Sustainability... what was said back in 2007?

You may remember back towards the end of 2007 Indecon produced another of their reports for the Department of Finance on the workings of Section 481.

The main recommendations were adopted - particularly the raising of the ceiling per project to €50m and lifting the level of the tax write-off from 80%. This actually went further than Indecon proposed in pushing it right up to 100% in the 2008 Finance Act. The duration of the scheme has also been extended out to 2015.

I was prompted to revisit the proposals because of the move on the Downton Abbey tax credit for TV in the UK. Here is the list of recommendations from November 2007.

I don't believe that recommendation 5 was acted upon, unless the Creative Capital report somehow ran away with the brief and turned it into something else. This might account for Film Board spend of €201,818 on 'consultancy' (excluding recruitment and readers' costs) in 2009, and €143,906 in 2010.

Below is the expanded version of the fifth recommendation (p 66). One dosen't have to read between the lines to see that there are a few cautionary words here for 'the industry'. The collective response must have been, "Not listening... not listening... not listening... but thanks for the changes to section 481!"

RECOMMENDATION 5: THE IRISH FILM BOARD, JOINTLY WITH THE INDUSTRY, SHOULD DEVELOP A 10-YEAR STRATEGY PLAN TO ADDRESS SUSTAINABILITY OF THE SECTOR
The film sector in Ireland is primarily dependent on competing on the basis of tax incentives which can easily be replicated in other counties. This vulnerability was highlighted by Indecon as far back as 1998. Any sector which is dependent on a competitive advantage which can be removed by a simple change in tax legislation in other countries is not sustainable.
The sector and the IFB need to design more sustainable tax and other incentive mechanisms that have a lower cost but greater benefit, and should also focus on developing skills/talents, infrastructure and a competitive cost base, in order to provide long-term sustainability for the sector. The plan should also consider the capital structure of Irish film and TV companies.

And now the UK have taken the ball away... again.

Endemic and Systemic

Corruption in Irish political life was both endemic and systemic. It affected every level of government, from some holders of top ministerial offices to some local councillors, and its existence was widely known and widely tolerated. - The Mahon Report

What is interesting about this quote from the Mahon Report is that it suggests that the culture of corruption runs across the entire gamut of Irish governance, that it's not limited to the sphere of planning regulation alone.

And I think it's fair to surmise that this extends to unethical, if not illegal practice. There is a distinction, for instance, between public and transparent lobbying to secure policy advantage for particular interests and the use of priviliged access and private meetings to influence funding decisions, regulatory controls, and legislative changes.

It seems increasingly obvious that all arms and agencies of the State should have the wider public interest as their primary focus rather than the narrow interest of their particular client base.

In October 2003 the then Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Jack Valenti, came to Ireland. Officially he was making the world a safer place for the US major studios' copyright and it's unclear if perhaps he was invited here by SPI. It was during a period when Section 481 was, again, up for renewal and there had been mutterings about a levy on cinema tickets as an alternative method to raise funding for the industry.

A meeting was scheduled for Valenti with then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at Government Buildings but, to my recollection, the meeting was moved out of the official limelight and into the more shadowy confines of St. Lukes in Drumcondra.

I do not know why the meeting was moved from a public office of the state to a private constituency office. I cannot draw any conclusion from that except to say that at the time I believed it was inappropriate. And that was before we knew what we now know about St Lukes, courtesy of the Mahon Tribunal.

As I recall, and I'm open to correction, there was a bland statement issued after the meeting to the effect that the State would look to introduce stronger legislation and penalties for breaches of copyright.

Later, at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service on November 5th, 2003 our now Minister, Jimmy Deenihan said, the president and chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America, Jack Valenti, who visited Ireland in mid-October, [said] that the removal of section 481 would almost mean the end of the film industry in this country, we should take notice because these people do not exaggerate.

This did not arise from any public utterance made by Mr Valenti during his brief visit. It arose from private conversations at private meetings. I believe Screen Producers Ireland organised these meetings, or it may just have been a single evening meal with invited guests. Perhaps Mr Valenti also privately offered the MPAA's view on the desirability of a levy on cinema admissions.

If we come forward in time to the present day we can see that we are, at a time of severe financial pressure in the public sector, givng substantial sums of money in a very untransparent manner to producers of film and televison projects the rights for which may not be even part-owned by Irish companies. Or, where the rights are Irish-owned there may be limited sales potential outside of Ireland.

The money is therefore given away in return for short term spending on services and employment. The cost to the exchequer of Section 481 in 2010 was some €65 million for 57 projects. But not all of that money ends up on the screen and the possibility exists that the budgets used to raise this funding may not in every case be matched by actual spend.

