Good Santa...

Did I hear this correctly out of the corner of my ear the other day... Producers of The Guard have sent a DVD copy of the film to every member of the Oireachtas?

Well at least the TDs and senators will know what value to put on the gift when they report it to the folks at SIPO.
[update - this may be part of a copyright protection/anti-illegal downloading campaign reported here and here. I think the problem is overstated, given the weakness of Irish broadband infrastructure, while legal online purchase (Amazon/LoveFilm etc), downloading and Sky BO business is under reported. And in these instances is VAT payable in this jurisdiction?]

Other Irish interest titles being flogged by the multiples include the following (leaving out the TV and stand-up spin-offs)...

Lots and lots of Brendan Gleeson, and interesting to see oldie I Went Down selling for twice as much as the more recent Perrier's Bounty.

On the other hand you might prefer to gift someone a stake in a new Irish film rather than trawl through the back catalogue... in which case...

Mark O'Connor's producer has been in touch to say We are going do something a little less conventional and make a really low budget independent feature next February. We are trying to fund it through the "crowdfunding" website Fundit.ie. Mark's two previous feature length films (Between the Canals and King of the Travellers) were supported by the Irish Film Board and Broadcast Authority of Ireland. Peter Coonan (Love/Hate) and John Connors (King of the Travellers) will star in the new film.

We are mounting a viral campaign with the goal of reaching €15,000 in 42 days. If we are not successful and do not reach €15,000, everyone’s contribution will not be taken from their card and we won’t receive any donations, that’s how “crowdfunding” works. This is how you donate:

· Go to our Fundit page -
· Click the green icon that says: Fundit underneath our video clip
· Set up a fundit account (very easy), agree to the terms and conditions and press create an account button
· Click on how much € you want to pledge, then enter your debit/credit card details and fire away


Happy Christmas and New Year from Irish Film Portal!!



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Ardmore Studios

In a post during October about the Irish Film Board's other capital spending in recent years I put together a table which included payments to Ardmore Studios totalling €500,000 for operational purposes over 2006/7.

There was no public discussion of these payments at the time. Nor was there any announcement made which explained the virtue or the necessity of this money being offered to Ardmore.

The payments were not made public until the annual reports for 2006 and 2007 were published, respectively, in 2008 and 2009. The annual reports record these as operating grants rather than recoverable loans.

In a 'Sounding Off' piece for the current issue of Film Ireland I mentioned several of the pressing issues in the film business that we do not openly discuss. Nor do we encourage any wider public discourse or engagement with these issues, one of which is Ardmore Studios.

This is what I wrote, The Irish public owns a piece of Ardmore Studios [32%] but its fate is not a matter of public discussion. What’s going to happen to Ardmore when the new studios open at Ballyhenry? Ardmore has been directly and indirectly supported by the Irish taxpayer in recent years but we won’t talk about that. Is Ardmore now going to cost us more money?

Ardmore raises another serious matter that is implicit if unstated in the 'Sounding Off' article - potential conflicts of interest in the sector and the perception that decision-making could be compromised by those potential conflicts.

In the 2006 annual report the Irish Film Board provides the following information on disclosure of Board Members' interests:
Board Members - Disclosure of Transactions
In the normal course of business the Irish Film Board may approve assistance to film projects and enter into other contractual arrangements with undertakings in which Board Members are employed or otherwise interested. The Irish Film Board has adopted procedures in relation to the disclosures by Board members and these were adhered to during the year. The members and the Board complied with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies covering situations of personal interest. The members did not receive any documentation on the transactions nor did the members participate in or attend any Board discussions relating to the matters.
The report notes under the above:
Kevin Moriarty Ardmore Studios 400,000

The IFB annual report for 2007 notes:
Board Members - Disclosure of Transactions
In the normal course of business the Irish Film Board may approve assistance to film projects and enter into other contractual arrangements with undertakings in which Board Members are employed or otherwise interested. The Irish Film Board has adopted procedures in relation to the disclosures of interests by Board members and these procedures were adhered to during the year.
Kevin Moriarty Ardmore Studios 100,000

This is clear. What is less clear is how, for instance, a Board member who is the director of a film or TV project funded by the Board would not be part of the decision-making on that project for the reasons above. Whereas the owner or director or employee of, for example, a facility business which might benefit far more substantially (than a director) from IFB funding for a project would be permitted, as a Board member, to be involved in approving that project for funding.

In 2006, for example, an 'International Production Fund' loan of €500,000 was made by the IFB to The Tudors. Presumably this loan was a factor in the decision of the production to shoot in Ireland at a time when S481 was both less competitive and less generous than it is now. The series filmed at Ardmore.

However, the standard disclosure is not made in respect of this loan so did the Board comply with the spirit of the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies covering situations of personal interest?

A contact has brought an article by Gavin Daly in last Sunday's Sunday Business Post to my attention. The article is headed Ardmore in talks with Film Board and states, The issues under discussion are understood to include funding plans for Ardmore

To quote further from Daly's article, Kevin Moriarty, managing director of Ardmore, said that he was in constant contact with the film board but was "not in a position to comment" on any funding talks. "We always have discussions with the film board. We talk to them about upcoming film productions and they talk to us. That's normal," he said.
He said the studio was "very busy at the moment" despite the difficult economic environment. Filming began at Ardmore last week on Byzantium, a vampire film directed by Neil Jordan and starring Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton.

It is not stated in the article that Mr Moriarty has been a member of the Film Board since 2005.

In recent months the IFB approved a production loan of €1,180,000 for Byzantium. One can only assume that Ardmore Studios will benefit substantially from this loan, and that the production would not be taking place, or would not be taking place in Ireland if this loan was not forthcoming.

One must also assume, in the ordinary course of events, that any number of facility and service providers will be contacted by producers who are pricing facilities for forthcoming productions and that this information will be part of the budget documentation that is submitted to potential funders for consideration.

One can only presume, notwithstanding the very many sound reasons for supporting Byzantium, that all necessary disclosures were made by any IFB Board member(s) who might either benefit directly or indirectly from the production, or be in competition with other providers to other productions who themselves might stand to lose out by virtue of this (or any) project being funded while others were refused.

Walking the walk vs talking the talk...

Is anyone in a position to confirm information I have received during the last week from a few anonymous sources that crew are threatening to quit a project currently shooting because of delayed payment?

Budget 2012 - Film & the Arts

There is something very strange when, this long after a Budget has been published, neither the Department or Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht, the Irish Film Board or the Arts Council has quantified and published a breakdown (current/capital) of their budget for the year ahead.

In former years there would have been a table published which set out the current and capital amounts allocated under each area of the Department's remit, inculding subsidiary boards and agencies. And those agencies would in turn have issued a press release or statement to acknowledge the funding for the following year.

But this year, so far, I can find only one account of the Film Board's capital allocation for 2012 - my own blog posting of yesterday afternoon. There seems to be no clarity on the Board's administration budget for 2012. Is it a straight cut of 5% or 11% or 15% on this year's allocation? Your guess is as good as mine. [actually it's a 4% increase - see update below]

Similarly, the budget for the Arts Council is not at all clear - there is a greatly reduced capital expenditure line with the implication that the balance is to come from Lottery funds. There is no statement of the Council's current spending budget for 2012.

Either I'm missing something or a basic and embarassing error has been made somewhere in the public service, possibly as a result of the decision to split the budget decision-making and publication between two Departments over two days. Or is it conceivable that they might still be juggling current spending allocations for next year within the D/AH&G?

If you can enlighten me, please do.

UPDATE
Department statement here, includes this quote: In line with reductions in the Public Capital Programme, the capital allocation for the arts, culture and film area has been scaled back. However, the current funding allocation for 2012 to the Irish Film Board at €2.54m represents a modest increase of 4% over the 2011 provision. “It is important to remember that for every €1 of IFB investment close to €10 is generated in the economy” added Minister Deenihan. [I wonder does this exclude S481 spend effects? I will revisit this question in a future post]
Arts Council statement here
Film Board statement here
Minister speaking in the Dáil http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/2011/12/07/00008.asp

Spending overview D/AH&G (€-,000)
----------2011Est--2011final--2012-----Reduction
A,H&G---306,089--308,170---275,585 -32,585 (-10.6%)
Breakdown
Current-245,274--245,355----231,585 -13,770 (-5.6%)
Capital---60,815---62,815-----44,000 -18,815 (-30.0%)

You can call him Herod

Word just in that Al Pacino is going to bring his Salome project to the Jameson Dublin Film Festival in February. It's a working of Wilde's play and a meditation on the author, both as a film and as a record of its staging with Pacino playing Herod and also directing.

