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Cherrybomb -
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Eamon
Sarah DillonProduction and Development Co-ordinator
IFB Funding Programmes / Development /Fiction Development Loans |
About the Funding
Criteria
Who Can Apply
Making an Application
Access to Funding
Funding for producers to enable them to commission screenplays and undertake all practical work necessary to prepare a feature film project for production. The following points are important to note.
This programme is for live-action fiction films; development of animated feature films is funded under a different programme, Animation Development Loans.
BSÉ/IFB no longer provides development funding for documentaries; see the Production Funding Programme Documentary for details of how documentary projects are now considered.
Development funding for TV drama (singles or series) is now very seldom forthcoming from BSÉ/IFB; you should contact a member of the Development team if you are considering applying and explain whether you are seeking support from BSÉ/IFB instead of or as well as from a broadcaster.
About the Funding
Funding is provided in the form of loans which are repayable on the first day of principal photography of the developed film. The loan does not carry interest, no premium is charged at the time of repayment, and BSÉ/IFB does not receive a profit share in return for its development funding.
Project Development Loans may be drawn down in stages, subject to progress. The maximum amount that can be drawn down at any one time is €50,000; the maximum total amount that BSÉ/IFB can provide to any one project is €100,000. Any amount of development funding above €50,000 provided to a project must be matched by funding from other sources.
Criteria
Applicants should read carefully the Principles & Criteria section of this website with particular reference to the paragraphs on:
- Additionality
- Cultural Priorities, Industrial Priorities
- Making Cinema
- Originality
Who Can Apply
Project Development Loans are available to producers with a feature film project they wish to develop, clear access to the necessary rights in any material that is to be adapted for the screen, and an agreement (at least in principle) with the screenwriter they wish to commission. The commitment of a director can lend weight to an application but is not essential at the outset.
Development funding is provided by BSÉ/IFB to enable the making of films predominantly in English or Irish, or a combination of the two.
Making an Application
Before making an application it is essential that you have read the How To Apply guidelines, paying particular attention to any relevant instructions with regard to contacting BSÉ/IFB executives in advance of applying.
If, having studied the How To Apply section, you have any further queries about this type of funding you should contact BSÉ/IFB’s Production & Development Co-ordinator, Sarah Dillon.
In order to apply you must download the application form from this page, complete it in full, and send it – together with all the additional materials requested – to BSÉ/IFB’s head office in Galway. You cannot apply for BSÉ/IFB funding by fax or online. Incomplete applications will not be processed.
The additional materials that must be included are:
- Logline (ca. 25 words)
- Synopsis (ca. ½ A4 page)
- Story outline or short treatment (ca. 6-10 A4 pages)*
- Writer’s notes on proposed screenplay
- Producer’s notes on proposed screenplay and further development
- CVs of all principals
- Full development budget in euros
- Evidence of ownership of rights in all relevant material
Applications should be delivered by post, by courier or in person to:
Schemes & Applications Co-ordinator
Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board
Queensgate
23 Dock Road
Galway
Following receipt of a submission, applicants will be sent an acknowledgement letter including a reference number which should be retained for use on all future correspondence.
Under current practice, applications for Project Development Loans received in Galway by the last business day of a calendar month will be considered at a decision-making round that falls no more than eight weeks later. Decisions are communicated to applicants by letter immediately thereafter.
For a detailed account of the procedure by which applications are considered for Project Development Loans, you should read theDevelopment Procedures: Aims & Practice Guidelines with particular reference to points 1-7 in the funding section.
Access to Funding
If your application is successful, you will need to reach agreement with the Development team of BSÉ/IFB on the terms of a funding contract, including dates for draw-down of funding and delivery of materials. Besides a signed contract, BSÉ/IFB will need to have seen and approved all of the following documents before the first payment can be processed:
- Memorandum & Articles of Association of the production company
- Tax Clearance Certificate for the production company
- Option Agreement in relation to underlying rights (if any)
- Agreement between the production company and the screenwriter
- Agreement between the production company and the director (if any)
- Bank No Set-off Letter: a project-specific bank account must be opened by the producer and evidence of the account supplied to BSÉ/IFB in a letter, the form of which can be obtained by emailing the Production & Development Co-ordinator.
- Producer Inducement Letter: the producer must assure BSÉ/IFB that s/he will develop the project in question, in a letter the form of which can also be supplied
- Development Budget with any revisions made as agreed in discussion with the development team of BSÉ/IFB
- Invoice: the producer must invoice BSÉ/IFB for each stage of funding drawn down
- Standard Funding Contract between BSÉ/IFB and a production company
- Deed of Charge: where loans exceed €15,000, BSÉ/IFB will require the producer to sign a deed of charge in order to protect its investment.
