Underground Cinema Reel Talk

Join us for a conversation with Paul McGonagle, director of Absent Hearted, nominated for Best Music Video at the 17th Underground Cinema Film Awards. We'll discuss the creative vision behind the video, the process of bringing the concept to life on screen, and the challenges of telling a story through music and visuals.

In this episode of Reel Talk, we’re joined by MJ Sullivan, Ben Keenan and Marco Beyermann, the creative team behind Contrition, a powerful short film inspired by the legacy of the Troubles and the lasting psychological impact of violence. Haunted by a traumatic childhood experience involving an IRA hostage situation, Damien finds himself unable to escape the past. Years later, he sets out to confr...

In this episode of Reel Talk, we welcome back award-winning filmmaker Jason Figgis and are joined by actor Steven Jess to discuss Looker, a gripping psychological thriller that explores guilt, responsibility and the devastating consequences of a night gone wrong. When a night of revelry spirals out of control, four witnesses to the abduction of a woman find themselves targeted by a grieving husban...

In this episode of Reel Talk, we’re joined by actor Johnny Elliott to discuss his new feature film Murphy vs Christmas. Johnny plays Eoin Murphy, a 49-year-old disillusioned avant-garde artist who decides to tell his daughter the truth about Santa. But what begins as a personal decision soon spirals into a public controversy, with outrage, legal battles and a media storm threatening to overwhelm h...

In this episode of Reel Talk, we’re joined by filmmaker Tony Kelly and actor Nicola Spendlove to discuss I Was Younger Yesterday, a comedy about the lengths we sometimes go to in an attempt to recapture our youth. When a middle-aged man becomes determined to feel young again, his efforts to turn back the clock begin to spiral out of control. What starts as a desire to reclaim his younger self lead...

In this episode of Reel Talk, we meet director Tanith MH and producer Stacey Burns, the creative team behind Bootlickers, a sharp, irreverent comedy set in recession stricken Belfast, where rent is high, morals are low, and survival is anything but glamorous. When wannabe punk Steph finds herself scrambling for cash to prevent her housemates from being evicted by their sleazy landlord, she must so...

In this episode of Reel Talk, we meet filmmaker John William Chambers, director of Cedar & I, a deeply personal documentary exploring recovery, resilience and the life-changing importance of support. Following a near-fatal car accident, John found support through the Cedar Foundation, an organisation that has been helping people with disabilities, autism and brain injuries for more than 85 yea...

In this episode of Reel Talk, we meet the team behind Normal , an intriguing paranormal thriller about a young artist with extraordinary abilities who seeks therapy after witnessing a terrible tragedy. We explore the inspiration behind the film, the balance between the supernatural and the emotional story at its heart, and the creative decisions that bring Indi’s unsettling world to life. In this...

Join us for a conversation with Jaroslaw Gogolin , director of Rescue Mission 11:01 , which has been nominated for Best Sci-Fi Film and Best Animated Film at the 17th Underground Cinema Film Awards. We'll discuss the making of the film, the creative process behind its animation.

In this episode of Reel Talk, we enter the dark world of Chameleon , a chilling horror film set in rural Ireland in the 1980s, where a series of women disappear and a killer may be hiding in plain sight. We’re joined by director Patrick Osborne, producer Brian Bowler and cinematographer Eugene Darcy to explore the inspiration behind the film. Our conversation also looks at the disturbing real-life...

In this episode of Reel Talk, we meet the team behind Snapshot , a tense psychological thriller where an amateur photographer’s meeting with an industry legend spirals into a disturbing unravelling of secrets, power and revenge. We chat with director Nathan Gomez, cast members Anne Cruzado and Cristin Dieza, and cinematographer Cian Walsh about the inspiration behind the film, its striking black-a...

In this episode of Reel Talk, we sit down with the team behind Warrior , a powerful short film exploring the reality of living with an invisible chronic illness. For more than a decade, Jenny has struggled with an illness that others cannot see. As painful memories resurface ahead of another doctor’s appointment, the film reveals the frustration, isolation and injustice that can come with not bein...

