NI Screen public appointments 2025 - pen pics

Dr Murat Akser

Murat Akser has 28 years of teaching screen and media production across Northern Ireland, Canada and Europe. He has trained thousands of students who work in film, television, games and screen industries winning awards at major film festivals.

As a Senior Lecturer in Screen Production at Ulster University, he has led the creation of the island of Ireland’s first university level degree granting film production program, BSc Cinematic Arts at University of Ulster, Magee Campus. Later he led the efforts to create a unique international MA program in Film and Television Production program as part of Ulster Screen Academy.

Dr. Akser has worked as a member of the organizing teams across Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, Canadian Film Center and Toronto International Film Festival. He has significant experience working with students and filmmaking communities including Berlinale, Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, 48 Hrs Film Festival, Nerve Centre and BAME Film Festival.

He previously served as course director of BSc Cinematic Arts and MA Film and Television Production at Ulster University as well as serving as founding department chair of New Media BA and MA programs in Turkey.

Murat is the founding editor of the scholarly international cinema and media studies journal CINEJ Cinema Journal published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. He also published many books and academic and popular journal articles on world cinemas. He has appeared in CBC, BBC, TRT and many other international TV outlets to comment on screen industries.

He was previously awarded Payback Award by Canadian Film Center for his contribution to Canadian film productions. He has been a member of IATSE 667 International Cinematographers Guild, IFTA and BAFTA Connect as well as working as part of BBC Writersroom. As a practicing filmmaker he has worked extensively on different film and television formats since 2005.

He has a BA (Hons.) in English, MA in Film and Video, MA in Screenwriting for FiIm and Television, PhD in Communication and Culture as well as being a Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (UKHEA).

Murat holds no other public appointments.

Dr Ciara Chambers

Dr Ciara Chambers is Senior Lecturer in Film & Screen Media at University College Cork and author of Ireland in the Newsreels (Irish Academic Press) and Outsider Cinema: Amateur and Independent Filmmaking in Northern Ireland, 1929-1989 (Edinburgh University Press). 

She is an elected member of the Council of the International Association for Media and History and an advisor to Atticus Education, the digital education company established by Oscar-winning film producer Lord David Puttnam. She was scriptwriter and associate producer of Ireland in the Newsreels, a six-part BAI-funded television series broadcast on TG4 and producer of the historical play Souls, Shadows and Secrets. She has previously been a board member of Irish Screen Studies and is currently working on several archive-driven initiatives, including Make Film History and Reuters’ Newsfilm for Education. 

She holds a BA (Hons) in English Literature (QUB), M.Phil in Psychoanalytic Studies (Trinity College) and PhD in Film (Ulster University) as well as a Licentiate Teaching Diploma in Speech and Drama (New Era Academy). She has extensive outreach experience in educational settings from primary level through to lifelong learning as well as leadership experience in the community and voluntary sector both sides of the border over the past two decades.

Ciara holds no other public appointments.

Aaron ‘Noxy’ Donaghey

With 17 years of experience in the games industry, Aaron ‘Noxy’ Donaghey has made a lasting impact through various roles. He began his career at Dark Water Studios, releasing two indie games, before organizing major games festivals across England and Europe, including Minecon and the Insomnia Games Festival.

Aaron joined Hypixel, the world’s largest Minecraft third-party server network, as Chief Operating Officer. Hypixel transitioned from a modding team to a game development studio, culminating in the sale of Hypixel Studios to Riot Games, the developer behind League of Legends, Valorant and Arcane in 2020.

Today, Aaron serves as CEO of Hypixel Studios, overseeing the development of their upcoming game Hytale, and is on secondment as Special Advisor on product and strategy to Riot Games in Los Angeles. 

A keynote speaker for the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, Aaron also serves on the board of The Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA). He is a distinguished speaker at the University of Southern California and a graduate of Northwest Regional College. 

Previously, Aaron was a non-remunerated director of Foyle Friends of Ukraine CIC and coordinated the drone team for Foyle Search and Rescue.  

Aaron holds no other public appointments.

Meg Earls

Meg Earls is an award-winning animation director and graduate of the National Film and Television School. She holds a BA in Animation from the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), Farnham. In 2020 her graduation film Border/Line won a British Animation Award, Best Student Film at the Manchester Animation Festival and was nominated for the CILECT Prize.

