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About Frameworks
FRAMEWORKS is an established scheme for the making of animated short films which is considered to be continually successful in stimulating ground-breaking new work from Irish animators.

Projects selected for funding will combine creative exploration with an ability to appeal to a broad audience.

The scheme is co-funded by BSÉ/IFB, the Arts Council and RTÉ and the deadline for this year's appplications is now closed.

Films may be made in Irish or English.

Parameters of the Scheme
   -  Number of films: up to 6 per year

   -  Duration: maximum 6 minutes

   -  Budget per film: maximum €50,000

   -  Format:
            -  Origination using any technique or format
            -  Delivery on digi-beta and HD Cam
            -  Further funding to cover costs of 35mm prints may be
               provided where a film obtains a bona fide theatrical
               release in Ireland or is invited to a major international 
               film festival, subject to BSÉ/IFB regulations in force at
               the time

*Please note that this scheme is delivered on HD Cam, as well as Digi-beta, and the application budget should reflect the costs required to deliver on these formats

Who Can Apply?
Applications are invited from producer/director/writer teams (where the producer and director are not the same person) subject to eligibility guidelines as follows:

Producers - must provide a CV demonstrating their ability to produce animation.
Directors - must have previously directed at least one short film*
Writers - need not have previously written for the screen

Producers, Directors and Writers - may apply to make more than one FRAMEWORKS film but not more than three in a 10-year period

The scheme is not open to full-time students

* FRAMEWORKS is not a wide-open scheme in terms of the talent it aims to attract: it is designed to enable the making of short animated films by producers and directors with new creative voices but also with some measure of professional experience. Accordingly a short film made as part of college work will not be considered eligible in this context, though a graduation film that has achieved significant festival exposure might be.

Procedure
Application deadline for FRAMEWORKS to be produced in 2010 is closed. 
Application forms should be downloaded from BSÉ/IFB's website, completed in full, and sent - together with all the additional materials requested - to BSÉ/IFB's head office in Galway. (It is not possible to apply for BSÉ/IFB funding by fax or online.) Incomplete applications will not be processed.

Submissions will be examined, with consideration given to the screenplay and the creative team, by a group of assessors put together by the funders from in-house and externally. A shortlist of around 10 teams will be drawn up, who will be invited to attend an interview.

Awards will be made to up to six teams, the number of FRAMEWORKS to be funded being dependent upon the overall standard of submissions. Teams selected must attend an information day in order to be entitled to claim their funding.

Rights 
Previously, the distribution rights were retained by the IFB for five years and a sales agent was appointed to distribute the shorts internationally.

Going forward the distribution rights will remain with the filmmaker who can now choose to appoint a sales agent or distribute the film themselves.  The IFB feel this will provide vital training in the area of distribution and will enable filmmakers to build relationships with distributors directly.  

Although the distribution policy has now changed, the IFB policy on submitting Frameworks films to international festivals remain the same. 

This will only affect films contracted in 2010 and does not change the distribution of any films already contracted.

Important Features of the Scheme
• As a general rule FRAMEWORKS films should be originated and creatively led by Irish talent or talent resident in Ireland, and their production should be practically managed from Ireland.

• BSÉ/IFB will have approval rights over the following elements of all films made under the scheme:
     -  Shooting script (and BSÉ/IFB may appoint a script editor in certain cases)
     -  Casting
     -  Key animators and other technical crew

 

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