Amy Goodman to Headline Docs Ireland 2026 as Festival Honours Manchán Magan

Michele Devlin, Docs Ireland, Ross McClean, Filmmaker and Director of Closing Night Film Magilligan, Richard Williams, Northern Ireland Screen

This year Docs Ireland pays tribute to author, traveller, broadcaster and documentary maker Manchán Magan by posthumously awarding him the Docs Ireland 2026 Outstanding Contribution to Irish Documentary. Following a cancer diagnosis, in October last year, Manchán Magan, sadly passed away at the age of 55. This year Docs Ireland recognises the immense contribution Manchán made to Irish culture. 

Docs Ireland will screen his last ever documentary, Listen to the Land Speak directed by Maurice O’Brien which follows Manchán on a journey across Ireland’s sacred sites, uncovering wisdom encoded in our land, language, and myths. Manchán’s brother and collaborator, Ruàn Magan, will be in attendance and take part in a conversation alongside director Maurice O’Brien and writer Kerri ní Dochartaigh.

The eighth Docs Ireland festival returns to Belfast this June (16–21), presenting a bold and globally resonant programme exploring truth, power and storytelling in a rapidly changing world.

Across the wider programme, Docs Ireland will showcase a diverse range of films and events spanning music, climate, conflict, identity and culture, alongside a strong line-up of new Irish work and a growing international industry presence.

GALA SCREENINGS

Amy Goodman

Docs Ireland film festival will open this year with Steal This Story, Please! (dir. Tia Lessin and Carl Deal), a gripping portrait of award-winning independent journalist and Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman, whose fearless reporting has made her one of the most influential voices in global media. The film explores the role of independent journalism in holding power to account at a time when press freedom is increasingly under threat.

Amy Goodman will travel to Belfast to attend the opening night screening at Cineworld on Tuesday 16 June and stay for a special post-screening Q&A, giving audiences the opportunity to hear directly from the internationally renowned broadcaster, investigative journalist and author about her decades-long career covering conflict, politics and social justice movements around the world.

Closing the festival is Magilligan directed by Ross McClean, a powerful feature debut from the Belfast filmmaker. The film offers an intimate portrait of a young man navigating life after prison, following its international premiere at Swiss festival, Visions du Réel. McClean was previously a participant in the Docs Ireland Ignite training and development programme Marketplace in 2021, and winner of  the Docs Ireland Short Film Competition in 2025 with No Mean City. 

Ross McClean

SPECIAL EVENTS

Docs Ireland 2026 presents a range of special screenings and live events connecting film with wider cultural and social conversations. Highlights include The Road to Mexico, charting Northern Ireland’s unforgettable 1986 World Cup qualification campaign, with a post-screening Q&A featuring football legends Pat Jennings and Gerry Armstrong. 

A special screening of No Stone Unturned, directed by Alex Gibney, will take place to mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland reporting into the massacre at Loughinisland in June, 1994. Drawing on his experience as Police Ombudsman, Investigator Dr. Michael Maguire will talk at the event about his ground breaking report and the importance of holding the police to account.

NEW IRISH CINEMA

Championing new Irish filmmaking through its 2026 programme, the line up includes Útóipe Cheilteach / Celtic Utopia (dir. Dennis Harvey & Lars Lovén), a vibrant exploration of Ireland’s evolving cultural identity through folk music and post-colonial history. The screening will be followed by a live traditional music session in the Oh Yeah Music Centre, reflecting the festival’s commitment to blending film with live cultural experiences.

An Irish Atlantic Rainforestdirected Gary Lennon is based on the bestselling novel of the same name, tells the story of Eoghan Daltun, a leading climate activist at the forefront to save native Irish oak forests in the face of climate change and political indifference on the edges of the West Coast of Ireland. 

Previous winner of Docs Ireland Best Film award in 2023, Cara Holmes, returns with her feature documentary Lesbian Lines which reveals a hidden history through an underground network of telephone helplines established by a small community of Irish lesbians in 1979, creating a lifeline for those experiencing isolation, abuse and profound loneliness. 

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY

This year’s international programme spans multiple continents and urgent global themes from around the world. A special focus on Iran strand includes Cutting Through Rocks (dir. Mohammadreza Eyni & Sara Khaki), which follows a pioneering female leader challenging entrenched traditions, and A Fox Under a Pink Moon (dir. Soraya Akhalaghi & Mehrdad Oskouei), an intimate and innovative self-shot documentary exploring art, resilience and migration.

The festival also continues its commitment to urgent global storytelling with Gazawyat, a world premiere short documentary series capturing the lived experiences of women in Gaza, offering a deeply human perspective on conflict and resilience.

INDUSTRY

Building and supporting the thriving documentary film-making industry in Ireland, Docs Ireland once again brings forward a dynamic industry-focused programme, including the Docs Ireland Marketplace (19–20 June, The MAC), which connects filmmakers with leading international funders, broadcasters and distributors.

The lineup of participating organisations is extensive including ARTE, BBC NI, BBC Storyville, Doc Society, RTÉ, TG4, and Visions du Réel, NBC News Studios, Open City Docs, DOC NYC, and many more. The Marketplace continues to be the only event of its kind dedicated to documentary on the island of Ireland. The festival will also host the Jacob Burns Residency Award, offering one selected project a prestigious development residency in New York, providing significant creative and financial support.

During the festival week there will be three days dedicated to industry sessions at The MAC Belfast for those starting out in the documentary field and already established. There will be opportunities to network as well as hear from award winning filmmakers about their experience in panel discussions such as Who Gets to Tell the Story? an honest conversation about creative autonomy, finding funding for self- driven work, and what it really takes to build a lasting career with BIFA and IFTA  winning filmmakers Kathryn Ferguson (Nothing Compares, Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes) and Alison Millar (The Disappearance of Captain Nairac, Lyra).

Michele Devlin, Chief Executive at Docs Ireland, said:

"With 100 features, short documentaries and events over six days, our programme is packed with premieres, guest filmmakers and vital conversations.  Audiences are in for a remarkable festival. Nowadays, with disinformation spreading faster than facts and truth itself increasingly contested, independent documentary filmmaking has never been more vital. Through new training initiatives like LASAIR and the Impact Lab with Guth Gafa and Story Matters we continue strengthening our commitment to nurturing Irish and NI documentary talent."

Richard Williams, Chief Executive at Northern Ireland Screen, said:

"In a relatively short period of time, Docs Ireland has become a vital element of our production sector's ecosystem and a touchstone event for our documentary creators. It has always been a festival that believes in the power of documentary to change lives, and in its eighth year, that belief has never felt stronger. Next month, it will welcome industry guests and potential business partnerships from 20 countries across the world, bringing the very best of global documentary to Ireland and to Belfast, facilitating investment in our place and in the next generation of Irish and Northern Irish filmmakers."

Docs Ireland is supported by Northern Ireland Screen through the Department for Communities, Belfast City Council, Shared Island Civic Society Fund through the Dept of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Screen Ireland BFI/Film Hub NI, and is proudly sponsored by TG4, BBCNI and Yellowmoon. 

The Full Docs Ireland Programme can be found here: https://docsireland.ie/programme/whats-on/