She has worked with Dame Mary Beard on her short film Women & Power and has been an animator on BAFTA nominated In Her Boots (2019) and BAFTA winning Crab Day (2024). During her time at the NFTS (2022-24) she received mentorship from Joanna Quinn.

In 2021 Meg returned to UCA to teach animation. Providing insight into the industry and supporting new talent is something that she strongly values. Meg is currently writing her next film whilst doing the 24/25 festival circuit with her most recent film It All Comes Down.

Meg holds no other public appointments.

Dr Frank Ferguson

Dr Ferguson is the Research Director for English Language and Literature at Ulster University as well as a researcher and lecturer in Ulster and Scottish writing, literary diaspora studies and Irish and British book history.

He has published extensively on the Ulster Scots tradition and has worked with local authorities, councils and community groups to develop a range of exhibitions and literary projects.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr Ferguson has been involved in broadcasting for many years, working as a consultant for a number of companies to develop television, radio and digital productions. He is a Governor of the Linen Hall Library and is the Chair of the John Hewitt Society.

Dr Ferguson holds a PhD, MA and BA from Queen’s University, Belfast.

Dr Ferguson holds no other public appointments.

Dermot Lavery

Dermot Lavery is an award-winning director, producer and executive producer with DoubleBand Films, the Belfast-based independent production company he co-founded over 30 years ago.

He is responsible for a wide range of highly regarded documentaries and dramas for broadcasters such as the BBC, Channel 4, RTE and TG4, many of which have enjoyed international distribution including on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.

Dermot's credits include the award-winning feature documentary Road narrated by Liam Neeson, Lost Lives, a landmark film on the Troubles in Northern Ireland featuring an ensemble cast of Irish actors including Kenneth Branagh, Brendan Gleeson and Ciaran Hinds and was lead Producer on FRÉWAKA, a Cine4 feature film currently in wide distribution.

Dermot has previously served as the Northern Ireland representative on the Council of UK industry trade body PACT.

Dermot holds no other public appointments.

Tommy Martin

Tommy has over 30 years’ experience in a variety of financial and leadership roles across several industries including education and training (South Eastern Regional College), broadcasting (BBC Northern Ireland) and communications (Nortel).

Tommy was interim Principal & Chief Executive of South Eastern Regional College from August 2024 before being appointed permanently to the position on 13 December 2024, having been a member of the College's Management Team since 2009. Over the last 15 years he has played a key role in the strategic and financial management of the College, first as Head of Finance, then as Chief Finance Officer and more recently as Deputy Chief Executive. 

Tommy graduated from Ulster University with First Class Honours in Business Studies. He holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Collaborative Transformation and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.

Bríd Ní Fhachtna

Bríd Ní Fhachtna has extensive and proven experience working within various Irish language sectors, including education, broadcasting and creative translation.

She has worked in the Irish language education sector at local, national and international levels and has been involved with the Ireland Canada University Foundation programme since 2012.

Bríd previously held the position of Acting Head of the ILBF with NI Screen and also served as a non-executive director on the board of the Irish language broadcaster TG4 from 2015 to 2023.

She has a BA in Early and Modern Irish, as well as a Higher Diploma in Education from the University of Dublin, Trinity College, an MA in Irish Language Translation Studies from Queen’s University Belfast and has also undertaken studies in animation.

Brid holds no other public appointments.

Eimhear O’Neill

Eimhear O’Neill is a Critics’ Choice award-winning producer and director who has produced several feature documentaries and factual programmes for streamers and broadcasters in the US, UK and Ireland.  She is Head of Development at Sundance-winning production company Fine Point Films, where she oversees and develops the company’s dynamic slate of documentaries for global release.

Eimhear produced The Go-Go’s which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020, as well as Cyndi Lauper: Let the Canary Sing, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2023. Prior to that, Eimhear co-produced Emmy-nominated film No Stone Unturned, directed by Oscar-winner Alex Gibney and Netflix Originals Documentary Mercury 13.  She also served as associate producer on HBO’s Emmy, Peabody and IFTA-winning film Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God directed by Alex Gibney.

Eimhear directed Wave Goodbye to Dinosaurs for PBS and BBC Northern Ireland in association with Abigail Disney and Gini Reticker’s Fork Films as well as the award-winning short Inez: A Challenging Woman, Special Me and The Joy of Sets.

She has a BA in English Literature, a MA in Journalism and is a former recipient of the BFI Flare Filmmakers’ Mentorship delivered in association with BAFTA.

Eimhear holds no other public appointments