Women take centre stage at Dublin Web Festival

In most Hollywood movies, women are given less than a third of the speaking time compared to men. That means for every Angeline Jolie there are two Brad Pits. This seems hardly fair. After all women make up half of the population and more Angelina is always a good thing, right?

Thankfully, the democratising power of the internet is changing this bias. So many of the main bloggers, YouTubers, online documentarians, voices and Twitter handles have women at the helm; take the recent storm of women tweeting Enda Kenny about their periods. Whether it is for political reasons or not, it is hilarious in of itself. Women are taking action and we need to reflect that.

Our most prominent  Irish female filmmaker Kristen Sheridan, who worked on ‘In America’ and directed ‘August Rush’ has also been nominated at the BAFTA’s, Golden Globes, IFTA’s and Oscars. Her feature Debut ‘Disco Pigs’ starred Cillian Murphy and Elaine Cassidy as teenagers with an anti-social relationship. It is arguably one of the biggest Irish cult films.

The problem is we don’t often celebrate our female greats in the world of media. However, at Dublin Web Fest we are seeking to change this. Much of our programme focusses on the amazing amount of Irish female talent we have on our shores.

Take a peek at some of our esteemed panel:

Clara Rose Thornton – Film Critic and Poet

About: She has worked with likes of Ryan Tubridy and RTÉ. Where she is regularly featured on the ‘the “Morning Edition’ on RTÉ 1 Arena to talk about culture, the latest film releases and music. She has rubbed shoulders with the best of them and has interviewed Edward Norton, Elijah Wood, Ang Lee and Miranda July about film, and it’s influences. She will judge and host a workshop at the festival.

Her workshop: Discussing the revolution in Filmmaking that has happened in the past and is happening today.  She seeks as part of her workshop to talk us through how ‘What once was considered revolutionary became normalized, and what is considered amateur or sideline by some today — web series — is set to herald a new dimension of normalized filmmaking strategy’. As part of this she will aim to take you on a journey from French New Wave directors like François Truffaut and end with illuminating insights into what the industry will do online.

Edwina Forkin – CEO of Zanzibar Film Productions

About: Former Trinity student, Edwina grew up loving Film and launched herself into the world of producing. She started off producing short films by herself. Now, she is CEO and executive producer at Zanzibar Film Productions. Zanzibar films are one of the leading production companies in Ireland that explores Irish stories and also reaches out internationally. She also lectures on how to produce. One of their major features; Swansong (2010), was nominated for six IFTA’s and won Best Actor, it tells the story of Occi Byrne returning to a small village in Sligo, from London.

Judge: She will be on the panel judging our Irish talent for the awards night. As well as teaching a masterclass in producing a low budget feature. This will certainly be of interest to filmmakers who want to know the answer to the questions. What sources of funding can you apply for? How do you get funding in Ireland? How to work with a limited budget? And more producing questions.

Marie Caffrey – Creative Director at Del Solar Films

About: Maria is best known for her production of RTE Storyland’s Cuckoo. She has won numerous awards off the back of this production. It tells the story of a 16-year-old girl with red hair who believes her parents have kidnapped her because their hair is black. This web series is available online at Vimeo and is a funny, edgy look at a mother-daughter relationship. It was bought by Chanel 4 France and also a Los Angeles TV channel. She has lots of experience integrating social media and web series to produce a buzz for Cuckoo. She is working on the Irish Feature film ‘Saving Paul’ at the moment.

Judge: She will also be on our judging panel and will join in the celebrations on the night of the Awards Ceremony.

Wish to get in touch with us about any workshops or book remaining masterclass tickets? Contact us: or