At a guess it's already the hottest ticket.

Budgetary Matters

You have to dig a bit into yesterday's Budget (Day 1) paperwork to find the information relevant for the film sector. Here's what I've unearthed.

While there is a general statement of intent - through focus on supporting jobs in the film and TV sector through the Irish Film Board - the Board's exchequer funding is being cut from €16m to €13.15m. This is a significant cut - somewhat over 17% - and seems to refer only to the agency's capital budget for the year, the budget from which the Board's production and development funding is drawn.

There is an additional budget line for income derived from the Board's own activities, ie not from the exchequer. I presume that this refers in the main to loan recoupment. This brought in €300,000 in 2011 and is expected to bring in €500,000 in 2012.

I think this means that the Board will have an effective capital fund of €13.65m in 2012, contingent on that additional €500k coming in.

It remains unclear what budget the agency will be given for administration next year. The allocation for this year was €2.431m which was a cut of 12% on 2010. I'll update this post later when that information becomes available.

Update: 6pm, Dec 6 - Having perused the budget documentation that's been published this afternoon there still is no clear indication of what the IFB's current spending (administration) allocation will be for 2012.

That said, the omens aren't great, and not just for 2012. The total budget for current spending across the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (including all headings and subsidiary bodies) will be €232m in 2012, €218m in 2013, and €205m in 2014.

There is an interesting note on performance indicators in yesterday's documentation which refers in passing to film -
“Performance indicators” or PIs are measures of how well, or how poorly, a particular programme or scheme is achieving its objectives. The indicators may relate to effectiveness (“are the stated objectives being achieved?”), efficiency (“what are the unit costs associated with the programme?”) and may be expressed in absolute terms (“how many grants for programme X were processed in year 2011?”) or in comparative terms (“what is the international competitiveness ranking of Ireland’s public service?”).
For any programme, there are many different PIs that might be chosen. The challenge is to select indicators that are useful to policy-makers, and to those whose role is to scrutinise the effectiveness and efficiency of public spending. Less useful are indicators of mere activity or process, or “qualitative” measures that are hard to verify (e.g. “continue to provide high quality advice to Minister”).

Example of potentially useful PIs include the following:-
Sector: Arts & Culture
Output Indicator: Number of Irish films produced
Context and Impact Indicator: Export earnings from Irish films

I wonder how they will define Irish films?

Funding decisions - Irish Film Board

A number of things about these listings, notified on 25 Nov 2011.

Firstly, it is the first time in a long time (if ever) that the IFB has press released a funding round (if that is what it is) which is all to the good.

Secondly, it is described as a 'quarterly' round, as if that were standard practice. Rounds were notified every two months before this, and if there were production funding decisions taken between times they were usually, but not always, tacked on to the next round's listings. That will presumably happen more often now that there is to be only four rounds notified per year.
There is still a considerable lapse between the publication of unquantified provisional offers of funding and the publication of the actual amount. We know, for instance, that Canderblinks Ltd, a production company in Northern Ireland, was made a provisional offer of production funding for Good Vibrations in June 2010. We know that a much later (Sept 7, 2011) quantified offer of €75,000 in 'Regional Support Funding' was made to the project, this time with the Dublin company Treasure Entertainment attached as co-producer. However, the main production funding loan has still not been quantified although the project has been filmed.

Thirdly, it would be interesting to know which if any of the production funding is directed primarily at post-production spend in Ireland. And lastly, is Into the West a remake?

Project Director Writer Production Company Funding Award

Development
First Draft Loans
Shade Tom Cosgrove €12,000
The Bear On The Train Teemu Auersalo €12,000
Roll River John Butler €12,000
Fiction Development Loans
Dracula Son Of The Dragon Ciaran Donnelly Michael Scott T4 Productions €25,000
Into The West Jim Sheridan Jim Sheridan Ignition Film Productions €50,000
The Rules Of Engagement Darren Thornton Darren & Colin Thornton Calipo Pictures €20,000
She Bites Lee Cronin Lee Cronin Rank Outsiders Productions €22,000
Blue Guitar Paco Torres Paco Torres & Johnny Ferguson Grand Pictures €15,000
The Cherry Tree Brendan McCarthy Fantastic Films €20,000
The Canal Ivan Kavanagh Ivan Kavanagh Park Films €20,000
Moscow Never Sleeps Johnny O'Reilly Johnny O'Reilly Blinder Films €16,500
An Evening Of Long Goodbyes Thomas Martin Subotica Limited €24,000
The Steamroller Peter McDonald Peter McDonald & Michael McElhatton Treasure Entertainment €20,000
Byzantium Neil Jordan Moira Buffini Parallel Film Productions €50,000
The Gift / An Bronntanas Tom Collins Paul Walker & Eoin McNamee DeFacto Films & ROSG €20,000
Sligo J Conor McDermottroe Conor McDermottroe & Mark O'Halloran Florin Films €35,000
Not Cricket Robert Quinn Paul Howard Peer Pressure Productions €32,000
My Perfect Boybot Helen Falconer Telegael €9,000
She's My Dad Charlie McCarthy Charlie McCarthy Icebox Films €12,500
Tandem Kieron J. Walsh Shane O'Brien, James Walmsley & Damien Fox Blinder Films €20,000
The Sacred Island Gary Shore Jonathan & Garan Ware Darini Films €26,000
Animation Development Loans
Son Of The Sea Tomm Moore Tomm Moore & Will Collins Cartoon Saloon €17,894
Inis Spraoi Paul Shanahan Denis James Ryan Magpie6 Media Entertainment €45,000
The Wooden Sword Paul Bolger FM DeMarco Brown Bag Films €10,000
The Boy In The Bubble Kealan O'Rourke Will Collins Igloo Films €28,000

Production
Fiction Feature Films
Standby Rob & Ronan Burke Pierce Ryan Black Sheep Productions €600,000
Mister John Christine Molloy & Joe Lawlor Christine Molloy & Joe Lawlor Samson Films €350,000
Honeycomb Imogen Murphy Matt Reynolds Samson Films €500,000
Run & Jump Steph Green Ailbhe Keogan Samson Films €600,000
Byzantium Neil Jordan Moira Buffini Parallel Film Productions €1,180,000
Your Girlfriend & Me Brendan Grant Brendan Grant Fastnet Films Provisional Offer Of Commitment
The Ranger PJ Dillon PJ Dillon Fastnet Films Provisional Offer Of Commitment
Fiction Creative Co-Production
Controra / Midday Demons Rosella De Venuto Rosella De Venuto Ripple World Pictures €200,000
Nicholas North Annti Jokinen A. Jokinen, M. Wilder & E. Rochford Subotica Limited €300,000
Fiction International Production
Dancing On The Edge Stephen Poliakoff & Jim O'Hanlon Stephen Poliakoff Octagon Films €250,000
Vexed II Ian Fitzgibbon & Kieron J. Walsh Steve Coombes Newgrange Pictures €150,000
Ripper Street Richard Warlow & Declan Croughan Element Pictures €475,000
Animation
The Adventures Of The Young Marco Polo Paul Shanahan Tony Loeser Magpie6 Media Entertainment €200,000
I'm A Creepy Crawley Andrew Crotty Maria O'Loughlin, Richard Keane & Gerald Murphy Monster Distributes €80,000
Astrid Silverlock & The Staff Of Virtues Boulder Media €300,000
Documentary
The Polish Plumber Boris Despodov Boris Despodov Loopline Films €80,000
The Deadly Housewife Alastair Cook & Rob Davis Rise Films €100,000
Stuffing the Tiger Donald Taylor Black Poolbeg Productions €90,000
The Life Of Anton Corbijn Steve Benedict Fastnet Films €45,000
The Londoners Nobody Knows Mark Isaacs Crow Hill Films €50,000
Yemen's Reluctant Revolutionary Sean McAllister Underground Films €40,000

Completion Fund
Eliot & Me Fintan Connolly Fintan Connolly Fubar €40,000

First Stage Documentary
The Drunken Irish Shimmy Marcus Let's Not Lose It Productions €5,00
The Generation Game Andrew Gallimore John Kelleher Media €10,000
Why Men Have Babies Darragh Byrne Ripple World Pictures €10,000
A Captured Face John Corcoran & Rossa Mullin Poolbeg Productions €5,000
Roller Punk Laura McGann True Films €10,000
Circus On The Road Dieter Auner Ikandi Productions €10,000

Distribution
Print Provision
The Lactating Automaton Andrew Legge Andrew Legge Restoration Films €2,000
Marketing Support
Parked Darragh Byrne Ciaran Creagh Element Distribution €44,000
Sensation Tom Hall Tom Hall Element Distribution €44,500
Perfect Sense David MacKenzie Eclipse Distribution €5,000
Direct Distribution
Congo: An Irish Affair Irena Maldea Akajava Films €4,960
The Pier Gerard Hurley Gerard Hurley Black Equus Productions €13,000

Creative Europe?

