Dean Conway is an award-nominated writer/director from Northern Ireland. Influenced by independent and realist cinema, Dean has a particular interest in telling authentic, observational and naturalistic stories that resonate with audiences. His short film work has been programmed at BIFA, BAFTA and Academy Award affiliated festivals and he has previously received funding from the Northern Ireland Office as well as Northern Ireland Screen/BFI Network.
Biography
Dean Conway was selected at the age of sixteen from applicants across the U.K to participate in a BFI Scriptwriting Residential programme in Newcastle upon Tyne. Here he was guided by successful freelance film writers in addition to script editors from Channel 4. Following this, Dean participated as a writer for Northern Ireland Screen's New Shorts Focus development scheme in 2020 for six months. During this time Dean had the opportunity to work with a script editor on evolving short film scripts from treatment to final draft.
In 2021 Dean was selected as one of the '21 Artists for the 21st Century' by the Northern Ireland Office for their prestigious mentor programme. Here he was supported by BAFTA and Oscar-winning filmmakers Ross White and Tom Berkeley (‘An Irish Goodbye’) and received funding for his first short film - ‘Shea and Hannah'.
‘Shea and Hannah’ screened in competition at the 22nd Belfast Film Festival and at the 35th Foyle Film Festival in 2022. Dean then wrote, directed and edited his second funded short film 'Double Vodka and Blackcurrant' which was supported by Northern Ireland Screen/BFI Network. The slice-of-life piece premiered at the 23rd Belfast Film Festival in November 2023 and was selected as the Northern Ireland finalist for the BIFA qualifying BFI Future Film Festival 2024 - where Dean was also nominated for the 'Best Writer' award.
After the success of his short films, Dean's television pilot script 'Rat Face' placed in the top 1% of 4,643 submissions for BBC Writers' Open Call 2024 which led to him being selected for BBC Voices 2025.
Most recently, Dean completed production on his debut feature film - 'Conversations in Bed' - which will premiere in 2026. The project is the first ever improvised feature film from Northern Ireland.
