Bio / Awards / Press
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Bio / Awards / Press ✺
Mia began her career as a psychologist before making the leap into film and television directing. Named one of Screen International’s 2023 Rising Stars Ireland, she made her mark as an IFTA-nominated director and recipient of the Discovery Award at Dublin International Film Festival, along with two Gold awards at YDA, Cannes Lions, for her shorts Mother & Baby, Safe as Houses, and Wrapped. Most recently, Mia directed episodes 4 and 5 of Hidden Assets Season 3 and is developing her debut feature Lucid with support from TIFF and The Sloan Foundation. Mia is represented by Charlotte Kelly and Ellen Gallagher of Casarotto.
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Before turning to filmmaking, Mia studied psychology, specialising in neuroscience and behaviourism. She worked as a behavioural psychologist in Ireland and Sri Lanka and as a community worker in Peru and India—experiences that ultimately led her to film. She began in documentary, writing and directing the multi-award-winning Mother & Baby, about the Tuam Mother & Baby Home atrocity, and Throwline, about taxi drivers trained to prevent suicides. Her work, shaped by her background in psychology, includes Feats of Modest Valour, on Parkinson’s research, and Mood Atlas, exploring brain mapping in bipolar disorder.
Recipient of the Discovery Award from the Dublin International Film Festival, Mia moved from documentary to drama in 2021. Her IFTA-nominated debut short drama The Passion, based on a story by Donal Ryan, was followed by Safe as Houses, a Screen Ireland drama that won Gold at YDA, Cannes Lions 2023. She directed the RTÉ Storyland pilot Wrapped, which took Gold at YDA, Cannes Lions 2024, and was Irish Unit Director on The Gone Season 2. Most recently, she directed Cumasc Season 2 and is preparing to direct Hidden Assets Season 3. Mia is currently writing her debut feature, Lucid, with support from TIFF and the Sloan Foundation.
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Nominated Entertainment Award - ‘Cumasc Season 2’ / Royal Television Society Ireland Awards, 2025
Gold Award for Best Series Pilot - ‘Wrapped’ / Young Director Award, Cannes Lions 2024
Nominated Best Scripted - ‘Wrapped’ / Royal Television Society Ireland Awards 2024
Best Dramatic Series - ‘Wrapped’ / Stareable Fest LA 2024
Best Short Film - ‘Safe as Houses’ / Celtic Media Festival 2024
Gold Award for Best Short - ‘Safe as Houses’ / Young Director Award, Cannes Lions 2023
Rising Star Ireland - Screen International 2023
Best Director - ‘Safe as Houses’ / Emerging Director Awards Ireland 2023
Best Foreign Short - ‘Safe as Houses’ / Arizona International Film Festival 2023
Nominated Entertainment Award - ‘Cumasc’ / Royal Television Society Ireland Awards, 2023
Silver Prize - ‘Safe as Houses’ / GwangHwaMun International Short Film Festival 2022
Best Irish Short - ‘Safe as Houses’ / Kinsale Shark Awards, 2022
Nominated Best Direction - ‘Safe as Houses’ / Kinsale Shark Awards, 2022
Nominated Best Irish Short - ‘The Passion’ / Irish Film & TV Awards 2022
Commendation for Animation Single - Aviva Insurance ad ‘The Trip’ / Institute of Creative Advertising and Design 2022
Best Animation Director - Aviva Insurance ad ‘The Trip’ / Kinsale Shark Awards 2022
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