The co-founder of the Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF) and co-CEO of Metropolitan Film International, David McLoughlin, said he "never" could have imagined how successful the festival would be when it first began in 2002.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme, Mr McLoughlin said it is a "real reflection" of how strong the festival circuit and the festival industry are.
DIFF opened last night with the world premiere of Once Upon a Time in Cinema from acclaimed filmmaker David Gleeson.
Over the next 11 days, there will be 17 world premieres, 53 short films, and a record number of Irish features and documentaries on show.
Mr McLoughlin said Irish audiences are full of enthusiasm for cinema and filmmakers enjoy coming to Ireland.
"The appetite for cinema hasn't diminished, which is really important and fantastic. I think Irish audiences - the enthusiasm they show for films is exactly the same as it was in 2002, which is great to see. That's why filmmakers love to come to Dublin, because they get such a great response," he said.
Ireland punches above its weight on the global film stage, playing host to some of the biggest franchises in cinema history - with famous landmarks such as the Cliffs of Moher featuring in a scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Sceilg Mhichíl serving as a backdrop in Star Wars.
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Ania Trzebiatowska, a film producer and programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, said she has been coming to Dublin for 15 years and still enjoys her time in Ireland.
Speaking on the same programme, she said it is easy to meet people in Ireland and discuss projects.
"A lot of [the] time I will be talking to someone about an idea they're excited about and four years later they email me and say, 'do you remember that conversation we had? I have a rough cut, can we show it to you?'"
Ms Trzebiatowska said Kneecap, which was screened at Sundance, was "so different" from anything else they had seen. She described the film as "stunning".
"I see seven to eight films a day for weeks in the programming season, so to see something that stops you in your tracks is pretty special. When that translates to our audience's reaction, that is pretty amazing, and that's exactly what happened," she said.
"Everyone at Sundance fell in love with that film. For it to get an audience award, that is a huge deal, because we have some very popular films with a big cast, but this was different," she said.
Elaine Gill, a tax consultant and adviser to the film industry, said making a film involves "pulling money from lots of different directions".
She said Revenue published figures for 2025 showing €177m had been spent on more than 120 projects.
"It just shows the breadth of what's there ... in 2022 the spend was €100m, so you can see the growth in the industry and we can see it in the films that are coming through," she said.
Ms Gill, who is on the board of DIFF, said they are improving accessibility to enable as many people as possible to come and see the films.
"There's captions on films this year, more than there ever would have been before. We also have a patron that gives us money specifically to reduce the cost of coming to the festival. We're all about accessibility and getting people in, it's all about the audience experience," she said.
Festival helps put films on the map, says documentary maker
Also speaking on the same programme, Emmy and IFTA winning documentary filmmaker Clare Strong said DIFF is an important platform and showcase for films.
"For an Irish filmmaker, it's an incredibly special experience. But even more than that, it's incredibly well attended by industry, the trade magazines review it.
"So, this festival puts your film on the map and it can often be a real springboard internationally."
Ms Strong said that "the visibility alone from being in DIFF is huge for a film".
Meanwhile, the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) ceremony will take place tonight.
The IFTAs recognises work across film and drama in 29 categories.
A host of stars including Oscar nominated Jessie Buckley and previous Oscar winner Cillian Murphy will be among the attendees at the event.
