A total of 68 films are in contention for Best International Short Film, Best Irish Short Film and Best Animated Short Film, with winners being announced during the festival in November.

Recipients of the Light In Motion (LIM) Awards qualify for consideration in the Live Action Short Film Category and Animated Short Category of the Annual Academy® Awards without the standard theatrical run. British short films and animations which screen as part of the Light in Motion Awards are eligible for consideration in the Short Film Awards at BAFTA.

Light in Motion Competition Manager Eavan King says: "Our festival juries have been working hard over the last number of months to bring our audience a fantastic programme of shorts from all over the world. The standard of short film and animation is particularly high this year and the short film programme promises to be a treat for film lovers and those new to film.”

Sixteen Irish short films are screening in competition this year, with films from IFTA nominated director Mia Mullarkey Safe as Houses, Derry Girls actor Louisa Harland in Noah and 2022 marks a Foyle Film Festival debut for director Sinead O’Loughlin whose short film Lamb is enjoying a successful festival run so far with appearances at Galway Film Fleadh, Tribeca and Rhode Island film festivals.

Northern Irish talent also features in Foyle Light in Motion Irish Shorts competition with films from Emma Louise Williamson, Derry writer and director Colm Herron with I Know You and Belfast director/producer team Gavin Kelly and Lisa Service for The Search.

Themes in the Irish Shorts programme reflect the everyday challenges and inner struggles faced around mental health, parenting, loss, domestic violence, revenge, reinvention and escapism.

The International Shorts Programme is full of rich stories centred around universal themes of family, loss, conflict, choices and consequences. Trigger Charlie One, directed by Dan Clifton, features Walking Dead actor David Morrissey (Doctor Who) and tells the story of a naval commander, who in the face of her own doubts, must follow orders and press the launch button triggering the earth’s final nuclear apocalypse. British theatre and film legend Juliet Stephenson (Truly, Madly Deeply, Bend It Like Beckham) features in Werner Vivier’s Walls Like Windows. When Maggie invites a stranger into her home, she is confronted with the very thing she has been trying to avoid. Festival alumni Alexandra Hsu returns with her short film Farmers Dating which offers a light-hearted look at what happens when a French farmer’s marriage dissolves and she is thrust back out into the dating market — this time online

A popular programme with all ages, the Animated Shorts competition features 24 films from across the world. Korean short film The Cave recently won the Oscar qualifying award at the Palm Springs International Short Fest and Foyle is the film's tenth festival outing this year.

Irish animator and competition alumni Eoin Duffy makes a welcome return to the Foyle Film Festival with his short film Regular Rabbit. His films have taken the top prize at over two dozen film festivals, alongside nominations at the European Film Awards, the Canadian Screen Awards, and the Irish Film and Television Awards. In addition to a shortlisting for the 86th Academy Awards for The Missing Scarf.

Animator Sean McCarron makes his directorial debut with his short film Corvine to Foyle Film Festival after a successful career with some the leading animation studios in the world including Cartoon Saloon and Norway’s Mikrofilm. Corvine celebrates traditional hand drawn animation in the story about a boy and his obsession with crows.

Light in Motion competition screenings take place at Foyle Film Festival from 18–27 November in Derry-Londonderry. The winners of the Light in Motion competition will be announced ahead of the closing night screening on Sunday 27 November.

Foyle Film Festival Light in Motion Competition is kindly supported by City of Derry Crystal.

View our upcoming screenings for more details and to book tickets.

The full festival programme will be released at the beginning of November.