Press release just in...

European Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou has unveiled details of Creative Europe, the European Commission’s planned new Programme for the cultural and creative sector, as part of its proposal for the EU’s multi-annual budget for 2014-2020.

The Creative Europe Programme intends to support the cultural and creative sectors. With a proposed budget of €1.8 billion for the period 2014-2020, it will be a much-needed boost for the cultural and creative industries, which are a major source of jobs and growth in Europe.

"This investment will help tens of thousands of culture and audiovisual professionals to make the most of the Single Market and to reach new audiences in Europe and beyond; without this support, it would be difficult or impossible for them to break into new markets. Creative Europe also promotes cultural and linguistic diversity, as well as contributing to our Europe 2020 objectives for jobs and sustainable growth," said Vassiliou.

The Commission's Creative Europe proposal would enable:
- 300 000 artists and cultural professionals and their work to receive funding to reach new audiences beyond their home countries;
- More than 1 000 European films would receive distribution support, enabling them to be seen by audiences throughout Europe and the world;
- At least 2 500 European cinemas would receive funding enabling them to ensure that at least 50% of the films they screen are European;
- More than 5 500 books and other literary works would receive support for translation, allowing readers to enjoy them in their mother tongue;
- Thousands of cultural organisations and professionals would benefit from training to gain new skills and to strengthen their capacity to work internationally;
- At least 100 million people would be reached through the projects financed by the programme.

The new Programme would allocate more than €900 million in support of the cinema and audiovisual sector (area covered by current MEDIA programme) and almost €500 million for culture. The Commission is also proposing to allocate more than €210 million for a new financial guarantee facility.

The proposed €1.8 billion budget for Creative Europe represents a 37% increase on current spending level.

The current MEDIA Programme (2007-2013) has a budget of €755 million with an additional €15 million for MEDIA Mundus which supports international cooperation.

The Creative Europe proposal is now under discussion by the Council (27 Member States) and the European Parliament who will take the final decision on the budgetary framework for 2014-2020.

Further information on Creative Europe is available at this link.

I have to say I have reservations about the Commission's funding in this area.

For one thing the measurement of outcomes has, heretofore, been laden with political spin and interference. For another, the consultation survey on MEDIA was geared to business interests rather than cultural outcomes. And, lastly, the emphasis on businesses as the appropriate intermediary mode of production and delivery of culturally valuable endeavour is, in my opinion, deeply flawed.

This from the FAQ:
Are individuals eligible to apply for funding?
Creative Europe will not be open to applications from individuals. But around 300,000 individual artists and cultural professionals, as well as training institutions, will be reached through the projects submitted by cultural organisations. This is a much more cost-effective way to achieve results and a lasting impact.

And from the official Communication
The MEDIA Strand will increase resources for distribution, including increased and more focused funding for sales agents to allow for the emergence of stronger sales agents with higher buying and selling power on the international market.
Strengthening support to Europe-based international co-production funds will boost co-production between European and non-European producers, increasing the number and improving the quality of the works, and thereby contributing to further opening international markets.
Independent video games developers will benefit from new growth markets through facilitated access to funding. The result would be increased competitiveness of SMES, increased revenues, bigger market share, and widening the audience.
As well as increasing the global competitiveness of the European cultural and creative sectors and their scale, the Culture and MEDIA Strands will improve the offer of content available for consumers, with positive impacts on cultural diversity and European cultural identity.
New direct and focused support to audience-building measures is expected to generate new audiences and thereby increase consumer demand, although the scale of this effect is uncertain and will require a long-term approach. By reaching previously excluded social groups, this could also have benefits for social cohesion. The benefits of increased demand would flow through the value chain to stimulate increased circulation of works, new revenue streams and to improve the competitiveness of the sectors.
By improving access to finance for the cultural and creative sectors through improved investment and investor readiness, the new financial Facility will increase the capacity of these sectors to attract private finance, strengthen their financial capacity and the commercial potential of works, thereby strengthening their competitiveness and opening up new opportunities for growth and employment. It will also lessen SMEs' dependence on public subsidies in some cases, while opening up new revenue streams in others.
The support for transnational policy cooperation will help to increase the availability of comparable data which will facilitate more effective evidence-based policy-making. This can strengthen national policy environments for the cultural and creative sectors and contribute to systemic change. The possibility to test and share experience and knowledge on new business models will contribute to helping the sectors adapt to the digital shift, bringing new employment and growth opportunities.

Reads to this observer like a bad case of cultural needles amid 'commercial' haystacks.

Irish Film Board (Amendment) Bill 2011

A correspondent has sent me on a link to the opening session (2nd stage)debate on this piece of legislation.

It is an essential piece of legislation to allow the IFB to continue to offer funding as it will otherwise have run out of money by the end of the year. I was aware of this but not of the exact timing.

As things stand the total funding available to the agency is €200million, increased from €101.5million since 2006. In other words, the IFB has spent €98.5million since the beginning of 2007. I do not know if this includes funds that have been recouped or refers only to annual budget vote from the Oireachtas.

It is now proposed to increase the ceiling to €300million. The debate does provide an opportunity to discuss the work of the IFB in the Oireachtas but there may be more pressing matters on Deputies' and Senators' minds.

Update - link to the full debate here. A little too much unquestioning acceptance of the figures produced by various reports in recent years.

Richard Boyd Barrett ended with -
I ask the Minister to comment on an issue that has been raised with me by a number of people in recent days. The individuals who contacted me pointed out that some of our tax incentive schemes amount to tax scams for certain wealthy elements in society as they are essentially a risk free investment on which wealthy people avoid tax. It was also suggested to me that Anglo Irish Bank was up to its neck in lending to companies in this area but is not chasing them up for the moneys owed to the bank, and these same companies are not paying what they owe to technicians and the people who actually make the movies. I would like the Minister to comment on that.

The Art of Counting

An update report from Indecon, Assessment of the Economic Impact of the Arts in Ireland, was released by the Arts Council yesterday. We'll leave aside the general drift towards valuing or measuring the Arts in this way, particularly as an agenda-setter in the lead up to the annual Budget.

Consider instead the following information given with regard to film and see if it's possible to make the numbers fit with those contained in reports commissioned by the Irish Film Board in recent years.

Disparities may be down to several things, not least what's being counted and what the methodological basis is for the exercise. I can't help wondering if, for instance, the whole commercial cinema distribution and exhibition sector has been included or excluded.

Note particularly the last table which offers a subdivision by GVA (gross value added) of the 'Creative Industries'.

In order to determine the contribution of the wider arts sector to the Irish economy, it is necessary to consider both the Arts Council-supported organisations and individuals, and others not funded directly by the Council. In this chapter, the key impact variables assessed include Gross Value Added (GVA), expenditure, employment and exchequer tax revenues. (my emphasis in bold)

Gross Value Added (GVA) is defined as the difference between the value of goods and services produced for any given sector and the cost of intermediate inputs and consumption used in the production process. It is the nearest equivalent at sector level to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) when measured across the economy as a whole.
In Table 3.1 [above] we estimate the GVA contribution of the relevant sub-sectors within the wider arts sector, as outlined above. The overall GVA contribution of the wider arts sector to the national economy was estimated to be approximately €715.9 million during 2010.
The largest subsector in terms of its contribution to overall GVA impact is Literature and Publishing, which accounts for an estimated €372.2 million. The next largest contribution is that of the film and video sub industry, amounting to an estimated €108.4 million. Arts Council-supported organisations account for a significant portion of the overall gross value added by the sector, contributing an estimated €52.3 million of the overall wider arts sector GVA.

