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The amount of grant-in-aid made available for 2010 to Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board (BSÉ/IFB) by the Department of Arts, Sport & Tourism for capital funding purposes is €16,500,000. Of this, some €1,200,000 will be deployed to support training and a variety of ancillary film industry activities. The great majority – approximately €15,300,000 – will be used to enable the development, production and distribution of new Irish work for the screen.

BSÉ/IFB's resources for 2010 were cut less harshly than was feared but it is important to note that the amount of funding available for all project funding is approximately 10% lower than in 2009. This is because the Board of BSÉ/IFB has provisionally decided to refrain from supplementing this year's grant-in-aid with funds recouped on previous investments (a normal practice in other years) in case these funds will be more needed to compensate for further budget cuts in 2011 and 2012.  For the impact of this in practice, please refer to Regulations & Limits.

Funding for development, production and distribution is provided through a range of programmes, as follows:

Development

• Fiction Development Loans
  Funding for producers to enable them to commission screenplays and undertake all practical work necessary to prepare a feature film project for production
  
• First Draft Loans
  Funding for writers, or writers and directors, to enable the writing of first draft feature film screenplays
  
• Animation Development Loans
  Funding for animation companies to enable them to undertake all concept, design and story work necessary for the development of an animated feature film or TV series
  
• International Development Loans                                                                 Funding for Irish Producers to enable them to participate in the development of high profile feature films and TV projects initiated by overseas producers
• Multiple Project Development (MPD)
  Funding for selected live-action and animation production companies to enable them to develop slates of projects, with an emphasis on feature films, at their own discretion over a two-year period.  Note: 10 companies were awarded MPD funding at the beginning of 2007 and this programme has now come to an end. A further programme along similar lines is currently under consideration.

 

Production

• Fiction
  BSÉ/IFB reserves funding for feature film production (not including animation or documentary) across three distinct categories:
  
  1. Irish Production
     Films originated and creatively led by Irish talents – directors, writers, producers – the content of which will generally express Irish culture in some way, and the practical management of which is primarily in Irish hands
     Note: this category may occasionally extend to include funding for TV drama (singles or series)
  2. Creative Co-production
     Films originated outside Ireland in which an Irish producer is involved as a creative collaborator and provider of a minority of the finance needed; where the film is structured as an official co-production and where in certain cases there is a commitment by a funding body in the principal producer’s country to provide reciprocal support for an Irish film
  3. International Production
     Films and TV drama originated and principally managed from outside Ireland which use Ireland as a location and/or production base, with local production services provided by an Irish producer.
     
• Animation
  Funding to enable the production of animated feature films and TV series
• Documentary
  Funding to enable the production of documentary films, with a clear emphasis on feature-length creative documentaries capable of reaching an international audience through theatrical and festival exposure
• Short Films
  BSÉ/IFB currently has five schemes for the production of short films:
  
  • Signatures (live-action, max 12 minutes)
  • Frameworks (animation, 5-6 minutes)
  • Reality Bites (documentary, max 12 minutes)
  • Short Shorts (live-action or animation, up to 3 minutes)
  • Virtual Cinema (live-action or animation, up to 2 minutes)
    
  Note: Films for all these schemes may be made in Irish or English language.
• Regional Support
  Supplementary funding to act as an incentive to most types of fiction film and TV production already funded by BSÉ/IFB (not Short Films or Catalyst Project films) to shoot outside the Dublin-Wicklow area in the Republic of Ireland
• Completion
  Funding to enable the completion of a fiction film, animation or documentary (but not a TV drama or short film) which has reached post-production stage or later without BSÉ/IFB support, but which has run out of money
  Note: assessment for this type of funding is particularly rigorous
• Catalyst Project
  In 2007 BSÉ/IFB committed the majority of the funding (in partnership with the BCI, the Arts Council and TV3) for three feature films made on ultra-low budgets as part of this training and production scheme devised in collaboration with Screen Training Ireland and Filmbase.  Note: A re-launch of this programme is currently under consideration

 

Distribution

• Print Provision
  Funding to enable (a) the making of theatrical prints of Irish feature length and short films (whether or not production has been supported by BSÉ/IFB) for the purpose of official screening at one of a list of approved festivals, and (b) the making of theatrical prints of BSÉ/IFB supported short films (and occasionally features) which are offered a release in Ireland
• Martketing Support
  Funding for recognised Irish distributors to cover the great majority of the marketing and promotion costs (as distinct from the costs of physical distribution and creation of materials) of feature films supported by BSÉ/IFB when released in Ireland
• New Distribution/Exhibition Support
  In 2008 a first wave of funding was made available to enable the installation of digital projection equipment in at least 10 screens across Ireland; BSÉ/IFB is considering further ways of intervening at the distribution and exhibition levels of the value-chain in order to increase audiences for Irish films, particularly within Ireland, and will continue its consultation with the industry with a view to announcing further new measures in 2010

 

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