BBC NI And NI Screen Announces Second Round Of Green Lit Short Film Initiative

BBC Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen have unveiled the second round of their Green Lit short film initiative at this year's Belfast Media Festival.

The programme is designed to nurture emerging writers, producers, directors, and actors from Northern Ireland by supporting the creation of new, standalone short scripted comedies and dramas.

The announcement was made by Jason Butler, BBC Northern Ireland's Commissioning Editor, and Ursula Devine, Scripted Content Manager at Northern Ireland Screen. It came as the three films produced through the first round of Green Lit were given their premiere at the festival.

They are:

Rewarding from Conker Pictures written by Matthew McDevitt featuring Seána Kerslake and Vittorio Angelone.
Helpless from Fabel Productions written by Michael Patrick and Oisín Kearney starring Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Éanna Hardwicke and George Robinson.
Mourning Glory (working title) produced by Fíbín Films written by Shane McNaughton featuring Nigel O'Neill and Amy Huberman.

These films will be broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer on Thursday 27 November.

In this second round of the Green Lit scheme, a diverse range of editorial proposals will be considered, including drama, comedy, and comedy-drama. Submissions must come from companies based in Northern Ireland. Preference will be given to projects where the writer and/or director is a resident of Northern Ireland. Applications will open early in the new year.

Six projects will be selected to enter an initial phase of funded development. From these, three will be chosen to progress to full production as short films. While most proposals are expected to run between 15–20 minutes, there is no fixed duration requirement, and submissions of varying lengths are welcome.

Further information and how to apply can be found on the BBC NI Commissioning website and the Northern Ireland Screen website early in the new year.

www.bbc.co.uk