Rather than standing independent of this activity, and objectively overseeing it in the wider public interest, the Film Board subscribes an annual subscription of €50,000 to SPI and is part of IBEC's AudioVisual Federation.

The agency is, in effect, part of the interest groups that privately and publicly seek to influence policy on behalf of their members in the private sector. Perhaps that is no longer appropriate?

UK Budget Speech - updated

Here's what UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne had to say about his government's intentions regarding the extension of their film tax credit scheme to related industries.

The film tax credit, protected in our spending review, helped generate over £1 billion of film production investment in the UK last year alone.

Today I am announcing our intention to introduce similar schemes for the video games, animation and high-end TV production industries.

Not only will this help stop premium British TV programmes like Birdsong being made abroad, it will also attract top international investors like Disney and HBO to make more of their premium shows in the UK.

It will support our brilliant video games and animation industries too.

update... some of the detail...

The TV tax credit is now subject to a 12 week consultation period, the intention is to introduce the measure at the beginning of the next tax year. The delay will allow time for the detail to be worked out and for the scheme to be examined by the European Commission to see if it's compatible with State Aid rules.

The expected benefit to producers is estimated to be at least 20% of spend. The effect of the announcement will be to focus the minds of producers, particularly in the US, on the possibility of producing high-end series in the UK from the beginning of April 2013. It remains to be seen how series will 'qualify' for the tax credit and whether it will be used to draw in foreign producers as much as to support locally originated projects.

The new, proactive support for animation may make the UK the English language co-production partner of choice.

Enterprise Investment Scheme(s) - tax incentive schemes used by production companies to raise capital/equity for business expansion, project production and/or development will have an annual limit of £5m. Individual tax-payers will be able to invest £1m in an EIS. The scheme has yet to be cleared by the European Commission.

Andrew Lowe of Element Pictures on Morning Ireland this morning.

And IBEC AVF yesterday:
The Audiovisual Federation, the IBEC group that represents Ireland's feature film, television and animation sectors today said that the planned introduction of new tax reliefs for the UK's audiovisual sector in 2013 highlighted the need for Ireland to ensure it remained an attractive and competitive investment location. The proposal was announced today by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and is subject to approval by the EU Commission.
Audiovisual Federation Director Torlach Denihan said: "Unless Ireland continues to update and improve its attractiveness as a location for TV, film and animation production we will lose jobs and investment. Ireland continues to attract significant audiovisual investment, but we need to stay ahead of the competition. The move by the UK only adds to the need to ensure that tax incentives, labour costs, skills and facilities in Ireland can compete with rival locations."
The Audiovisual Federation said the Government must actively work with all parts of the industry if the vision in its 'Creative Capital' report of doubling employment in the sector to 10,000 jobs is to be realised.

Back to Dutch Auctioneering

I'm indebted to a correspondent who passed me on a clipping from today's Financial Times.

In it Political Editor George Parker asserts that UK Chancellor George Osborne will introduce a new tax break for UK TV production in next week's budget.

His article refers to the high volume of British television drama that has been shot in other countries, including Ireland. Camelot and Game of Thrones are both referenced in the piece although they missed the fact that the latter, while filmed in Northern Ireland, did considerable post production in the Republic backed by Section 481.

There can be no doubt that if this new tax break is introduced in the UK the volume of high-end TV work coming to Ireland from (or co-produced with) the UK will almost certainly dry up.

So what to do? It calls to mind former minister John O'Donoghue's references to the 'dutch auction' character of competition for offshore production among European Union member states.

If we're not careful we just race to the bottom in terms of state munificence to producers. Added to which is the prospect of 'double-dipping' where subsidies are hoovered up in multiple jurisdictions by producers.

The main problem for us as a country, as always, is that little of lasting value is created in terms of rights or sales revenue for Irish companies doing this co-production work. They earn fees. There's periodic employment for technicians. Then the circus moves on and leaves a bare patch of grass in its wake.

The first three pars of today's FT article.

Update (20/03/2012):
The Irish Times carries a piece by Ronan McGreevy on the issue today.

Speaking through his hat an IBEC spokesman responded that the 12.5% corporation tax rate offers our industry some advantage, and that "we have got to stay competitive." He may as well have said that the Film Board is going to devalue the Euro.

We will see tomorrow what shape the new UK tax break takes. I wonder if the Irish authorities will nudge the European Commission into having a close look at the scheme.

If there's a budget floor of £1m per hour how will they avoid budgets/fees being inflated to reach that floor?