Table 3.2 [above] presents the estimates of the total expenditure of the wider arts sector for 2010. This expenditure impacts the economy directly, indirectly and through induced impacts. The total direct expenditure impact of the wider arts sector in the Irish economy is estimated to be approximately €1.2 billion in 2010. Taking into account the multiplier impacts of this direct spend, the overall aggregate impact amounts to €1.55 billion. The largest contributor to the overall direct expenditure impact of the wider arts sector is the Literature and Publishing sector, which accounted for €563.3 million of the overall direct expenditure impact. Other significant contributors in terms of expenditure impacts include Film and Video, and Library, Archives, Museums and Other Cultural Activities, which contributed €151.6 million and €181.7 million respectively to the overall direct expenditure impact during 2010.

Public service reform news...

...actually there's little or no news for the film and broadcast areas in the Government's plans for public sector reform, which may be a source of relief.

So no abolition, merger or review is on the cards for the Irish Film Board (IFB) or the Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO). There was consideration given in the past to merging or folding IFCO into the BAI - a proposal that may have had the only merit of offering the BAI an additional source of revenue.

The Government's plan does include a possible merger of the Commission for Communication Regulation with the BAI, and a merger of the Digital Hub with the IDA/Enterprise Ireland.

Lastly, the decentralisation of the Arts Council to Kilkenny has officially been kicked into touch. It was never going to happen.

Magma - The last chapter?

Magma European Scripting House Ltd (MESH), trading as Magma Films, is listed for strike off with most of the creditors no wiser than they were back in March when the company's difficulties (and liabilities) were made known. As to the fate of the monies owed to creditors - including the Revenue, Anglo Irish Bank, and Galway City Council - your guess is as good as mine.

From the Company Registration Office:
Type Company
Number 239014
Name MAGMA EUROPEAN SCRIPTING HOUSE LIMITED
Address 16 MERCHANTS ROAD, GALWAY
Registered 04/10/1995
Status Strike Off Listed
Effective date: 13/11/2011
Last AR Date 30/09/2009
Next AR Date 30/09/2010
Last Accounts to Date 31/12/2008

Magma Films is a business name of MESH so presumably its fate will be determined along with that of the company. Both names still give a registered address at Merchants Road, Galway although no part of the business has been at that address for some time.

Meanwhile, to add to the confusion, a new business name, Magma Productions, was registered in September. Regular readers will recall that Magma Productions Ltd changed its name to Tidal Films Ltd earlier this year.

Type Business Name
Number 449400
Name MAGMA PRODUCTIONS
Address MAYORALTY HOUSE, FLOOD STREET, GALWAY
Registered 21/09/2011
Status Normal
Effective date: 21/09/2011

Previous Magma posts -
Magma - Section 481
Keeping company...
Abbeygate...
Dear Ralph...
Ralph replies...
Assets, Rights & Responsibilities
The Magma Saga - ep #5...

(and some more info in the comments below)

Much ado about Noth etc.

Useful bit of PR pick up in the press last week on Minister Deenihan's set visit to of Titanic - Blood & Steel. It's always interesting to see how the mainstream papers report the industry. As usual there is a concentration on the stars - Chris Noth aka 'Mr Big', in this instance - and the numbers.

The headline numbers given for the show were €22m production, €12m Irish spend, and €12m raised in Ireland through Section 481 and a 'grant' of €300,000 from the Irish Film Board.

However, there is no mention of this production funding in the IFB's lists of decisions made over the last year. Nor is there any mention of the IFB involvement in the lead producer's information on the project.

No mention either in the press reports of the pickets which were a problem at one stage during prep in Dublin. I hear Minister Howlin, ICTU, SIPTU et al are working to clarify some of the issues and misconceptions that gave rise to several rancorous industrial relations situations this year.

---------------------
The Light House Cinema belatedly re-entered the public consciousness with a report from Laura Slattery and Ronan McGreevy in the Irish Times on Friday last. Use the search box above (top left) to find my previous posts on the cinema's closure earlier in the year.

Still difficult to see how the situation might be best resolved given the potentially competing interests of the landlord (who has an obligation to NAMA in respect of the development) and the State, which has invested some €2m in the venture through the Arts Dept, the IFB and the Arts Council, (and is also carrying NAMA). IFCO also contributes an annual fee of €120,000 to use the cinema for classification screenings.

There may be questions of competitive supply of 'product' to other cinema outlets should either of the two reported potential bidders be successful, since both of them are also film distributors. There is no indication given in the report that any of the personnel previously involved in the cinema might be associated with either bid.

-------------------------------
Here's some reading material you may have missed in recent years. It's a Departmental Irish Film Board expenditure review concluded in August, 2008.

Pro Bono... really?

This notice is doing the rounds...

Open Auditions for TV3 television production
Looking for actors/extras both male and female between the ages of 21 and 40 for re-enactments in the TV3 television series “Crimes that shook Ireland”
Auditions will take place on Sunday the 13th of November between 11am and 2pm in: Muzzle music rehearsal studios, Unit G6A Chapelizod Industrial Estate, Dublin 20
All work will be pro-bono
For more information please contact Joe on 087 611 6327
or e-mail joepanama555@gmail.com

Wikipedia defines pro bono as follows - "Pro bono publico (English: for the public good; usually shortened to pro bono) is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service... Pro bono service, unlike traditional volunteerism, uses the specific skills of professionals to provide services to those who are unable to afford them."

Poor TV3, doubtless it will be offering its advertising time free, pro bono before during and after these programmes.

BAI Sound & Vision 2012 Deadlines

The following release just in from the BAI.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has announced the 2012 closing dates for applications to Sound & Vision II [The Broadcasting Funding Scheme] during 2012.

The Broadcasting Funding Scheme aims to increase public access at national, local and community level to television and sound broadcasting programmes in English and Irish which explore the themes of Irish culture, heritage and experience, in contemporary or historic contexts. The Scheme provides funding to broadcasters and independent producers to enable them to produce such programmes.

Four open rounds will be operated during 2012, each with funding of up to €3.5m available towards the production of television and/or radio programmes. The closing dates for the rounds, which will accept radio and television applications, are as follows: 27th January; 13th April; 13th July; 14th September.

The revised round structure has been developed based on stakeholder feedback. The increased number of closing dates is intended to make it easier for applicants to submit fully developed projects at different stages throughout the year.

Speaking about the announcement, Michael O’Keeffe, Chief Executive of the BAI said, The Authority is delighted to be able to make between €12-14 million available for new, quality programming in 2012 especially given the funding challenges that the broadcasting sector is facing. In recent years the competition for funds has understandably increased. To secure funding from the scheme, applications must be fully developed and ready to go into production.

In addition, the Authority is highlighting the fact that funding a diverse range of programming, in terms of genre and formats, is a strategic objective of the Scheme. This will be measured within individual rounds and across the year. The BAI expects that the new round structure will help the Scheme to achieve a greater mix in this regard.

Sound & Vision II is a grant funding scheme – not a commissioning process. The BAI hopes that the shorter timeframe between closing dates will increase the standard of the applications being submitted in any one round. We also believe this new approach will allow the Scheme deliver to a greater extent the core scheme objectives of increasing audience access to high quality programmes across a range of genres and formats, said Michael O’Keeffe.

Further information on the Scheme is available on www.bai.ie

Time for Cork

Cork Film Festival has unveiled an excellent programme for this year's event which runs from the 6th to the 13th November. Strong docs, strong Irish line-up, the usual superabundance of shorts, interesting industry and art/film crossover events, and a doubling of the 'Made in Cork' section which demonstrates the great growth of local film-making in the region.

Eumirages

The Eurimages Board of Management met in Dublin last week and deliberated on the final round of project applications for 2011.

I have posted previously about the relative lack of success of Irish-originated applications to the fund while many other, non-Irish projects with Irish minority co-producers attached have been successful. Most of these latter projects were then also supported by the Irish Film Board and availed of our tax break.

It is arguable that this may represent a drift of accumulated resources away from indigenous projects or, with regard to Eurimages, that Irish-originated projects have not applied in any significant numbers and/or have not been of sufficient standard to merit the fund's support.

A question also arises about the actual benefit to the Irish audiovisual economy from these projects. Is it just a question of substantial fee income for Irish co-producers or is there any tangible, sustainable business created by this co-production activity?

It's clear that Irish writing and directing talent does not benefit from projects originated elsewhere, yet those projects are raising substantial funding in Ireland. Are Irish film makers having to compete for scarce Irish resources with film makers from other countries?

