This is a unique night out. Twelve short films, never seen before, each one scored and performed live by the Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble. Cinema with live music in the same breath, it will be intimate and unpredictable. Made by artists on this island.
DIALOGUES is a cross-border residency bringing together 12 early-career composers and 12 moving-image makers for an intensive programme across Belfast, Derry/Londonderry, Ballycastle and Letterkenny. On this night you’ll see the results: a complete programme of new short films, performed live with original scores by the Hard Rain SoloistEnsemble.
Film MentorsThe moving-image makers were guided by an exceptional cohort of filmmakers and industry professionals. John McIlduff, CEO of Dumbworld, Edinburgh Fringe First winner, and producer of The Flats — which took the main award at CPH:DOX and the George Morrison Award at the IFTAs — led the strand alongside Italian-Irish filmmaker Alessandra Celesia, director of The Flats and The Bookseller of Belfast. They were joined by BIFA Award-winning director Myrid Carten, whose debut A Want in Her won three BIFAs, the George Morrison IFTA 2026, and earned an Outstanding Debut nomination at the BAFTAs; Belfast filmmaker Ross McClean, whose short No Mean City won a Golden Frog at Camerimage, Best Director at Cork IFF, with his debut feature Magilligan premiering at Visions du Réel in 2026; and documentary editor and Docs Ireland head programmer Stuart Sloan.
Music MentorsThe composers were guided with equal ambition. Brian Irvine (Ivor Novello Award winner) led the music strand alongside David Holmes, BAFTA Craft Award winner for Killing Eve; Eímear Noone, composer, conductor and 2026 IFTA winner for Best Original Music (Báite); Die Hexen — Irish Academy Award-winning composer and sound artist, fresh from winning Best Original Music at both the 2025 IFTAs and the Sitges Film Festival for Fréwaka, as well as an RTS Award for BBC series Video Nasty; and Michael Keeney, Donegal-born composer and two-time UK Music Producers Guild Award winner, with over 25 years of international credits spanning Disney, HBO, Netflix and collaborations with Snow Patrol, Van Morrison and Lisa Hannigan.
New work takes courage to make. Come and give these emerging artists the evening their work deserves.
DIALOGUES is a Dumbworld project, developed in partnership with the Regional Cultural Centre Letterkenny and Ulster University. Funded by DFAT Shared Island Civic Society Fund. Associate Partners with Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble, Contemporary Music Centre Dublin, Yarn Ballycastle and Docs Ireland.
