Cork students bag Rubbish Film Festival awards

Hundreds of Transition Year (TY) students from across Cork city and county attended the 2025 Rubbish Film Festival Awards at Fota Wildlife Park’s Education, Conservation and Research Centre on Monday.

The Rubbish Film Festival, jointly funded by Cork County Council and Cork City Council, challenges TY students to create one-minute films tackling key environmental issues, including climate change, sustainability, and waste reduction.

This year, students from 26 Cork schools, 14 from Cork County and 12 from Cork City, took part in on-site workshops — each with 12 students per class, where they developed their filmmaking, editing, and storytelling skills under the guidance of industry professionals.

Their final films were screened and celebrated at the event, where students also presented their projects and discussed the environmental messages behind their films.

The Best Film Awards were presented to Schull Community College for their film, Playing for Time and Douglas Community School for their film, Final Breath.

Runner-up awards were also presented to St Mary’s Secondary School in Charleville and Terence MacSwiney Community College in Hollyhill, while Loreto Secondary School in Fermoy and Mount Mercy College in Bishopstown took home the top prizes for the poster competition.

Special impact awards were also presented to St Mary’s Secondary School Mallow and Mayfield Community School.

Lord Mayor of Cork City Dan Boyle said he was delighted to collaborate again with the festival organisers and Cork County Council to bring the event to Cork, adding: “In doing so, we are furthering our commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable living. The students’ hard work in creating these films will enlighten and empower individuals to make a positive impact on our environment.”

Mayor of the County of Cork, Joe Carroll, congratulated all entrants, saying: “This event is a testament to the creativity, passion, and commitment of Cork’s young people in using media to highlight environmental issues.”

Nationally, this year’s festival has engaged over 1,800 students in 150 schools nationwide.