It would be interesting to see a balance sheet that compares Irish public funding for indigenous and offshore production over the last five years. A glance at this list suggests that a growing proportion of available resources have gone toward the offshore, 'service' sector.

We joined Eurimages because it was supposed to give our film-makers access to foreign sources of funding. It seems to be working in reverse. So, the important questions are - what is the policy position, where is it set out, how was it arrived at, and are the outcomes as predicted?

A list of all 'Irish' feature film projects supported by Eurimages in recent years.
Titles in bold are Irish originated.
* - projects also supported by the IFB.
# - projects also availing of Section 481


Eurimages - 'Irish' Co-productions 2006-2011

2011
Dark Touch*
By Marina De Van (France)
Feature Film
Awarded: €390 000
Co-producers:
EX NIHILO Srl (FR)
ELEMENT PICTURES Ltd (PRODUCTION) (IE)
FILMGATE FILMS (SE)

Life's a Breeze*
By Lance Daly (Ireland)
Feature Film
Awarded: €300 000
Co-producers:
FASTNET FILMS (IE)
ANAGRAM (SE)

Niko - Family Affairs*#
By Jorgen Lerdam (Denmark) et Kari Juusonen (Finland)
Animation film
Awarded: €600 000
Co-producers:
ANIMAKER OY (FI)
ULYSSES GMBH FILM – UND FERNSEHPRODUKTION (DE)
A.FILM PRODUCTION (DK)
MAGMA PRODUCTIONS (IE)

2010
A Royal Affair/Caroline Mathildes AR* [IFB prov. offer]
By Nikolaj Arcel (Denmark)
Feature Film
Awarded: 600 000 €
Co-producers:
ZENTROPA ENTERTAINMENTS 25 Aps (DK)
TROLLHÄTTAN FILM AB (SE)
SIA FILM ANGELS (LV)
SUBOTICA LIMITED (IE)

The Moon Man*
By Stephan Schesch (DE)
Animation Film
Awarded: 600 000 €
Co-producers:
SCHESCH FILMKREATION (DE)
LE PACTE (PRODUCTION) (FR)
CARTOON SALOON (IE)

This must be the place*#
By Paolo Sorrentino (Italy)
Feature Film
Awarded: 600 000 €
Co-producers:
INDIGO FILM Srl / LUCKY RED Srl (PRODUCTION) (IT)
ARP S.a.s (FR)
ELEMENT PICTURES Ltd (PRODUCTION) (IE)

2009
As if I'm not there*#
By Juanita Wilson (Ireland)
Feature Film
Awarded: 220 000 €
Co-producers:
WIDE EYE FILMS Ltd (IE)
STELLA NOVA FILM (SE)
SEKTOR FILM DOOEL (MK)

Essential Killing*
By Jerzy Skolimowski (Pologne)
Feature film
Awarded: 400 000 €
Co-producers:
SKOPIA FILM (PL)
CYLINDER PRODUCTIONS AS (NO)
ILIADE ET FILMS (FR)
ELEMENT PICTURES LIMITED (IE)

The Last Furlong*#
By Agnès Merlet (France)
Feature Film
Awarded: 600 000 €
Co-producers:
FIDELITE FILMS S.A (FR)
OCTAGON FILMS LIMITED (IE)

All Good Children*#
By Alicia Duffy (United Kingdom)
Feature Film
Awarded: 300 000 €
Co-producers:
ELEMENT PICTURES LIMITED (IE)
CINEMA DEFACTO (FR)
ARTEMIS PRODUCTIONS SA (BE)
[Caveman Films - UK]

Thor -The Edda Chronicles*#
By Gunnar Karlsson (Iceland), Toby Genkel (Germany)
Feature Film - Animation
Awarded: 480 000 €
Co-producers:
CAOZ STUDIO Ltd (IS)
ULYSSES GMBH FILM – UND FERNSEHPRODUKTION (DE)
MAGMA PRODUCTIONS (IE)

2008
La Mula*#
By Michael Radford (United Kingdom)
Feature Film
Awarded: 650 000 €
Co-producers:
GHEKO FILMS (ES)
WORKHORSE ENT. LTD (UK)
[SUBOTICA LIMITED (IE)]

Neka Drige Price
By Hanna A Slak (Slovenia), Marija Dzidzeva ("The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"), Ana Rossi (Serbia), Ivona Juka (Croatia), Ines Tanovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Feature Film
Awarded: 190 000 €
Co-producers:
SEE FILM PRO (RS)
STUDIO MAJ PRODUCTION d.o.o. (SI)
4 FILM (HR)
DOKUMENT (BA)
SKOPJE FILM STUDIO (MK)
DIG PRODUCTIONS Ltd (IE)

Triage*#
By Danis Tanovic (Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Feature Film
Awarded: 650 000 €
Co-producers:
STRADBROOK PRODUCTIONS Ltd/PARALLEL FILMS (IE)
ASAP FILMS Sarl (FR)
FREEFORM SPAIN (ES)

2007
Dorothy Mills*#
By Agnès Merlet (France)
Feature Film
Awarded: 500 000 €
Coproducers:
FIDELITE FILMS (FR)
OCTAGON FILMS LIMITED (IE)

Occi vs. the World*#
English title: Swansong
By Conor McDermottroe (Ireland - Germany)
Feature Film
Awarded: 280 000 €
Co-producers:
ZANZIBAR FILMS (IE)
FLORIN FILM & FERNSEHPRODUKTION & Co. Kg. (DE)

2006
Dot.com – Luis Galvao Teles (PT)*
Feature film
Awarded : 322 000 €
Coproducers :
FADO FILMES (PT)
ALTA PRODUCCION (ES)
ZANZIBAR FILMS (IE)
IPSO FACTO FILMS (GB)
VIDEOFILMES (BR)

Little Foxes*#
Original title :Listicky
French title : Petits Renards
Directed by Mira Fornayova (SK)
Feature Film
Awarded: 140 000 €
Coproducers:
NEGATIV (CZ)
GRAND PICTURES (IE)
MIRAS (SK)

Summer of the Flying Saucer*#
– Martin Duffy (IE)
Feature Film – for children
Awarded : 200 000 €
Coproducers :
MAGMA FILMS (IE)
FIDO FILM AB (SE)

Niko - Way to the Stars*#
Original title : Tie Tähtiin
Directed by Michael Hegner& Kari Juusonen (DK & FI)
Feature Film for children
Awarded: 600 000 €
Coproducers:
ANIMAKER OY (FI)
ULYSSES GMBH FILM- UNDFERNSEHPRODUKTION (DE)
A FILM (DK)
MAGMA EUROPEAN SCRIPTINGHOUSE (IE)

Capital grants!

While the Irish Film Board's production and development loans are usually published and archived there is perhaps an area of IFB spending which doesn't attract as much attention and is seldom tracked, partly because of the two-year gap between the decisions being made and their later publication in the IFB annual reports.

This is a listing of the Board's other capital payments (they might be better described as grants since they're non-recoverable) for the years 2006-2009.

Notable, I think, is the €500,000 paid to Ardmore Studios. The substantial contribution to IFTA and the Guilds. The annual Eurimages subscription - a fund which has largely been captured by the co-production service sector. And the extent of investment in Cultural Cinema, Digital Exhibition and, especially, the Solas Picture Palace cinema project in Galway.

Click to enlarge...

Magma - Section 481 - Etc

A commenter on my post detailing Section 481 amounts raised in 2010 says, Magma Films didnt get 481 money for Jack Taylor. Finder films did, a completly different company so your source is not correct and I dont see you point in putting this info out or where you got it...

I think it worthy of a more detailed reply than I was able to make to the comment so here goes.

Firstly, the information comes separately from the Revenue and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The Department gives a list of projects and companies that have availed of the tax incentive, as it does gross figures for the scheme output in 2010, as follows -
Year 2010
Projects 57
Total spend €346.3m
Irish spend €164.6m
Section 481 Amount €160.2m

It's important to note that 'Irish spend' includes finance other than that raised through Section 481. It will include other local public sector monies such as Irish Film Board, BAI, and broadcaster funding. And possibly some MEDIA and Eurimages public funding, in addition to other public or private sector funding from outside the jurisdiction.

The 28% net benefit to these 57 productions from Section 481 was €44,869,843.20. whereas the 41% exchequer cost was €65,702,270.40.

