Claire Frances Byrne

Claire Frances Byrne, a Dublin native and award-winning Irish filmmaker, premiered her feature directorial debut at this year's Dublin International Film Festival, 5 years on from winning the festival's prestigious Discovery award in 2020. Ready or Not, written by Lynn Ruane is produced by Ruth Coady for Gaze Pictures. The film is an exciting exploration of Irish youth culture and female friendships and much like Claire's favourite films it's funny! It is supported by Screen Ireland, Bankside, RTÉ, and Article1. It played to a sold-out Screen 1 in the Lighthouse Cinema with a standing ovation to boot. Leading ladies Ruby Conway-Dunne, Molly Byrne and Alicia Weafer took home the award of the Michael Dwyer Discovery away at the Dublin Film Critics Circle awards on the last day of the festival. Ready or Not also featured in the top 5 films in the Diff Audience Choice awards. One of Claire's standout projects, the Screen Ireland-funded short film Sister This, garnered critical acclaim, earning a nomination for a 2020 IFTA, winning Best Film at the Fastnet Short Film Festival, special mention at Foyle Film Festival and securing Best Short Film and Best Director at the 2020 Kinsale Shark Awards. Claire's other short films including Ascending Grace written by Karen Healy have earned accolades at prestigious festivals, including Heartland Festival Indianapolis, the London Irish Film Festival, the Richard Harris Film Festival, and the Dublin Feminist Film Festival, among others. Ascending Grace is a comedy set on an airplane funded by the Female Film Force by Bumble in 2019. As 2025 promises to be a landmark year with the release of Ready or Not, Claire is already developing her next slate of feature films. Daughterhood, produced by Keeper Pictures and co-written by Claire and Karen Healy is a Screen Ireland backed project that Claire is attached to direct. Daughterhood originated from Claire and Karen's winning submission to X-Pollinator's 2020 Incubator. Daughterhood is another project in which Claire gets to sink her teeth into the complexity and comedy of female relationships. Since 2016, Claire has brought a multifaceted skill set to her projects, working as a TV editor and serving as director of a production company. Her dedication to her craft earned her membership in BAFTA Connect in 2023. Since 2024, she has also been a lecturer at London South Bank University, teaching filmmaking to BA students.