The Rise of Indigenous Languages

In recent years, indigenous and minority language films have gained visibility with audiences. A growing movement within Celtic cinema has seen films such as The Quiet Girl and Kneecap conquer critics and audiences alike. Bespoke funding schemes are supporting film production in indigenous languages in several countries, such as the UK, Canada or Australia. Producers, distributors and sales agents will discuss the ways in which underrepresented voices are supported in their journey across national borders.

Speakers:

EMANUELE GALLONI | Head of Content
My Culture

PATRICK O'NEILL | Founder and Managing Director
Wildcard

MITCHELL STANLEY | Producer
No Coincidence Media

KIMBERLEY WARNER | Head of Production
Ffilm Cmyru Wales

Moderator:

CARMEN THOMPSON | Film programmer and distributor

About the speakers:

EMANUELE GALLONI | Head of Content
My Culture
Emanuele Galloni is one of the founders of MyCulture, a platform dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices through storytelling in minority and indigenous languages, as well as a theatrical distribution company specialized in feature films rooted in local cultures. He is also the founder of Videoplugger, a global TV content licensing company known for its specialization in distributing content from minority language producers from the UK and well beyond. Most recently, he launched Connemaris Media, an Italian startup developing AI-powered tools to source, develop, and commercialize intellectual properties (IP) from cultures around the world, especially those originating in lesser-known and minority languages. With a background in journalism, production, and creative development, his work bridges innovation and storytelling. His credits include producing the award-nominated Sky Italia series Red Zones and co-producing The World Says No to War by Deep Dish Television, showcased at the MoMA in New York. Emanuele is driven by a passion to connect global audiences with unique narratives that might otherwise remain unseen, where cultural diversity inspires new ways of seeing the world.

PATRICK O'NEILL | Founder and Managing Director
Wildcard
Patrick is Founder and Managing Director of Wildcard, an Irish/UK independent film distribution and production company established in 2013. Wildcard is a theatrical led film distributor, with projects including Kneecap, Wolfwalkers, Black 47 and The Young Offenders. Wildcard began as a distribution company but has recently moved into film production, with completed feature films Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan, Kneecap, and Fréwaka. Upcoming feature film projects currently in post-production include Learning To Breathe Under Water, 3 Quick Breaths, Saipan and You’ll Never Believe Who’s Dead. Patrick’s Executive Producer film credits include The Hole in the Ground, Black 47, Extra Ordinary, Redemption of a Rogue, Lakelands, KATIE, and the upcoming No Ordinary Heist. Prior to Wildcard, Patrick worked as a Business Affairs Executive at Screen Ireland. Patrick currently sits on the Board of the Irish Film Institute, is a member of the WRAP Fund Investment Committee, and the Arts Council Peer Panel.

MITCHELL STANLEY | Producer
No Coincidence Media
Mitch is a Wiradjuri producer who started his producing career with ABC3 Kid’s show, Move It Mob Style, then four series of Colour Theory with Richard Bell and Tony Albert. He wrote and produced Servant or Slave, produced Warwick Thornton’s documentary television series, The Beach, and produced the first Indigenous official co production between Australia and New Zealand, We Are Still Here, which opened the Sydney Film Festival, was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win the Best Narrative Feature film at ImagineNative Film Festival. Mitch recently produced societal thriller and psychological horror, The Moogai with Director Jon Bell and Causeway Films (The Babadook, Talk To Me) and was officially selected for competition in the Midnight Section of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival for 2024, and won the audience award for Best Australian Feature at the Sydney Film Festival in 2024, and CinefestOz’s Best Australian Feature Film with a $100k cash prize.

KIMBERLEY WARNER | Head of Production
Ffilm Cmyru Wales
Kim leads the department’s work to support writers, directors and producers, and their films. She works with the CEO to shape policy, funding and training activity to support a sustainable screen sector in Wales, inspired by close partnerships with small local organisations as well as big screen companies across the world. Kim is the former Head of Acquisitions of Mercury Media and Journeyman Pictures and set up SVOD platforms for both companies, brokering relationships with The Guardian and The Independent. Before that she worked for the Works Media and for Scala Productions. As an independent producer her credits include films such as Claude Lanzmann which was Grierson, Cinema Eye Honors, IDA and Oscar-nominated. Kim comes from North Wales and has an MA in English Language and Literature from Oxford University and a, mostly useless, diploma in filmmaking from the International Film School of Paris. Kim is passionate about championing the weird and the ambitious; cinematic stories which no one would expect to come from Wales led by filmmakers with something to say. She aims to be a champion for working class filmmakers in particular and is passionate about improving the understanding of the intersectional way in which people are often disadvantaged in our industry.