DirectorsDigest:23April2026

Digest
Published on: 23 April 2026

News for directors, directly to you.

This week, Northern Ireland Screen launches its four-year plan for the next phase of growth across the screen industries, leading film and TV bodies call on the EU to ringfence €2.83 billion to support the audiovisual sector, and Asif Kapadia will direct the last chapter of Up.

HEADLINES

  • Leading European film and TV bodies call on the EU to ringfence at least €2.83 billion to support the film and audiovisual sector under its proposed AgoraEU programme. (Screen Daily)
  • Northern Ireland Screen launches its new strategy “The Full Picture”, a four-year plan that sets out its vision for the next phase of growth across the screen industries. (Televisual)
  • Asif Kapadia is set to direct the concluding instalment to the long-running ITV documentary series Up – this “ultimate portrait of human life” has followed a group of people since 1964. (The Guardian)
  • It is a quiet year for UK-Ireland directors and producers in the official selection and parallel sidebars of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. (Screen Daily)

DIRECTORS ON DIRECTING

  • Inside Lee Cronin’s The Mummy: false rumours, real grief, and the scariest monster of Lee Cronin's career. (IndieWire)
  • G. Anthony Svatek on his feature debut Humboldt USA, biographical parallels with Alexander von Humboldt, and what the thinker’s idea of interconnectedness means in the digital age. (The Hollywood Reporter)

INDUSTRY VOICES

  • Why are respected filmmakers suddenly embracing AI? Esteemed Hollywood directors are starting to include artificial intelligence in the production of their films. (The Guardian)