Westmeath Arts Office announces return of €10,000 Film Award for 2023

The Westmeath Arts Office have confirmed the return of its €10,000 Film Award for 2023 The award will be open for applications from April 17 to May 22, and the €10,000 will be presented to a filmmaker towards the creation of a 10-12-minute film or documentary.

The award is funded by Westmeath County Council Arts Office and the Arts Council of Ireland and aims to further filmmaking activity in Westmeath.

It provides support to filmmakers early in their careers, enabling significant professional development by financing the creation of new work.

In 2022, Filmmaker Craig Moore was the recipient for his comedy short Barry Vs the Binman, now in post-production.

Speaking of the award, Barry Vs the Binman producer, Emer Durcan of Western Front Studios, said: “The Westmeath Arts Office were so encouraging and went out of their way to support us in every way possible. It was a great place to make a film as the local community were eager to get involved and interested in the whole process. There is no doubt that winning this bursary scheme has introduced us to the next level of our filmmaking careers.”

Westmeath arts officer Miriam Mulrennan added: “We are delighted to announce the return of the Westmeath Film Award for 2023. Local film awards play a vital role in enabling up-and-coming filmmakers to showcase and develop their skills. Westmeath is a county with huge creative and filmmaking talent, and we are proud to support filmmaking activity at what is such an opportune time for the film industry in Ireland.”

To learn more about the Westmeath Film Award, Westmeathculture.ie.