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The amount of grant-in-aid made available for 2011 to Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board (BSÉ/IFB) by the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs for capital funding purposes is €16,000,000.  

An additional €2,000,000 of recouped investment will be added to this bringing the total figure for 2011 to €18,000,000.

Of this, some €1,300,000 will be deployed to support training and a variety of ancillary film industry activities. BSÉ/IFB intend to create a new Industry Development Fund which will be launched in 2011. 

The majority of the BSÉ/IFB's funding for 2011 will be used to enable the development, production and distribution of new Irish work for the screen.

For details on the funding limits, 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

 

Production

• Fiction
  BSÉ/IFB reserves funding for feature film production (including animation but not documentary) across two distinct categories:
  
  • Irish Production
    Films (live action and animation) 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)
  • 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
• Animation
  Funding to enable the production of animated 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)
  • Gearrscannán (live-action, up to 8 minutes in the Irish language)
    
  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

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

• Direct Distribution/Exhibition Support
  Funding for Irish producers to help defray the costs of a limited theatrical release in Ireland (including Northern Ireland) for feature films already in receipt of BSÉ/IFB production funding, that have been unable to secure suitable theatrical distribution by a bona fide Irish distribution company

 

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