Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire

Meghan O'Shaughnessy 

BA [Hons] Film + Television Production

Meghan is a filmmaker and actor from Limerick. Her credits include short documentary 'They Killed Us for Existing' which won The Royal Television Society Award for Best Overall Factual Piece (2023) with a Special Mention for Editing, Best Student Film in The Richard Harris International Film Festival and The Disappear Here International Film Festival (2022). Her work has featured in Irish Film Festivals across the country such as the IFI Documentary Film Festival and Spook Screen Film Festival. Meghan is passionate about feminist themes, coming-of-age and parenthood in the horror/thriller genre and enjoys exploring tones from the German Expressionist movement.

How To Skin A Cheetah - Graduate Film 2023

Dreaming of escaping her bedridden Mother for the plains of Tanzania, Bobby starts working at ‘Mrs Cheatmen’s Corner Store’ only to strike up a strange friendship with Mrs Cheatmen's mollycoddled son, Lucas who's volatile nature threatens her dream.

How to Skin a Cheetah is a black comedy / thriller that tackles themes of violence, motherhood and coming of age set in an off-kilter, nightmarish world.
Written by Meghan O'Shaughnessy & Thomas Purdy.
Directed by Meghan O'Shaughnessy.
Produced by Thomas Purdy.
Cinematography by Naoise Kettle.
Edited by Luke O'Shaughnessy.
Sound Design by Conor Waldron.



Mother Knows Best - Thesis

'Mother knows Best' investigates the portrayal of motherhood onscreen from early cinema to modern day. It tackles films from all different era's and genre's, focusing mainly on mother characters such as Marmee March from the many retellings of Little Women, Amelia Vanek from The Babadook, Beth Jarett from Ordinary People, Margaret White from Carrie and Mary Jones from Precious . This thesis challenges what it means to be a Mother and how these mother characters and the categories they fall into have defined how the mother role is viewed in modern day society.