John Crowley - IFTA Masterclass

IFTA is delighted to present a Directing Masterclass with John Crowley, IFTA and BAFTA winning director of films including Brooklyn, Intermission, Boy A and We Live in Time, and TV drama including episodes of Black Mirror and True Detective.

This masterclass is supported by Screen Ireland, and will be moderated by IFTA-winning director Hannah Quinn (The Boy That Never Was, Vikings Valhalla). This masterclass takes place on Wednesday 7th May at 6pm at the IFI Dublin.

John Crowley is best known for his multi Oscar-nominated film Brooklyn starring Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson, based on Colm Tóibín’s acclaimed novel. His films also include last year’s We Live in Time starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield as well as Intermission starring Colin Farrell, Colm Meaney and Cillian Murphy, Boy A starring Andrew Garfield and Peter Mullan, Is Anybody There? starring Michael Caine, Closed Circuit starring Eric Bana, and The Goldfinch starring Nicole Kidman.

He has also worked across major TV series including episodes of True Detective (HBO) starring Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughan, Black Mirror (Netflix) starring Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett, Modern Love (Prime Video) starring Anna Paquin, and Life After Life (BBC) starring Thomasin McKenzie and Lesley Manville.

Crowley won the first ever IFTA Award for Best Director in 2003 for Intermission. He also won Best Debut Director at the British Independent Film Awards that year. In 2008, he won a BAFTA for directing Boy A, as well as Berlin Film Festival’s Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. In 2016, for Brooklyn, he won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film. He was most recently IFTA nominated this year for We Live in Time.

In addition to film and TV work, he has been Tony Award nominated for Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman and has directed countless stage productions across Ireland, Broadway and the West End, working with actors including Cate Blanchett, Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman, Ruth Negga, Cillian Murphy, Michael Gambon, Colin Firth, Brian Cox, Robert Sheehan, Neve Campbell, Niamh Cusack, Woody Harrelson and Kyle MacLachlan.

At this special Academy Masterclass, Crowley will discuss working as a director across feature film and high-level TV drama, evaluating a script, research and pre-production, the director’s involvement in casting, working with Heads of Department to bring stories visually to life, working with actors to deliver compelling performances, collaborating with producers and screenwriters to adapt literary work, and much more.

This masterclass is supported by Screen Ireland through the Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme.