Light in Motion Competition | Animated Short Film Programme 3Light in Motion Competition | Animated Short Film Programme 3
Nerve Centre, 7-8 Magazine Street, Derry~Londonderry
Foyle Film Festival is proud to be an Academy Award® and BAFTA qualifying festival through our Light in Motion short film competition.
Short films showcased at Foyle Film Festival qualify for further consideration at the Academy Awards® in the categories of International, Irish and Animated Short Film.
British Short Films and Animated Shorts qualify for further consideration for BAFTA awards.
Winners of the Light in Motion Short Film Competition will be announced at the Closing Night ceremony in Nerve Centre with Gala Reception on Sunday 29 November at 7pm.
Please note all films in competition have yet to receive certification. Some films may contain strong language, adult scenes and graphic content that may be upsetting. For viewers under the age of 18, parental discretion is advised.
The Light in Motion Short Film Competition is sponsored by City of Derry Crystal.
On the Berry
Niamh Asple, James Naughton | Ireland | 2026 | 7 mins
During an impromptu stop at a roadside strawberry stand, a woman re-visits her juice-stained summers picking berries as a child in 1970s Ireland.
Pickled
Fanny Capu | United Kingdom | 2026 | 9 mins
All Eddie has ever known is her Granny's world, where they pickle everything around them, preserving their family history forever. But when Granny joins their ancestors, Edie has to decide if she'll continue their tradition.
Reclaimed
Imogen Donegan, Rachel McCarthy | United Kingdom | 2026 | 3 mins
Reclaimed is part of A Silent War, a COVID-19 response poetry/animation project written by Ross Thompson during the first lockdown. The animated response explores a dreamlike moment when the natural world moves to reset itself during the pandemic. The resulting film is a whimsical and exquisitely imaginative response to the poem.
Bótharín
Niall MacGiolla Chomhgaill | Ireland | 2026 | 6 mins
With his beloved older sister on her deathbed, an elderly Donegal man pieces together an uncertain truth which could redefine their entire relationship.
Always on My Mind
Elliott Joyce | Ireland | 2026 | 12 mins
Declan Flynn navigates life in 1980s Ireland visiting his old haunts — his family home in North Dublin, The Hirschfeld Centre (Home of the Gay Liberation Movement) and finally Fairview Park, where his life and society in Ireland would change forever.
Me, Myself and Mary
John Michell | United Kingdom | 2026 | 13 mins
Chris O'Dowd and Aisling Bea star in the adaptation of the viral, true story of Séamas O'Reilly, author of Prestige Drama, who as a student got his days mixed up and ended up alone with his boss and the President of Ireland while high on drugs.
Táin Bó Cúailnge/The Tan
John McCloskey | Ireland | 2026 | 29 mins
In this animated version of Táin Bó Cuailnge, Queen Méabh of Connacht uses guile and statecraft to provoke a war between Connacht and Ulster to seize their famed brown bull. Sa leagan beochana seo de Tháin Bó Cuailnge téann Méabh, banríon uaibhreach na gConnachtach, i muinín an ghlicis chun cogadh a spreagadh le hUltaigh agus a dtarbh cáiliúil a ghoid.
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