Doubtless there will be the usual guff about culture (really it's window-dressing for territorialising state aid) to bolster the logic for the new tax break being geared to local spend.

And there's the question of competitive corporate advantage being allowed to the broadcasters by enabling them to write off some of their tax liability for financing their own output.

Lastly, there is the likelihood that co-productions originated outside the UK will seek UK broadcast partners in order to avail of the tax break and so will shoot in the UK instead of their home jurisdictions.

Magma... the brand that keeps on taking

I hear from a few sources that industry concern about Magma has now become so widespread that enquiries are being conducted, belatedly, in various official quarters.

The shoot in Galway and Bremen of the latest instalment in the 'Jack Taylor' series was fraught with what one might for the want of a better term call 'cash flow' issues. Delayed or non-payment of service providers and crew came to a head when, as a last resort, drastic action was taken by some crew to ensure they were paid.

It now appears that a further episode may not be shot, in Dublin, as was planned. Some crew have expressed concern about invoicing procedures and paperwork, particularly where VAT is involved. And, in the absence of credible explanations for the manner in which suppliers have been treated, there are serious questions about the unavailability of production funds to the project despite its being, supposedly, Section 481 certified.

I believe representations have been made by a number of people to some or all of SPI, SIPTU, the Film Board, the Revenue Commissioners, TV3, MEDIA and others, such is the level of anger. There is also a well-founded anxiety that the circumstances could be very damaging to the wider industry.

I have written about Magma issues from time to time over the last 12 months (enter Magma in the search box, top left). No one in authority can have remained ignorant of the situation, and it's doubtful they could have been ignorant to begin with. That the issues remain unresolved for long-standing creditors and have been added to by the creation of new creditors is an indictment of official procedures and the due diligence that ought to be carried out in the public interest.

Someone concerned about the Magma situation asked me what the status of a 'Shadow Director' is in Irish company law. I have no idea if the circumstance applies but here is the relevant info from the Institute of Directors website:
While not a member of the board of directors, a shadow director is significantly involved in the running of the company. From a distance, he/she dictates to someone who is an actual director how he/she wants the company to be managed.
Prior to 1990 the position of shadow director did not carry the same liabilities and obligations as that of the other directors. Now the position carries the same onerous duties across a range of areas including fraudulent or reckless trading. S.150 of the Companies Act 1990 made shadow directors liable to restriction in the event that he/she fails to act in accordance with the highest standards. S.138 of the 1990 Act amended S.297 of the principal Act and imposed liability on a shadow director who is deemed to have behaved in a reckless or fraudulent manner in his role as an officer of the company. As a result of this Act, a shadow director is under an obligation to disclose, in writing to the company, any interest he/she has in contracts, or proposed contracts, with the company. {S.27(3)}
Failure of a shadow director to disclose any involvement he/she may have in business carried out with the company of which he/she is a shadow director makes that person liable to prosecution by the Director of Corporate Enforcement.
It is not possible for a person to evade responsibility and liability by not being formally appointed a director if he/she comes within the definition of shadow director.
In general, it is very unsatisfactory for a board to be in a position where an individual can exercise such authority within the company without being an appointed member of the board, although he/she is, de facto, a member of the board.

Arts and Film - Campaign meeting

FilmBase and the National Campaign for the Arts (NCFA) are inviting members of the filmmaking community to an information and exchange meeting at FilmBase on March 22nd from 5-6.30pm.

The organisers hope to update the filmmaking community on the campaign's work to date, and to open up a dialogue between the campaign and filmmakers.

The NCFA will talk about its lobbying, fundraising, and research goals for 2012, followed by a discussion with the filmmaking community about how the NCFA can support its work.

The session is open to all, but attendees are asked to contact Jennifer Killelea by e-mailing venueATfilmbaseDOTie so they can get an idea of numbers.

Information about the NCFA is available here.

IFB accounts 2010

Back in February - about the 22nd if I'm not mistaken - the Film Board published its latest funding decisions (see list below). Appended to the listings are the following clarifications, I don't recall having seen them previously.

Funding decisions are announced on a quarterly basis and reflect development awards approved by the Board of BSÉ/IFB rather than applications received within the period. Please note that it takes 6-8 weeks from the relevant deadline to process development applications.
And...
Funding decisions are announced on a quarterly basis and reflect production/distribution awards approved by the Board of BSÉ/IFB rather than applications received within the period. Please note that it takes 3-5 weeks from the relevant deadline to process production and distribution applications.

There are several connected issues here - turnaround time (are the relevant deadlines always published?), timeliness of information, and transparency.

