Barry Dignam began his career studying drama in Trinity College, Dublin, before transitioning to direct stage plays and later pursuing a degree in film at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology.
He wrote and directed "Stages" in 1998, which won the Royal Television Society all-Ireland award for Best Student Film (Fiction).
In 1999, Barry directed and produced the comedy "Dream Kitchen", which won several awards, including Best Irish Short Film at the Galway Film Fleadh and Best Short Film at the Rose Film Festival, Tralee.
"Dream Kitchen" was also nominated for a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival 2000 and won the Audience Award for Best Short and Best Supporting Actor Award (Frank Coughlan) at the New York Independent Film Festival 2001.
The film went on to play at over one hundred and fifty of the world's top film festivals and has been acquired by numerous television networks, including Canal +, Film 4, PBS, and RTE, and has been theatrically released in several territories.
Barry produced "In Loving Memory" by Audrey O'Reilly, an RTE / Irish Film Board "Shortcut", which won several awards, including the Prix du Public at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival and the Best Foreign Film at the New York Independent Film Festival.
The film also won the UIP Award for Best Shortcut / Oscailt and was nominated for an Irish Film and Television Academy Award.
Barry produced and directed a 35mm short "Chicken" (2001),written by Audrey O'Reilly and commissioned by the Irish Film Board under its "Short Shorts" scheme, which premiered in the Official Selection - in Competition at Cannes Film Festival 2001.
The film won several awards, including the Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the Newport International Film Festival, Rhode Island, Best Short at the Dublin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, and a Special Jury Commendation at the Barcelona Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and the BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2002.
The film continues to play at premier film festivals throughout the world and has been acquired by numerous TV stations, including RTE, Film Four, PBS, and Canal+. "Chicken" has been released on DVD and Video in France (Antiprod) and the US (Picture This!).
Barry is currently in development on two feature projects as director, "Breaking Rocks", written by Robert Bourke, and "Try Tony", written by Pom Boyd, both of which have received development support from the Irish Film Board.
In May 2003, Barry will shoot "A Ferret Called Johnny", written by Loughlin Deegan and produced by Siobhan Bourke, which has been commissioned by the Irish Film Board and RTE under their "Shortcuts" strand.
Barry also lectures in film directing at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology.
