Northern Ireland Screen, Screen Ireland & Atticus Education Announce 2025 Puttnam Scholars
Date Posted: June 20, 2025
Atticus Education, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen have announced the eight filmmakers that will partake in this year’s Puttnam Scholars programme.
A cross-border initiative, the Atticus Education ‘Puttnam Scholars’programme is a series of interactive online seminars for early-to-mid career filmmakers with Oscar-winning producer David Puttnam (LOCAL HERO, CHARIOTS OF FIRE, THE KILLING FIELDS), run in conjunction with Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen.
Now in its sixth year, the Puttnam Scholars programme offers eight talented people from both sides of the border the chance to help develop their creative resilience and professional acumen and forge cultural connections and stimulate business networks across the island of Ireland.
This year each participant will receive a scholarship of €1,000 for participating in the programme, as well as a travel bursary to attend the Berlinale and the EFM in February 2026. The group will also meet in Autumn 2025 for a special in-person networking event. Last year saw the Scholars gather at the residence of the British Ambassador to Ireland for a special networking luncheon, hosted by the British Council and the British Embassy.
Every year Lord Puttnam invites special guests to join some of the seminars to reflect on their recent work and to offer advice to the scholars – this year’s participants can look forward to meeting Pat Collins (Director, That They May Face the Rising Sun), Rich Peppiatt (Director, Kneecap), and Jane Featherstone (Producer, Chernobyl, Black Doves).
Since its inception, the programme has proved to be uniquely valuable for participants – as Cara Loftus, one of the 2024 Puttnam Scholars, said on completion of the course: “The thought, consideration and enthusiasm that was put into these seminars was on another level. It is the best run online course I have ever experienced. A safe space was created for everyone to ask questions and share thoughts, which built this wonderful community spirit. This is an experience I’m going to look back on throughout my entire career.”
The 2025 participants were chosen by Northern Ireland Screen and Screen Ireland following a highly-competitive application process. This year the participants come from wide-ranging backgrounds that include writing, producing and directing for shorts, features and television, assistant directing, script editing, Irish language production, factual entertainment, theatre, and talent development:
- Dallan Shovlin – Writer/Director selected by Northern Ireland Screen
- Méabh Nic Alastair – Producer selected by Northern Ireland Screen
- Leesa Harker –Writer/Producer selected by Northern Ireland Screen
- Callum Harrison –Producer selected by Northern Ireland Screen
- Philip Doherty – Writer/Director selected by Screen Ireland
- Robert Higgins – Writer/Director/Producer selected by Screen Ireland
- Lara Hickey – Producer selected by Screen Ireland
- Laura McNicholas – Producer selected by Screen Ireland
David Puttnam said: Every year this programme is evidence of the growing confidence of the film industry on the island of Ireland. I’m already blown away by the talent of the group that has been convened this year – each and every one of whom will bring a unique voice to our conversations and contribute to the growing sense that we’re all in the process of building something that’s both sustainable and special here. I know the 2024 Scholars found the programme helped forge meaningful, creative friendships with their peers on either side of the border – something consolidated by their trip to the Berlinale and the EFM last February. For me, that comradeship has always been at the heart of the programme; our objective from the get-go was to focus on collaboration and a shared vision.
Désirée Finnegan, Chief Executive of Screen Ireland said: “Our congratulations to the filmmakers selected to participate in the 2025 Puttnam Scholars programme. Screen Ireland is delighted to partner with Northern Ireland Screen and Atticus Education on this initiative. This is an excellent opportunity for the participants to benefit from the experiences of one of the most visionary filmmakers of our time David Puttnam, and to gain insight from the line-up of special guests and their peers across the island of Ireland. We wish the successful candidates every success in their filmmaking journeys into the future.”
Richard Williams, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Screen, said: “We are proud to continue our partnership with Atticus Education and Screen Ireland on this exceptional initiative. The Puttnam Scholars programme provides an extraordinary opportunity for emerging talent to learn directly from one of the industry’s greats, Lord Puttnam. It’s about more than professional development – it’s about building creative confidence, and inspiring the next generation of storytellers to think globally while staying rooted in the culture and community that shapes them. We’re excited to see what this new cohort will achieve.”
