Droichead Arts Centre - BVIFF 2026 | Panel Discussion | Working Class Voices in and on Film

BVIFF 2026 | Panel Discussion | Working Class Voices in and on Film

As part of BVIFF 2026, we are delighted to bring together four film makers to discuss working class voices in and on film, exploring access to the film industry, representation, and stories. With Shane Meadows, Hilda Fay, Thommas Kane Byrne and Aisling O’Mara  (Free, booking essential and a €1 booking charge applies).

BAFTA award-winning director, writer and producer Shane Meadows’ film credits include This Is England, Smalltime, Twenty Four Seven, Dead Man’s Shoes, A Room for Romeo Brass and Somers Town. His television credits include series This Is England 86’, This Is England 88’, This Is England 90′, The Virtues, and The Gallows Pole. He also directed the documentary The Stone Roses: Made of Stone and music videos for Liam Gallagher’s ‘Come Back to Me’ and Jake Bugg’s ‘Slumville Sunrise’.

Hilda Fay is a graduate of Samuel Beckett Centre Trinity College. Her work spans 35 years on stage and screen. Working with Netflix, Apple TV, Showtime, Paramount Plus, BBC, Channel 4. R.T.E Touring internationally with  Abbey Theatre ,  Leading Druid’s acclaimed O’Casey Trilogy. Her performances have earned IFTA nominations and Theatre awards recently Broadway theatre award for her role The Gates production of Dr Katriona O Sullivans life story "Poor", Irish Times describe Hilda as "Indestructible. Her standout roles in The Woman in the Wall, Whistleblower, Netflix’s The House of Guinness and Channel 4’s Trespasser

Thommas Kane Byrne (TKB) is an award-winning Irish actor, playwright, and filmmaker hailed as the most vibrant and authentic working-class voices in contemporary Irish theatre. Rooted deeply in Dublin's North Inner City, he has successfully carved a distinct path across television, cinema, and the stage by blending razor-sharp wit, raw emotional depth, and high-energy showmanship. Some of Thommas’ screen credits include Lisa McGee’s Derry Girls and How To Get to Heaven from Belfast (Netflix), Kin (Bron/AMC), The Dry (RTE/ITV) and Darklands (Virgin Media). His stage work includes The Plough and the Stars, Dublin Gothic (Abbey Theatre), Poor (The Gate) and the Off Broadway, New York Times Critics Choice, Hothouse (Malaprop). He is artistic director of Breadline and his work as a writer includes Say Nothin’ To No One, Well That’s What I Heard and It’s Always Your Bleedin’ Own (Breadline/Project Arts) as well as Rearing is Sparing (DTF) and The Fattest Dancer at St. Bernadette’s (DFF). Thommas’ debut feature screenplay Well That’s What I Heard (based on his play of the same name) will go into production this year with Maria Doyle Kennedy at the helm.

Aisling O’Mara is a Dublin-based actor and graduate of The Lir Academy’s Bachelor in Acting programme. She has been writing plays since 2015. Her first play, REBEL REBEL, co-written with Robbie O'Connor as part of Fishamble’s Show-in-a-Bag initiative, was 

nominated for the Bewley’s Little Gem Award and toured internationally. Nothing But A Toerag was staged as part of the First Fortnight Festival in Smock Alley Theatre and went on to play a sold-out run in Bewley’s Café Theatre. Next Please, commissioned by Bewley’s in 2021, was nominated for Best New Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards. 15 Minutes, commissioned by Glass Mask Theatre in 2022, played a three-week sold-out run. Her screen credits include Renee in Richard Linklater’s feature film Blue Moon, Kathy in The Dry series three (dir. Paddy Breathnach), Redemption of a Rogue (dir. Philip Doherty), The Vanishing Triangle, Taken Down, and Rosie. Her first short film Babysitter premiered at Dublin Film Festival 2026 and will screen as part of BVIFF 2026.
 

Set against the beautiful backdrop of the Boyne Valley, the Boyne Valley International Film Festival (BVIFF) returns from the 7-9 August for its fifth year in partnership with LOVE Drogheda BIDS. Creating an environment for filmmakers and audiences to connect and celebrate film in the historical medieval town of Drogheda, located in the heart of the Boyne Valley Region. 

Funded by The Arts Council, Louth County Council Festival Fund, Love Drogheda BIDS, Meath County Council and The National Talent Academy for Animation. With sponsorship from Tom Clinch and Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, KMN Ltd, Scotch Hall, and support from Boann Distillery, Anglo Printers, Scholars and The Marcy Hotel. 

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