IRISH FILMMAKER CHAMPION’S WOMEN’S VOICES

Irish Filmmaker's Documentary Class Inspires Women at IIFF 2025.

Award-winning Irish filmmaker Siobhan Cleary led a documentary production masterclass that ended up being one of the most talked about sessions at IIFF 2025. Addressing a mixed group of upcoming and senior filmmakers and producers on the subject of using documentary to address climate change, Cleary deconstructed documentary film into its most basic components, in a way that enhanced local filmmakers' understanding of the genre. "Documentaries are about content, you want to tell a story and you have something to say," Cleary said, noting that because documentaries are concerned with everyday reality, they open up paths to change.

Cleary, who has decades of experience making films for Channel 4, PBS, and other global outlets, employs a feminist approach in her filmmaking, which ensures that she incorporates women into every level of production. “A feminist consciousness in production is the deliberate choice of women’s voices in all areas,” she told participants. “Whose story is it? Whose voice? I choose to tell the stories of women.” She also hires female crews and seeks out women experts even in male dominated fields, ensuring that women lead the conversation both on screen and behind it.

Climate change was another key thread in Cleary's presentation talk. Referencing her work with the Green Shoots Film Festival, which she founded in The Republic of Ireland, and her work the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), Cleary highlighted how communities across Africa are creating their own solutions to the challenge of climate change. She shared the story of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo who reclaimed desert land by planting trees and, in doing so, gained ownership of their land. “The people with the climate solutions are in the communities themselves,” she said. “Documentaries are powerful because they can be part of campaigns, telling stories as they are, and they have an impact.”

Ms Cleary screened We Can (The Republic of Ireland 2023, d. Siobhán Cleary) Women Ending The Era Of Fossil Fuels And Building A Just Transition ( The Republic of Ireland 2024, d. Siobhán Cleary) from her own production house Rebel Sister during the session and the Great Green Wall (The Republic of Ireland 2019, d. Jared P. Scott)

Participants came away with a clearer sense of how to shape a story, with tips on making low budget films and with the confidence to start projects which reflect their own communities from a fresh perspective. Cleary later received messages from some participants who informed her that her masterclasses had erased their doubts about pursuing documentary filmmaking. For Cleary, that response captured the purpose of the session. “We need independent media. We particularly need women to go out and tell their stories. If someone tries to stop your work, that should not stop you even though it makes you work ten times harder.”

After the festival, Cleary spoke warmly about her first visit to Zimbabwe. “It was always my dream to come to Africa. I never thought I would come to Zimbabwe. I cannot believe that I’m here,” she said. “Everyone is just so lovely, good hearted - good energy. I think Zimbabwe has a great future. There’s so much energy, care, love and vision here.”

Thanking IIFF for organising the festival, she continued, “This is a brilliant festival and I really want to thank, with all my heart, the International Images Film Festival for Women. I think it’s absolutely necessary in my opinion. And I want to thank the Embassy of Ireland for sponsoring my visit. Women do make a difference, they make the world a better place.”