In this episode of Reel Talk , we catch up with longtime Underground Cinema filmmaker and friend Luke Walters to talk about his latest film, I Made The Invisible Man . The final chapter in Luke’s award-winning trilogy inspired by the worlds of H.G. Wells, the film takes us into a darker, more intimate story of obsession, belief, identity and the stories history chooses to remember — or forget. We...

In this episode of Reel Talk , we sit down with the team behind Dublin-set drama, a film that explores friendship, vulnerability, identity and the roles we all play in everyday life. Writer, producer and lead actor Christopher Ranaldi is joined by Hannah Magee and Orla Diamantino, whose performances have both earned nominations at the 17th Underground Cinema Film Awards — Hannah for Best Actress a...

Join us for a special Reel Talk with members of the cast & crew of Love in Belfast — Gary Duffy, Walter Chigui, Jarlath Burns, Cathal Mercer, Elaine Duncan & Nathan Elemen . We’ll chat about the making of the film, the characters, the Belfast setting and bringing this story to life. Love in Belfast is nominated for Best Independent Feature Film and Best Ensemble Cast at the 17th Undergroun...

Join us for a conversation with director Jason Figgis , whose documentary The Girl on the Balcony has been nominated for Best Documentary at the 17th Underground Cinema Film Awards. Jason and Dave go back many years, so this promises to be a great conversation about the making of the film, his career, and the story behind this fascinating documentary.

Join us for a conversation with filmmaker George Lynch, whose film Fragmented has been nominated for Best Student Film and Best Costume Design at the 17th Underground Cinema Film Awards. We’ll talk about the making of Fragmented, George’s filmmaking journey and what inspires his work.

In this episode, we sit down with actresses Charis Agbonlahor and Sophie Vavasseur to discuss their new film Night Driver Set against the backdrop of late-night Dublin, Night Driver follows Ngozi, a first-generation African immigrant and single mother struggling to survive while driving a taxi through a city marked by inequality, violence and isolation. When a chance encounter leaves her with a se...

In this episode we’re joined by the creative team behind Irish Baba — director Vivek Srikumar , actor , writer and producer Sree Vallabhaneni , and cinematographer Michael Benson . Irish Baba is a sharp satirical comedy that follows a self-proclaimed spiritual guru living in Ireland and his accomplice Namita, as their world of belief, deception, and manipulation begins to unravel. What starts as a...

In this episode, we sit down with Peter Coonan, who has been nominated for Best Actor at the 16th Underground Cinema Film Awards for his powerful performance in Medicinal. The film follows a father fighting against time and bureaucracy as he attempts to get a life-saving drug legalized — a desperate effort driven by love, urgency, and the fear of losing his son. As the system closes in around him,...

In this episode, we sit down with composer Natasa Paulberg, nominated for Best Score at the 16th Underground Cinema Film Awards for her work on Remote Strutting. We talk with Natasa about her creative process, the challenges of scoring a story that spans reality and imagination, and how music can give voice to what words and visuals alone cannot.

In this episode, we delve into the haunting world of Ogham — a powerful and atmospheric short film set during the darkest days of the Irish Famine. Joining us are Alan Hopkins , writer and director of the film, and Husni Hafid , producer, as they discuss the creative journey behind this deeply emotional and visually striking story.

In this episode of the Underground Cinema Podcast, we chat with Harvey Harrison Doyle, the writer and director of Nepenthe, a beautifully haunting psychological drama set against the backdrop of the English countryside. The film has been nominated Best Horror Film at the 16th Underground Cinema Film Awards

In this episode, we talk with Rob McCarthy, the writer, director, and lead actor of Civil, joined by Gerry Cannon, who has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 16th Underground Cinema Film Awards. Rob has also received a Rising Star nomination for his debut as a director. Civil is a story about resilience, injustice, and the quiet strength found in ordinary people facing extraordinary c...

In this episode, we sit down with the creative team behind Coming Second, a sharp and heartfelt comedy nominated for Best Comedy at the 16th Underground Cinema Film Awards. Set in small-town Ireland, Coming Second tells the story of Abigail, a young woman from an ultra-religious family who receives shocking news she’s pregnant with the Second Coming of Christ. Torn between faith, family, and her o...