If you were unsuccessful in an application made in August or September for development funding (which would be decided upon between October 01 and December 31) it would be mid/late February before you would learn what projects had been successful. Should it really take that long?

Those long enough in the business will recall that when the IFB was re-constituted in 1993 it was admirably clear, and prompt, about the dates of application rounds, the number of applications received in each round in each funding category, and the amount of each successful funding award. Furthermore, it was not open to members of the Board, or their companies, to apply for funding.

There were far fewer staff at the IFB at the time and, I believe, far more applications, especially for production funding, and yet the information provided was both more complete and published far more quickly than is the case today.

Somehow, despite everything that has happened in this country as a result of public agencies applying 'light-touch' regulation behind a veil of secrecy, the Irish Film Board is becoming even less transparent in its dealings. Why is that the case?

In the absence of full or timely information one begins to wonder if many loan applications are effectively approved verbally, or in principle, before the agency receives them in writing? And if many non-indigenous projects have been offered funding, in principle, before an Irish co-producer has become involved?

The IFB Annual Report for 2010 (published March 6th) does not even tell us how many applications were received in each funding category over the course of the year. It does tell us that Board Members had a direct interest (it does not report areas of indirect interest of Board Members or staff) in loan decisions amounting to €3.4m (not including an unspecified commitment amount) from a total film investment provision for the year of €12.9m.

Is it acceptable that an amount equivalent, possibly, to one third of all monies disbursed in film investments should be offered to members of the Board or companies with which they are directly associated, even if those offers are not eventually utilised?

Or that this should happen in a year when the Board met only nine times?

At least the annual report does tell us the CEO's salary in 2010 was €110,844 and that the then incumbent incurred a further €48,153 in expenses. This may be explained in part because the CEO was out of the country on IFB business for 77 days, down I believe from 98 days in 2009.

The annual report does not offer any policy basis for the €1.05m funding granted outside its core loan activity. It doesn't say why it gives €50,000 to Screen Producers Ireland (as a subscription) under a different heading to the funding it gives to the directors' and writers' guilds. Nor does it explain the virtue of offering the Volta VoD platform €225,000 under the Distribution - P&A/Marketing support subhead.

Here's the list of 'other capital' payments although, realistically, they should be called non-recoverable grants.

Film Board Loans - 31/Dec/2011
Project Director Writer Production Company Funding Award

Development
First Draft Loans
Kidsmoke Sean Smith €12,000
RPG Niall Heery Niall Heery & Brendan Heery €16,000
Fiction Development Loans
The Gee Gees Kevin Barry Element Pictures €40,000
Death & Nightingales Allan Cubbitt Soho Moon Pictures €12,500*
The Fast & The Dead Richie Smyth Richie Smyth Perfect Weekend Ireland €20,000
Pilgrimage Brendan Muldowney Jamie Hannigan SP Films €20,000
Last Days On Mars Ruairí Robinson Clive Dawson Fantastic Films €50,000
Animation Development Loans
Curly Hare Alan Shannon Alan Brenner Jam Media €50,000
Pillage & Sons Nicky Phelan Nicky Phelan Brown Bag Films €35,000
The Wooden Sword Paul Bolger FM DeMarco Brown Bag Films €35,000

Production
Fiction Feature Films
An Bronntanas Tom Collins Paul Walker & Eoin McNamee ROSG and DeFacto Films Provisional Offer Of Commitment
Citadel Ciaran Foy Ciaran Foy Blinder Films €17,568
Fiction Creative Co-Production
Dark Touch Marina De Van Marina De Van Element Pictures €200,000
Fiction International Production
Loving Miss Hatto Aisling Walsh Victoria Wood Octagon Films €90,000
Animation
Cosmo Jason Tammemagi Jason Tammemagi Monster Animation & Design €300,000
Documentary
The Land Of The Enlightened Pieter Jan De Pue Fastnet Films Provisional Offer Of Commitment
Silence In The House Of God Alex Gibney Jigsaw Productions Provisional Offer Of Commitment
Under The Hood Mark Byrne & Robert Dennis Planet Korda Pictures Provisional Offer Of Commitment
K2: The Summit Nick Ryan Image Now Films €15,000
Dreaming the Quiet Man Sé Merry Doyle Loopline Films €13,000

Distribution
Marketing Support
Haywire Steven Soderberg Paramount Pictures €20,000
Direct Distribution
Ballymun Lullaby Frank Berry Pulp Productions €15,000

*I may come back to this - it was formerly a development asset of Little Bird.

Ardmore RIP?

