Kealan O’Rourke

Kealan O’Rourke is a writer and director with a distinctive authorial voice, working fluidly across 2D and 3D animation and live action. His work is grounded in emotional storytelling, immersive world-building, and a richly cinematic visual style.

A graduate of the National Film School at Dún Laoghaire, Ireland, Kealan first established himself through a series of acclaimed short films that earned major international recognition, including IFTA awards and festival honours at Palm Springs International Film Festival and Chicago International Film Festival. As a writer-director he has secured an unprecedented seven Screen Ireland short film funding awards, a distinction unmatched by any other filmmaker to date. His early films, including Before Sunrise, Flyboy, Fairycatcher and the IFTA-winning The Boy in the Bubble, narrated by Alan Rickman, helped define a cinematic storytelling voice marked by atmosphere, emotional precision, and visual ambition. The film went on to receive more than twenty international awards.

Building on that success, his IFTA-nominated half-hour Christmas special The Christmas Letter (Universal), starring Kate Winslet, continues to air on television screens around the world during the festive season.

In television, Kealan has created and directed numerous children’s animated series, including BB Agus Bella (TG4), Havanimal (RTÉjr), and the Remi Award-winning Peek Zoo (KIKA, SRF, RTÉjr). His experience working across family and children’s storytelling has also led to his role as a jury member for the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, reflecting his ongoing contribution to the international animation community.

Alongside his directing work, Kealan has developed a strong slate of feature writing credits with major studios, including Bolivar (Warner Bros.), The Houdini Box (20th Century Fox), Emily the Strange (Universal), Danger Mouse (eOne), and Happy Krampus Day! (The Jim Henson Company / Walden Media). His screenplay for Alien Xmas, produced by Jon Favreau, premiered on Netflix in 2020 and has returned consistently to the platform’s Top 10 during the holiday season.

He wrote and directed The Ghastly Ghoul (Lupus Films / Dream Logic Studios), released on Sky in 2022. The film won Best Animation at both the Royal Television Society Awards and the Giffoni International Film Festival, achieved an unprecedented theatrical run in France for a half-hour animated special with over 100,000 tickets sold during Halloween alone, and was later acquired by Disney for North American release in 2023. The original IP is currently expanding into a 52-episode series.

He is attached as director for the forthcoming feature adaptation of Brambly Hedge with Lupus Films, based on the beloved books by Jill Barklem. The project is in active development and is being presented at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin 2026, with further showcases at Annecy and Cannes.

Kealan is currently writing and directing Tales of Terror, now in full production, an ambitious adaptation of Chris Priestley’s bestselling book produced with Academy Award-nominated Mélusine Studio in Luxembourg. Designed as both a ten-part cinematic miniseries and a feature-length theatrical experience, the project is scheduled for release in Halloween 2026.