Ardán is delighted to announce the two teams that will be the recipients of the Ceantar Scannán Short Documentary Bursary for 2025!
Team One will be Oisín and Saidbh Mac Coille and they will be working on ‘Art That Rises’, and Team Two will be Normagh Heaney and Jessie Green and they will be working on ‘Blackrock’.
The successful applicants will receive €3,000 to help them make a short documentary of between five and fifteen minutes in duration. Alongside the bursary, the two teams will be mentored by filmmaker Donal Haughey.
One of last year’s Short Doc Bursary recipients – Kimberly Gray Ennis – is now premiering her work ‘Caoineadh’ at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh!
Read more about the recipients below:
Team One: Oisín and Saidbh Mac Coille – ‘Art That Rises’
Oisín Mac Coille is a Galway-based writer and director with a background in short film and television. Originally from Cork, he has been living and working in Galway for almost twenty years.
Oisín’s work focuses on telling personal, human stories with honesty, care, and an eye for the quiet moments that often go unnoticed. His project, ‘Art That Rises’, follows his ten-year-old daughter, Saidbh, as she searches for belonging and joy after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of eight.
Like many children living with lifelong conditions, Saidbh has faced challenges that have left her feeling isolated or different. The film captures the simple but powerful moments where creativity offers her — and others — the chance to belong, to feel normal, and to just be a child again.
Oisín’s work is shaped by real-life experiences, with a focus on quiet resilience, small joys, and the stories often happening just beneath the surface. When not working, he’s usually found being kept busy by his daughters or figuring out the next story worth telling.
Team Two: Normagh Heaney and Jessie Green – ‘Blackrock’
Having met while living in Amsterdam, Jessie Green, a visual artist, and Normagh Heaney, a commercial producer, began working together on a documentary in France last summer. Now they are collaborating on their next project – ‘Blackrock’ – an observational documentary offering a look into the respite that the Salthill swimming spot offers to many Galway communities over the course of a summer’s day.
The Ceantar Scannán Short Documentary Bursary and Mentorship Programme is part of the annual Galway City of Film programme for 2025 which is managed by Ardán on behalf of Galway City Council Arts Office, Galway County Council Arts Office, with support from Fís Éireann/ Screen Ireland and the Department of Culture, Communications, and Sport.
Subscribe to the Ardán newsletter or follow our social media channels for more info on our funding, training, and networking opportunities for screen creatives at all career levels.