To come back to Magma, the commenter refers to Finder Films. Finder Films Ltd was, I believe, the Special Purpose Vehicle company established in September 2009 by Magma to produce Jack Taylor: The Guards. It availed of €1,336,000 raised in Section 481 in 2009, some 28% of which would usually have been the net benefit to the production. This company was wound up in March of this year.

Finder Films 2 Ltd was, I believe, set up in August 2010 as the SPV company by Magma to produce Jack Taylor - The Magdalen Martyrs/The Pikemen. It availed of €2,370,000 Section 481 funding, some 28% of which would usually have been the net benefit to the production. This company is still in existence.

Both companies' registered addresses were 16 Merchants Road, Galway, the location of the offices of Magma Films which is the trading name of Magma European Scripting House Ltd (MESH).

MESH was the principal tenant of the building and had sub-let offices to some unrelated companies. It was liable to Galway City Council for rates on the premises. On 2 February 2010 the Council obtained a decree against Magma European Scripting House Ltd (MESH) in Galway District Court for outstanding commercial rates of €27,000 owing up to end 2009. That decree is still in place. The Council will not confirm if the total rates now owed is in excess of €60,000 but added in response to an email:

We understand from a letter by MESH Ltd to all creditors that although they had considered going into voluntary liquidation earlier this year, MESH now intends not to liquidate and to continue to exploit existing and future rights on its intellectual property. We also understand that Mr Paul Mee of Mazars in Galway is currently in discussion on behalf of MESH with the Revenue, with Anglo Irish Bank and others in relation to outstanding debts and other issues.

I have been told that no 'Magma' companies now remain at 16 Merchants Road. Magma Productions Ltd changed its name to Tidal Films Ltd and subsequently moved to Mayoralty House, Flood Street, Galway. It is producing Thor - the Edda Chronicles through the SPV company Thorsday Films Ltd and Niko - Family Affairs through another SPV company Niko Film Productions Ltd. A further company, Tidal Niko Films Ltd was registered on the 22nd September.

While the directors of Magma Productions Ltd changed before it changed its name to Tidal Films Ltd earlier this year it is not clear if the shareholdings in the company have been altered. Magma Productions Ltd shares were held 30% by the two newest directors, 40% by a former director (German), 28% by an Austrian/German shareholder, and 2% by a holding company associated with the 28% shareholder.

I am told that the 40% shareholder is the sole director of the German company that has co-produced the Jack Taylor projects.

This brings us to the task being undertaken by Mazars in Galway to establish what MESH rights assets might be used to repay the monies owed to the company's creditors which include the public interest through the Revenue, Galway City Council, Anglo Irish Bank, Enterprise Ireland and, presumably, loans outstanding from the Irish Film Board.

These are the Section 481 amounts raised by Magma projects in recent years:
2006 Feature 1,400,849 The Summer Of The Flying Saucer
2007 Feature 1,850,000 Niko - Way To The Stars
2007 TV series 2,459,478 Simsala Grimm 2
2009 TV movie 1,336,000 Jack Taylor : The Guards
2009 Animated film 1,015,664 Thor - The Edda Chronicles
2010 TV Movies x 2 2,370,000 The Magdalen Martyrs/The Pikemen
The tax revenue foregone on these projects is about €4.3m

The Magma website is headed MAGMA FILMS - 16 Merchants Road, Galway, Ireland - Phone +353 91 569142. Copyright is accorded at the foot of the page to Magma European Scripting House Ltd.

Production and development properties cited on the website include:
Summer of the Flying Saucer, Foreign Exchange, Paisean Faisean, Adharca Fada/The Grass is Greener, Lynch, The Pipeline, The Courtship Gift, Eco Cops, Beauty & the Beast, Mostly Ghostly, Morturi, Jack Taylor,
The Ugly Duckling and Me (feature and series), Niko and the Way to the Stars, Zombie Hotel, Lilly the Witch, Norman Normal, Things You Think, Simsala Grimm 2, Oops Noah is Gone (Feature & series), Bug Muldoon (feature & series), Dr Ella, Thieves, Thor the Edda Chronicles, R4U, The Cloud Scout.

Any contention that not all of these properties belong to MESH would seeem to rest on the premise that rights may have been legitimately assigned from one company to another, perhaps temporarily for the purpose of funding applications, on the basis of memorandums of understanding between companies which may have shared directors at the time of the assignment.

This just in...

Not a local matter but you can expect it to go global in the next hour...

A Statement from Lars von Trier
Today at 2 pm I was questioned by the Police of North Zealand in connection with charges made by the prosecution of Grasse in France from August 2011 regarding a possible violation of prohibition in French law against justification of war crimes. The investigation covers comments made during the press conference in Cannes in May 2011. Due to these serious accusations I have realized that I do not possess the skills to express myself unequivocally and I have therefore decided from this day forth to refrain from all public statements and interviews.
Lars von Trier
Avedøre, 5. October 2011

Meanwhile... Roman Polanski has been sheltered from justice and feted in France for nearly forty years.

Untitled 1916

The Irish Film Board and the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival have announced that their partnership on the Untitled screenwriting competition will return for the 10th anniversary of the festival in February, 2012.

Shortlisted writers will be invited to give a public presentation of their screenplay proposal to a panel of industry professionals who will then decide on the winning project. The event provides an opportunity to receive an IFB 'First Draft Loan' for the winning screenplay of €12,000 or €16,000, subject to the usual loan conditions. The deadline for entries is November 4th.

Individual or teams of writers are invited to submit a one page summary for a feature film with the theme of '1916'. This will be narrowed down to a shortlist of five entries and the shortlisted writers will then be asked to write the first few scenes of the script. The writers will present the shortlisted projects to an independent panel of international industry professionals in front of a public audience.

As regards the ‘1916’ theme the Festival says, This year’s theme is something of a challenge. There are endless ways to interpret the Irish story; especially this, the most debated and notorious time in our history, and that’s the point. We’re not looking for literal tales torn from dry textbooks. We’ll favour lateral thinking; new and confident ways of telling oft-told stories; as well as sideways glances at neglected moments from that ‘interesting time’. All we ask is that the stories are grounded in historical fact. Otherwise, please surprise us.

Entry conditions are as follows...
1. Entry: Submit a one-page summary of your film along with a completed entry form (available from www.irishfilmboard.ie or www.jdiff.ie) and your CV to untitledscreenwritingcomp@gmail.com by Friday November 4, 2011.
2. Script: Five shortlisted projects will be announced on December 13, 2011. The successful applicants will be invited to write the first scenes of their screenplay (up to 25 pages in final draft format) by the opening night of the JDIFF on February 16, 2012. The five shortlisted projects will be selected by the IFB and Festival representatives along with an independent assessor.
3. Interview: The five shortlisted writers (or writers teams) will take part in a public interview with an independent panel of industry professionals (date TBA) during the festival. After a presentation and question and answer session, the panel will select the winner. The winner will be announced at the JDIFF Closing Night.

The winner will receive a First Draft Development Loan from the IFB. The four runners-up will win a season pass to JDIFF 2013. The competition is open to writers or teams of writers currently residing in Ireland or holders of a current Irish passport.

Section 481 - 2010

This is a full breakdown, by project, of the total raised through Section 481 in 2010. It is information that is not routinely made available in the public domain. I do not know why it is not published each year along with details all other public funding for the sector, on a project by project basis.

I intend to add further detail to the table in due course - tax revenue foregone, net benefit to each production, additional public sources of funding, duration of Irish shoot, and those instances where spend was mostly on post-production.

Please get in contact if you spot any errors.

The metaphysics of Section 481 or...

...film finance as a game of cards.

Publication of the annual report of the Audiovisual Federation of IBEC presents an opportunity to wrestle once again with the knowability of Section 481. It is, superficially, an investment incentive for film and television production. However, the act of investing is largely symbolic.

Those of you who play cards will know simple games like Beggar My Neighbour, Snap or Rummy. And then there are the more complex games like Bridge which has a codified structure of suit and trick values with a variety of attacking and defensive bidding systems agreed between partners. Section 481 appears simple like Beggar My Neighbour but plays more like Bridge.

According to the Revenue the total amount raised in Section 481 'investments' for film and TV projects over the last five years is as follows:
2006 €107,783,710 (39 projects)
2007 € 94,841,717 (34 projects)
2008 €102,894,935 (38 projects)
2009 €109,209,238 (44 projects)
2010 €160,249,440 (57 projects)
---- €566,979,040 (212projects)

We know from the way the scheme is marketed that the net benefit to producers is now 28% (since the 2009 changes) of the total 'invested'. So:

2009 €30,578,586.64
2010 €44,869,843.20

And we know that the cost to the exchequer is now 41% (the tax foegone) of the total 'invested'.

