Vanessa Gildea

Vanessa has received five IFTA nominations including as writer / director of The White Dress, and as producer in the Feature Documentary category for Dambé – The Mali Project , John Ford – Dreaming the Quiet Man, as Producer / Director of The 34th – a history of Marriage Equality in Ireland and as part of the team that made the IFTA winning 1916 The Irish Rebellion. She is former vice-chair of Women in Film & TV Ireland and served on the board for three years and is co- director and programmer of the Catalyst International Film Festival. Vanessa worked in Loopline Film in Documentary production and development for six years, as Head of Dept of Training in FilmBase for seven years and as a freelance archive producer and researcher.

Vanessa’s credits as writer / director include I AM IRELAND – an art dance commission film for Culture Night and RTÉ Arts & Culture 2020. The Lunch experimental short film currently in post-production, this project is the recipient of the SDGI ARRI ALEXA TAKE Award, Feature documentary. The 34th – Netflix UK & Ireland. The Arts Council Project Award film and multi award winning The Abandoning, Keeping the Beast at Bay – a short documentary made for Venom Films. A half documentary O Béal go Bhéal um Nollaig for RTÉ, and The White Dress, winner of five awards at film festivals and an IFTA nomination. She has worked freelance as a producer and director with a variety of companies including COCO TV, Harvest Films and RTÉ Arts & Culture on projects as diverse as the Culture Night Live concert at Collins Barracks, curator and producer of the RTÉ Tent at the All Together Now Festival, The Irish Folk Awards Film Tributes, Dermot Bannon’s Incredible Homes and I’m Roger Casement directed by Dearbhla Walsh.

Vanessa is passionate about her experimental and non-traditional narrative filmmaking practice; she was the first recipient of the Tyrone Guthrie Film Bursary award and has received two Arts Council Film Bursaries & an Arts Council Film Project Award.