Coosan filmmaker to feature at Athlone Film Festival this April

Athlone native filmmaker Leah Egan will host a screening of her short film 'Shelter' at The Athlone Film Festival 2026.

The film will be screened on Saturday, April 25, in the IMC Cinema Athlone.

"So grateful to TAFF for gifting us a yes to screen up the road from where we shot our film," Leah said. "It’ll be a very special day, for a very special film for lots of reasons."

'Shelter' was shot locally in Wines Direct on Magazine Road, 'Shelter' was born from Leah’s desire to humanise the faces often lost behind global headlines, particularly in the early days of the war in Ukraine.

“With world events as they are, we’ve become desensitised to the images flooding our feeds,” she said. “Shelter was about centering the hearts hidden within those headlines.”

The film was shot on the anniversary of the war’s outbreak, a coincidence that brought an added emotional weight to the production.

Working alongside cinematographer Jaro Waldeck and collaborators Louise Richardson and Sara Ryan, Leah crafted a raw, intimate visual style.

“We shot handheld. Bare makeup. Intelligent lighting. We got up close and personal. Vulnerable, tired, scared. No bells or whistles.”

Still photography and “selfies” taken by the characters themselves became powerful storytelling tools.

“Seeing these women as people, just like us, is what drives the message home," she said.