So in 2010 it cost the State €65,702,270.40 (41%) to give €44,869,843.20 (28%) to 57 productions.

For now, the first question that arises is... what about the €20,832,427.20 difference between the two amounts?

Just out, the AVF Annual Review...

The annual review published by the Audiovisual Federation of IBEC is published today.

Ok, I'm going to have to think about this... the net amount raised under Section 481 is counted, not the full amount. A matter of assuming that the cost is the same as the net benefit, I suppose.

Incidentally, I understood the full amount raised through Section 481 in 2010 to be €160,249,440 for 57 film and television projects.

Finally...some action?

Shooting crew and construction crew meeting: SIPTU, Liberty Hall. 11am tomorrow, Saturday 24th September.

It is hoped that this will address some of the issues that have arisen on productions this year. Even Indian newspapers have picked up on the unofficial and unreasonable picketing of a Bollywood film shooting in Dublin.

Catch up post...

While keeping continuity on the Magma posts I've neglected some other news so this is a quick update.....

A timely look at adaptations of John Le Carré's work is the main focus of the annual 'Adaptation Festival' in Dromahair, Co. Leitrim - October 14-16
....................................

Seven projectionists - they used be called 'operators' in the old days - are being made redundant this coming weekend at the Cineworld complex in Dublin. They are being replaced by an IT technician and servers as the 17-screen cinema goes fully digital. This phase of the conversion process began in July at what is one of the busiest and most profitable cinemas in Britain and Ireland. The days of celluloid are truly numbered.
....................................

Several weeks ago there was a very interesting letter to the Irish Times from Rosaleen MacDonagh about issues of representation of her culture and community in the documentary film Knuckle. In voicing her concerns about stereotyping she doesn't refer to the fact that remake/adaptation rights have been sold in America. She ends her letter with this:
We need to tell a different story. We need to hold the camera ourselves and, more importantly, we need to find pride in our community, not just in upholding our family name.
It's a view that can be applied equally to the wider society and culture.
....................................

The Film Board announced the following loan decisions as of 7th September.
Project Director Writer Production Company Funding Award

Development
First Draft Loans
Margaret Rebecca Daly Rebecca Daly & Glenn Montgomery €16,000
Monsters & Magic Jason Butler & Brendan Butler €16,000
The Adventures Of Super Frank Chris O'Dowd & John O'Dowd €16,000
Sixty Eight Naomi Sheridan €12,000
A Key To The Suite Morgan Bushe €12,000

Fiction Development Loans
Big Silver Lining Brian Durnin Brian Durnin & Mark Doherty Red Rage Films €16,500
The Valentine Gang Darragh Byrne Mark Doherty & Darragh Byrne Ripple World Pictures €20,000
Crossing Salween Brian O'Malley Brian O'Malley Nine Rivers Media €30,000
Harm's Way Cathal Black Adam Rynne Blinder Films €9,000
The Absence Sonata Thomas Martin Rainmark Films €25,000
Devlin Aisling Walsh Kate Gartside & Aisling Walsh Subotica Limited €17,000
Reeling Anne Marie Casey Parallel Film Productions €15,000
Twelve Twenty Three Stuart Townsend Eoin McNamee Parallel Film Productions €20,000
Memorabilia John Butler Kevin Barry Parallel Film Productions €9,000
Brian Rua Finola Geraghty Finola Geraghty Parallel Film Productions €30,000
Stags Declan Recks Eugene O'Brien Samson Films €20,000
Beautiful Noise Damien O'Donnell Helen Seymour Coastguard Films €25,000

Animation Development Loans
Pillage & Sons Nicky Phelan Nicky Phelan Brown Bag Films €9,000
The Overcoat Jeremy Purcell & Hugh O'Connor Hugh O'Connor A Man & Ink €29,000

International Development
Galway Bay Jim Sheridan Naomi Sheridan & Mary Pat Kelly Hells Kitchen International & Jean Doumanian Productions €25,000

Production
Fiction Feature Films
Life On Mars Ruairí Robinson Clive Dawson Fantastic Films €500,000
Life's A Breeze Lance Daly Lance Daly Fastnet Films €750,000
What Richard Did Lenny Abrahamson Malcolm Campbell Element Pictures €720,000
Grooskill Mark O'Connor Mark O'Connor Vico Films & Black Sheep Productions €275,000

Documentary
The Craic Morag Tinto Soho Moon Pictures €10,000
The Doctor's Sword Gary Lennon Gambit Pictures €12,000
Icarus 3D Joel Conroy Fastnet Films Provisional Offer Of Commitment
Beyond The Endgame Trevor Birney & Ruth O'Reilly Below The Radar €100,000
Showrunners Des Doyle Black Sheep Productions Provisional Offer Of Commitment
Silent Majority Mark Byrne & Robert Dennis Planet Korda Pictures €10,000

Completion Fund
Finding Joy Neil Dowling Neil Dowling True Films €15,000
State Of Suspension Clare Langan Clare Langan Productions €15,000

Regional Support Fund
Good Vibrations Glenn Leyburn & Lisa Barros D'Sa Glenn Patterson & Chris Carberry Treasure Entertainment €75,000
Love Eternal Brendan Muldowney Brendan Muldowney Fastnet Films €120,000
Sanctuary Norah McGettigan Norah McGettigan & Gabriel Vargas Vasquez Venom Limited €120,000

Keeping company...

It is decidedly tricky to keep track of all the company names, dates etc in the unfolding situation regarding Magma - be it Magma Productions or Magma Films/Magma European Scripting House Ltd.

Magma Productions Ltd began life as Seylu Ltd back in 2003. It changed its name shortly after incorporation to Ulysses Film Productions Ltd. Then five years later, in February 2008, this company's name was changed to Magma Productions Ltd - note reference to the formal consent to the name change from allied companies at the same address with 'Magma' in their names.

Three years later, in April of this year, Magma Productions Ltd changed its name to Tidal Films Ltd, But not before its auditors resigned on 04 January 2010.

And after a change in director/secretary was notified to the CRO on February 1st. Note that this was presented by Magma Films, the trading name of Magma European Scripting House Ltd whose auditors resigned most recently on 20 July 2011.

Notwithstanding the name change to Tidal Films, and a change of address to Flood Street in Galway, note the entry for Magma Productions (and Molten Rock) in the listing of Irish exhibitors at MIPCOM 2011 - as of September 10, and also cited on the Irish Film Board website.
MIPCOM 2011
Registered exhibiting companies, as of 10 September 2011
IRELAND
ANIMO TELEVISION
AXONISTA
BIG MOUNTAIN PRODUCTIONS
BROWN BAG FILMS
CARTOON SALOON
DUBLIN FILM DISTRIBUTORS
ENTERPRISE IRELAND
IRELAND ON SCREEN
IRISH FILM BOARD
JAM MEDIA LIMITED
KITE ENTERTAINMENT LTD
MAGMA PRODUCTIONS MOLTENROCK
MONSTER ENTERTAINMENT
NETWORK IRELAND TELEVISION
RTE
RTE PUBLISHING
SIDELINE
TANGERINE (Programme MEDIA)
TELEGAEL
TILE FILMS LTD
VIDEOELEPHANT.COM
VISION INDEPENDENT
WHACKALA (Programme MEDIA)
WINDMILL LANE ENTERTAINMENT
WINDMILL LANE PICTURES LTD

Interestingly Molten Rock Media GmbH is not separately listed as a German exhibitor.

Magma Productions and Molten Rock Media (Bremen) have co-produced the 'Jack Taylor' adaptations of Ken Bruen's crime novels, the rights to which appear to have been held initially by Magma European Scripting House Ltd/Magma Films.

Certainly it was Magma European Scripting House/Magma Films that are recorded as successful recipients of public funding for 'Jack Taylor' projects from the MEDIA programme in 2009 and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland in 2010.

I believe ZDF have committed to further episodes of the series. It will be interesting to see if the balance of production (and ownership) shifts from Ireland to Germany.

Abbeygate...

Abbeygate Productions Ltd... Simsala Grimm 2... Filipa Ltd... Matheson Ormsby Prentice... Anglo Irish Bank Corporation... Magma European Scripting House...

