crossroads of heritage, material culture, and emerging technologies that enable innovative storytelling, often inspired by my lifelong fascination with Southeast Asia.

 

  • Gillian Buckle (Dublin) is an actor and writer who graduated from The Lir Academy. Her theatre credits include The Tempest(Rough Magic), Tiny Plays 24/7 (Fishamble) and Hecuba (Rough Magic). Her debut film You Do Not Have To Be Good, directed by Annie Ryan, screened at international festivals including the Toronto Irish Film Festival and the Chicago Irish Film Festival.

 

  • James Doherty (Donegal) is a writer and director whose work explores family, masculinity in crisis and characters on the edge. His short films Breathe, Neon Meets Argon and Yara have screened and won awards internationally. His television debut The Final Countdown (Channel 4) was nominated for Best Single Drama at the Broadcast Awards 2025. His debut feature Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost is currently in development through Screen Ireland’s Perspectives initiative. 

 

  • Lola Le Guan (Dublin) is a Chinese writer and filmmaker. Her storytelling focuses on character-driven narratives that explore identity, trauma and human connection.

 

  • Margaret Kane Rowe (Kildare) is an emerging writer, director and producer. Her work draws on local stories and contemporary Irish experiences.

 

  • Miriam Devitt (Dublin) is a screenwriter, actor and director. A recipient of the Warner Bros Creative Talent Scholarship, she completed an MA in Screenwriting with First Class Honours. She has since written and produced four funded short films and has been in paid development for three projects, supported by Screen Ireland and Creative Europe Media.

 

  • Niamh Heery (Dublin) is a writer and director working across documentary and fiction. Her films focus on human connection and social change, and she currently has two feature films in development.

 

  • PJ Hart (Antrim) is a writer and father from North Belfast with UK and Irish broadcast credits. He writes class-conscious, elevated genre stories with a distinctly Belfast voice and is currently undertaking PhD research at Ulster University.

 

  • Seán Purser (Donegal) is a filmmaker, VFX artist, and creative director at Wild Atlantic Productions, specialising in cinematic storytelling, LED volume tech, virtual production and storytelling and music-driven visual content. His work blends authentic Irish narratives with cutting-edge visual effects and global artistic vision.

Congratulations to all of the mentees, and sincere thanks to everyone who applied for this highly competitive scheme.

 

Further Information:


For any questions, please email filmandtv@nationaltalentacademies.ie

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

About Raising Films Ireland
RFI seeks to shift the culture within the Irish creative screen industries by creating a more diverse, inclusive, equitable and sustainable working environment for carers & parents.

RFI envisages a creative screen industry that openly values and celebrates caregiving and parenthood, promoting equity of caring amongst genders and recognising caregiving as a vital aspect of a balanced life.

RFI wants carers and parents to feel like they belong in our creative screen industries.

Find out more about Raising Films Ireland on their website.