STILL LIFE RECORDINGS
A showcase collection of new short films from Irish and Northern Irish Filmmakers
Date: Saturday 28th March 2026
Start Time: 3.15pm (Exit Time: 5.00pm)
Age Recommendation: 15+
VOTE: Vote for your favourite short film at the end of the screening!
SHATTERED REALITY (Dir: Eoin Brennan)
A man discovers his ordinary life is a simulation designed to extract a secret code from his memory. Despite resisting through endless cycles of resets, he eventually breaks and surrenders, only to find himself trapped in yet another layer of the illusion.
SURFACE PRESSURE (Dir: Luke Smailes, Conor McKinley)
A university student quickly crumbles under an overwhelming level of stress when his deadlines approach.
EMBERS OF THE DAMNED (Dir: Rachel Emily Mcilhagger)
Based on the real-life murder of Bridget Cleary, a woman falls ill, leading her husband to believe she is a fairy changeling. Driven by paranoia, he and his family burn her to death in a ritual attempt to bring back his “real” wife.
A SINGLE SHOT (Dir: Callum McBryde)
Vintage store-clerk Chris has one chance to ask out his high school crush…can he do it? Or will a hampering customer and his own self doubts get in his way?
STATIC (Dir: Conor McGuinness)
An emergency broadcast plays on the cusp of war, but The President only addresses one person.
DOCTOR’S ORDERS (Dir: Jackson Turkington)
Clara is left with no one to talk to after a falling out with her friend Mary over a Buddy Holly CD. After misunderstanding her school counsellor, she decides the best way to deal with all this negative energy is to destroy it.
EXAMINATION ASSASINATION (Dir: Ethan McCarron)
Upon hearing that the death of a student during the final exams results in top marks for the rest of the class, two desperate students conspire to kill the class bully in an attempt to pass.
STILL LIFE RECORDINGS (Dir: Katie O’Connor)
An overly curious man follows a trail after receiving an unusual gift in his post box.
STARGUY (Dir: Michael McVeigh)
When a star, bored of its endless existence, hears music coming from a distant speck, it shoots down to find itself on planet Earth.
SCREENING OUT OF COMPETITION
HALF STEP (Dir: Lori Winter & Julia Hickmann Nesbitt / Cinemagic BFI Film Academy)
A closeted songwriter battles anxiety and creative block while hiding her feelings for her bandmate. As pressure mounts and boundaries break, her private lyrics expose a struggle with sexuality, forcing vulnerability and confrontation.
STROKE OF LUCK (Dir: Wyatt Murphy-Gibson & Jesse McCausland / Cinemagic BFI Film Academy)
An ex–art gallery insider and a professional thief attempt a daytime heist, only to find the gallery empty but for one painting. Panic, gunfire, and regret turn a calculated robbery into a life-altering failure.
Screening as part of Cinemagic ‘On the Pulse’ 2026.
Cinemagic ‘On the Pulse’ is funded by the Department for Communities through Northern Ireland Screen.
