Known for her short-form work centred on gender, identity politics and community, Belfast-born director and writer Kathryn Ferguson released her first feature documentary, Nothing Compares, last year to critical acclaim.
Telling the life story of musician Sine?ad O'Connor, it premiered at Sundance 2022 and went on to scoop prizes including Best Feature Documentary and Best Debut Director - Feature Documentary at the 2022 BIFA Awards and the BFI & Chanel award for Creative Audacity for a first-time feature director.
As well as making documentary films, Ferguson directs commercials for Nike, Selfridges, Girls Who Code and music videos for Neneh Cherry and Lady Gaga.
I know it sounds biased, but the first album I truly loved was The Lion and the Cobra by Sine?ad O'Connor. My father used to play it as we drove around Belfast (often in the rain!) in the late 80s. It became the visceral soundtrack of my early childhood.
My all-time favourite piece of music is Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. If life is hectic or overwhelming, I put this on and everything is OK again. I never tire of it. My other go-to is Love's Forever Changes.
I'm listening to M(h)aol, a brilliant new Irish post-punk feminist band who recently played at one of the screenings of Nothing Compares. My three-year-old is also very into 80s Madonna right now.
I'm currently reading and loving two books by fantastic Irish writers: A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ni? Ghri?ofa and Dance Move by Wendy Erskine. There are so many incredible female Irish authors - I'm trying to keep up with all the amazing output that's firing out of the country right now.
The book that influenced me the most is anything by Joan Didion. Also, Joey [formerly Jill] Soloway's She Wants It: Desire, Power, and Toppling the Patriarchy.
The film Aftersun by Charlotte Wells has left an emotional dent in me. The Arbor by Clio Barnard, about the playwright Andrea Dunbar, has been hugely inspiring for my own work. Song of the Sea is a beautiful animated film and is a constant favourite for my toddler and me.
I spend far too much time worrying about things that haven't happened yet. I blame it on my Irish genes.
My all-time favourite building is The Ulster Museum in Belfast. A brutalist masterpiece yet somehow very elegant.
My favourite place in the world is my grandparents' self-built house at the foot of the Mourne Mountains in County Down.
The greatest meal I ever had was a cheese sandwich just after the birth of my child.
If I could bring back one trend it would be talking on the phone more. I mean long, languid chats. I miss those.