Oscar Winners Peter Straughan & Kenneth Lonergan, ‘Sex Education’ Creator Laurie Nunn & ‘The Marvels’ Filmmaker Nia DaCosta Among Writers Set For Element Pictures’ Storyhouse Festival In Dublin

EXCLUSIVE: Following its successful inaugural edition last year, Poor Things and The Favourite producer Element Pictures is gearing up for the second year of Storyhouse, its Dublin-based screenwriting festival that celebrates storytellers and storytelling. 

This year’s event, which will be held at the Irish capital’s Light House Cinema on April 3rd and 4th, will see Oscar and BAFTA winners Peter Straughan and Kenneth Lonergan among the festival’s illustrious guests. Straughan won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay on Sunday for Conclave while Lonergan won Best Original Screenplay in 2017 for Manchester By The Sea. Straughan’s further credits include Wolf Hall and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy while Lonergan’s credits also include You Can Count On Me and Gangs of New York. 

Laurie Nunn and Nia DaCosta will also both speak at the event next month. Nunn is best known as the creator of Netflix’s hit comedy-drama Sex Education while DaCosta is the filmmaker behind The Marvels and 2018 crime-thriller Little Woods as well as 2021 horror Candyman.

Watch on Deadline

Storyhouse will announce more speakers along with a full program in the coming weeks and tickets will be on sale from Friday, March 7 at 11am. 

Storyhouse is a not-for-profit initiative, spearheaded by Element Pictures producer and co-CEO Ed Guiney. It is a unique opportunity for new and established writers and industry professionals to benefit from in-depth interviews, panels and case studies from some of the very best international creators of stories for the screen. 

In parallel with the main event, Storyhouse has expanded on its Storyhouse Lab, an interactive program that will now take place across five days, including the two-day festival. The lab will provide a small cohort of emerging writers with complimentary access to all Storyhouse events, as well as additional sessions with guests under the mentorship of BAFTA and IFTA-winning TV film and screenwriter Malcolm Campbell (What Richard Did, Bad Sisters). The participants in this group will be carefully selected to promote new, diverse, inclusive and gender-balanced voices. 

Storyhouse is supported by Screen Ireland, Fremantle and Element Pictures and is produced in association with Light House Cinema. 

“Building upon the success of Storyhouse’s inaugural year, once again, we are thrilled to be bringing some of the best writers and screen storytellers in the world to Ireland,” said Guiney. “Storyhouse is committed to establishing Ireland as a hub for exceptional screenwriting talent, as well as remaining focused on curating a festival that inspires the next wave of diverse Irish writers to create, develop and producer stories for generations to come.”

Screen Ireland’s Head of Skills and Professional Development Colman Farrell said: “Screen Ireland is delighted to support this year’s edition of Storyhouse through Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme. This exciting skills-led initiative will offer the Irish screenwriting community a unique opportunity to learn from some of the most acclaimed screenwriting talent currently working in film and television. The immersive script development lab running concurrently will aim to empower a new diverse cohort of emerging screenwriters to explore their creative voices and hone their storytelling craft for the screen. We look forward to seeing their progress and wish them all the best.” 

Fremantle’s Christian Vesper added: “The inaugural Storyhouse Festival was an incredible celebration of the art of screenwriting, and we are excited to see it go from strength to strength in its second year. The festival is a unique opportunity to showcase a wonderful array of screenwriting talent and highlights the importance of fostering and encouraging new talent. Storytelling is the lifeblood of our industry, and we are delighted to continue our support this year.” 

Tickets can be found at www.storyhouseireland.com from 11am on March 7, 2025.