It would probably take a conference call with a producer, an accountant, a lawyer and the Revenue Commissioners to work this out. Even then I suspect I wouldn't quite grasp if what follows is standard procedure or somewhat unusual. So don't be shy if you can shed some light on what seems to be an unecessarily opaque area of production financing.

Abbeygate Productions Ltd is a company that was set up in October 2007. It is, I believe, a 'Special Purpose Vehicle' company established as the Section 481 funding mechanism for Simsala Grimm II, a 26x26min animation series for TV to be co-produced by Magma Films with Millimages in France and Greenlight Media in Germany. This is the relevant, over-riding clause in the company's Memorandum of Association. [click to enlarge]

Generally a 'Special Purpose Vehicle' company has a relatively short lifespan. The Section 481 funding is raised and managed by the banking, accounting and legal fraternity, released to the production and spent on Irish goods and services. The project wraps and meets delivery criteria and regulatory compliance and then the SPV company is neatly wound up, usually not too long afterwards.

Filipa Limited is a non-trading company established in 1997 to act as a nominee in respect of 'Special Purpose Vehicle' companies for which it held shares. I believe the value of the shares corresponds to amounts raised through Section 481, and the individual shares in the listing below are given a cost of €2.00 each.

Filipa was based at the legal firm Matheson Ormsby Prentice. Here is a listing of Filipa's nominee share holdings as of 31 December 2008. It is a sizeable proportion of Irish film and TV production over a twelve month period and the total cost of the shares listed is very considerable. It comes to €82,812,002 - or let's just call it €83m.
[click to enlarge]

There's a lot of interesting information here that doesn't often come into the public domain. You'll see that the last entry in the list is Simsala Grimm Ltd but since there is no record of a company of that name, and since the number of shares corresponds with that later filed by Abbeygate Productions Ltd, and since MOP has filed much of the documentation for Abbeygate with the CRO I am of the belief that this is what became Abbeygate Productions Ltd but that the name was not updated in this Filipa filing.

I am also of the belief that the projects listed were all facilitated by Anglo Irish Bank in raising Section 481 finance. This is lent credence because Filipa Ltd is named in the schedule (ref 255) attached to S.I. No. 15 of 2010 ETHICS IN PUBLIC OFFICE (PRESCRIBED PUBLIC BODIES, DESIGNATED DIRECTORSHIPS OF PUBLIC BODIES AND DESIGNATED POSITIONS IN PUBLIC BODIES) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2010. *

Filipa Ltd is listed in the schedule among the many subsidiaries of Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Ltd which (as we are unlikely to forget) had been taken into public ownership by that time. It may be in this context that Ernst & Young resigned as auditors to Filipa Ltd on 16 March 2010.

The listing of Filipa nominee share holdings for Simsala Grimm (sic) is 1,229,739 shares at a total cost of €2,459,478. This you would expect is the Section 481 financing mechanism to be utilised in the Irish spend on Simsala Grimm II.

You would then expect the SPV company, Abbeygate Productions Ltd, to be neatly wound up and consigned to the dusty archives. What you might not expect - and what I find hard to understand - is a Statutory Declaration filed with the CRO dated as recently as January, 2011 as follows... [click to enlarge]

This may well be standard procedure, tell me if it is. But given the state of finances at Magma European Scripting House Ltd it seems potentially problematic, particularly since the company's most recent annual accounts were for 2007.

Within a couple of months Magma European Scripting House Ltd/Magma Films had called a creditors meeting for March 18 and the extent (if not the detail) of its difficulties became more generally known. If this in-house, inter-company transaction was underway at the time (and not due to be concluded until after July 31st) might that be why Magma Films' creditors have yet to receive a detailed account of the company's affairs?

You will note that the number of Non-Voting Ordinary Shares in Abbeygate to be redeemed via the arangement with Magma European Scripting House Ltd is 1,229,739, the exact number of shares in the Filipa listing for Simsala Grimm. Perhaps this is the usual way in which ownership in a project is vested back in the producing company. Although in this case the company has debts of millions of euro, including debts to Anglo Irish Bank and the Revenue.

As I mentioned earlier, Magma European Scripting House Ltd/Magma Films was the Irish co-producer on Simsala Grimm 2 with Millimages in France and Greenlight Media in Germany. Irish co-production on European animation (where the Irish party has not originated the project) tends to be concerned primarily with producing the English language version. I wonder what the Irish spend on this project amounted to and why it took so long to complete.

Something must have concerned one of the co-production partners, Millimages, because it registered a charge against Magma European Scripting House Ltd in September 2009. This was the 22nd charge registered against the company at that time. [click to enlarge]

* Thanks to Gavin Sheridan at TheStory.ie for this source.

Dear Ralph...

Thank you for your reply which I posted here yesterday. I was happy to post it but find that many questions remain unanswered.

Here's a page from Magma European Scripting House Ltd/Magma Films own publicity material which gives some idea of the corporate complexity which creditors are trying to understand. See all of the different companies! [click to enlarge]

You see, there is no mention of Magma European Scripting House Ltd at all. And one might therefore be forgiven for thinking that Magma Films was the company group name and that the other companies were subsidiaries.

But, as you say, Magma Films is not a limited company, it is a trading name. But is it a trading name solely of Magma European Scripting House Ltd?

Of course this information (still on the Magma website today) is probably somewhat dated now. It was accurate in early 2008, which is around the time that Niko - Way to the Stars aka The Flight Before Christmas was completed.

Although the project originated in Finland I believe Magma Films/MESH Ltd had a significant co-production role on both the English language and German versions.

Am I right in thinking that Eglinton Street Productions Ltd was the Special Purpose Vehicle company through which the film utilised our Section 481 tax break? Its accounts shed some light on Irish spend and fees. [click to enlarge]

With fees like these I wouldn't have thought that the key people in the company would have had any difficulty buying shares in any Magma business. In any case, what would the shares be worth now?

You say Magma European Scripting House Ltd sold Ulysses Filmproduktion GmbH, Germany, "to the key people in 2008."

You don't say what the consideration was but perhaps you can advise me if it was greater than €50,000 and if the price took account of the value of Niko rights and merchandising in Germany which I presume were held by Ulysses Filmproduktion as German producers of the film?

Nor do you intimate that Ulysses Filmproduktion GmbH's managing director, possibly one of the "key people" to whom the company was sold, is related to you.

Ulysses, presumably, would be one of the co-producing companies to whom MESH's rights would revert were it to be wound up?

And perhaps it's worth observing too that Ulysses has a subsidiary office in Bremen which shares an address with Molten Rock Media GmbH, co-producers of the 'Jack Taylor' series.

That's the company actually founded two years ago, in 2009 according to its website, where you say you are "part time employed" although the company's website today says you are the CEO: http://moltenrock.eu/Credits.html Molten Rock Media GmbH, Feldstraße 58, 28203 Bremen, Germany. T +49 421 69 62 55 20 F +49 421 69 62 55 29 info@moltenrock.eu www.moltenrock.eu HRB 25760 Bremen USt-IdNr. DE 815104900 CEO Ralph Christians

It's possible that it is a part time position although a number of pictures like this on the internet may suggest it is a little more hands-on. [click to enlarge]

[filmecho/filmwoche 04/02/2011]

You have said that rights to the 'Jack Taylor' productions and other projects "were never in Mesh", even if they have been characterised as such by funding agencies such as the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland or MEDIA?

I don't think there's any doubt that back in 2006 the rights holder in Niko - The Way to the Stars was MESH Ltd? Certainly Eurimages credits it as follows: Way to the Stars (The) Original title : Tie Tähtiin Directed by Michael Hegner& Kari Juusonen (DK & FI) Feature Film for children Awarded: €600 000 Coproducers: ANIMAKER OY (FI) ULYSSES GMBH FILM- UNDFERNSEHPRODUKTION (DE) A FILM (DK) MAGMA EUROPEAN SCRIPTINGHOUSE (IE).

It would appear, therefore, that MESH then owned the production in two ways - firstly as Irish co-producer, and secondly through its ownership of the German co-production subsidiary.

So, how were rights in story, characters etc assigned to Magma Productions Ltd (renamed Tidal films Ltd in April of this year) so that it could apply for funding and raise Section 481 finance for Niko 2? Especially when, as you say, "in animation the back catalogue and the spin-off and remake rights have a long shelf life."