From August 25 to 29, Cork’s LGBTQ+ film festival, PRISMA, will host a free workshop called PRISMA Gemstones for queer youth and allies in the county. The workshop gives 20 participants, aged 14 to 18, the chance to learn about LGBTQ+ cinema history, gain professional filmmaking skills, and create their short films to be shown at the PRISMA film festival. 

PRISMA Gemstones is completely free thanks to funding from Cork City Council’s Creative Communities Grant Schemes and applications to take part in this workshop are still open.

Jamie Hooper, Gemstones Co-ordinator and a freelance filmmaker, wanted to give everyone the ability to participate, no matter their financial status. Hooper said the workshops will be mostly youth-led to give them a greater sense of responsibility and control over their learning.

“I have no clue what they want to make or what they will make,” Hooper said. “We’re just here to give them the platform.”

The first day of PRISMA Gemstones will focus on queer film history and film theory with Johnathan Hughes, an award-winning screenwriter and director. There will also be an interview between Cara Holmes, a film editor and director, and Emma Whelan, Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year 2025.

Afterwards, Bjorn, a Cork-based artist, will teach students how to use everyday objects in their films. The next two days will be dedicated to practical work, giving students the freedom to make films about anything.

“Don’t be boxed in as a queer filmmaker,” Hooper said, emphasising that Gemstones is about letting young queer people tell the stories they want to.

Friday, the final day of PRISMA Gemstones, will include a crash course in editing and sound design with Tobias Barry and Hooper leading the sessions, along with discussions on film festival strategy and production. 

The finished films will be screened at the PRISMA film festival before the awards ceremony on August 31 at KINO. The festival is dedicated to providing a space for LGBTQ+ films and filmmakers. It features film screenings, industry panels, workshops, and cultural events. 

Hooper hopes PRISMA Gemstones will develop into something bigger in Cork and become more frequent, allowing students to cultivate their filmmaking skills across multiple sessions. But more so, he hopes the students finish the workshop believing they are and can be filmmakers. 

“The idea that [participants] come away knowing that they are filmmakers and that they don’t need anybody’s permission to say that they are,” Hooper said.