Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival Partnership

Griffith College is delighted to announce that we will be sponsoring the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival. Running from the 23rd of February to the 6th of March, the Dublin International Film Festival offers a platform for film-makers and celebrates cinematic work with over 100 films from 19 countries from all genres!

We are thrilled that Griffith graduates Arthur Lopez’s Libre and Ingrid Machado’s I Exist Because You Are Here short films are being shown in the festival during the First Frame Event which will take place in the Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin on February 24th. Congratulations to both!

Both student films have been nominated for several awards. Director Arthur Lopes, a BA in Film and TV Production Graduate at Griffith College, film titled Libre is a documentary about body image in the Queer community. Libre was the winner of Best Film at LGBTQ+ Toronto Film Festival 2021, Winner for Best LGBTQ Documentary at Venice Shorts 2021 and also took home the title of Winner of Best Documentary Short at Prague International Indie Film Festival 2021.

Along with these achievements, Libre was also selected for the Indie Shorts Award at Canne 2021, alongside the Montreal Independent Film Festival Official Selection.

When discussing Libre, Arthur exclaimed that his goal as Director was to address body image issues within the queer community and artistically portray those vulnerabilities. Libre is a celebration of the experience a queer body can go through, both positive and negative.

Producer Adriana Ribeiro, director of photography Ingrid Machado, sound mixer Ying Qi Loh, edited by Ayman Scuffins and first assistant director Nicole Tan are Griffith graduates who also worked on Libre.

Ingrid Machado’s short film I Exist Because You Are Here was selected for a variety of international festivals including The New York International Film Awards, The Independent Shorts Award in Los Angeles and The Rome Independent Prisma Awards. The short film was inspired by people and the absurdity and simplicity of being human. Ingrid Machado “believes in the power of transformation that cinema has…the open possibilities, the manipulation of time, space and emotion”.

Several graduates worked on I Exist Because You're Here such as co-producer Vivienne Murphy, director of photography Enya Meier, sound designer Stephen Moran and edited by Hector H. Romero.

These awards are an incredible achievement for the graduates of our BA in Film, TV and Screen Media Production, gaining international recognition. To see more of our graduates' work, keep an eye out for the 2022 Creative Showcase in early June 2022.

With eight new film courses at Griffith College, take a look to find the perfect course for you!