Report today in the Irish Times by Business Correspondent Ciarán Hancock that Ardmore Studios are about to close after World 2000's Vikings has decided to shoot at Ballyhenry Studios, Ashford.

This has been on the cards for some time so it's not entirely unexpected, particularly since a second series of Camelot was not greenlit. Morgan O'Sullivan of World 2000 was the person who obtained planning permission in 2009 for studios at Ballyhenry after two previous attempts failed in 2004 and 2006.

I have written previously about Ardmore here and about Ballyhenry here.

In recent years Ardmore has been getting quiet little funding bail-outs from the Film Board (€500,000 in 2006/7) and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (€221,970 in 2010). Anyone in the business will be aware that the old sound stages were no longer adequate for the major off-shore productions that the tax break has been generously re-designed to capture.

I believe it is currently owned 32% by the state through Enterprise Ireland with the remaining 68% being held in equal 34% shares by Ossie Kilkenny and Paul McGuinness. The facility has suffered from a lack of investment over the years and as a result it has become somewhat obsolete.

Successive Ministers - John O'Donoghue, Seamus Brennan, Martin Cullen, Mary Hanafin and Jimmy Deenihan - have arrived in office to find an Ardmore file on their desk and, I've no doubt, it will have contained a worryingly potted history of its cost/benefit to the state since it was first founded over fifty years ago.

Time and again the state in various guises has had to step in to throw it a lifeline and it has also benefitted indirectly from Film Board production funding decisions, particularly in the case of 'international production fund' backing for TV projects. With a new studio opening one would have to presume that Ardmore can no longer count on this indirect subsidy.

There was a real opportunity to capitalise on Ardmore's real estate value during the height of the property boom and to reinvest the sale price in a new green-field facility. There was a proposal at one stage to buy out the private sector interest, sell the property and develop a new studio as a PPP project with capital from the NDP.

This was stymied on the one hand by political and planning concerns in Bray and on Wicklow County Council, and on the other, arguably, by the possibility that none of the shareholders were entirely committed to the business of running a film studio. And then the property boom ended.

There are a range of ancilliary businesses and company offices at Ardmore and presumably they will remain in situ at least until the facility is sold, if that is what is to happen.

As to Ballyhenry's long term prospects - one would have to be very optimistic. Studios are booming across the water in England, so much so that Warner Brothers are building their own new facilities at Leavesden at a cost of $200m. It has a 100 acre backlot and 115,000sq ft of workshop, office and facility space in addition to its several enormous sound stages.

Competition is fierce in this business and, as Ardmore has discovered, there's no point in half measures. It would be a shame if it were to turn out that Ballyhenry is merely a better facility for large-scale TV production than Ardmore.

[PS - I take it that the use on RTE News of a clip from Song For a Raggy Boy was not intentionally ironic - it was deliberately filmed 'off grid' in a disused school in West Cork]

[PPS - Albert Reynolds speaking in the Dáil on the closure of Ardmore 30 years ago: Ardmore Film Studios were purchased by the Government in 1973 at a cost of £.5 million in the belief that this was an essential prerequisite to the development of the film industry in Ireland. The total employment in the company was 46. Total Exchequer grants of £1.5 million were paid since the company were set up. The company incurred losses of the order of £.5 million per annum before grants, due to their inability to attract sufficient business and the lack of a proper capital structure which resulted in heavy interest payments. The losses projected for this year alone were approximately £780,000. Indebtedness to the banks had reached almost £2 million. That puts the loss situation into perspective.]

IFB IT Tender

I hear that the Irish Film Board is requesting tenders for the provision of an online application system which is to come into operation on July 1st.

Online Funding Application System for the Irish Film Board
The IFB receives approximately 800 funding applications per year across various funding schemes. These applications, along with multiple supporting documents and materials are currently received only in hard copies.
The IFB is now seeking a tender for work associated with creating an on-line funding application system that can link seamlessly with the IFB’s website and back end systems.
This tender is for the design, testing and implementation of an on-line application module for the IFB’s existing ICT Project Database system called ProDAT. Preference will be given to solutions based on Open Source software....
...The IFB reserves the right to future code modifications of the final on-line application module.
The IFB will provide detailed workflow analyses and guidance necessary for completion of the project.
It is expected that the applicant will recommend or provide the hosting space for the final on-line application module.
The project will enter its testing phase on the 1st June 2012 and go live by the 1st July 2012.

Full details are here.

[It'll be interesting to see if certain required fields are used as part of the online application system - PPSN, TCC No. and date, nationality, Passport No. etc - both as a way to control for eligibility and to generate research data].

The Board has also just published its annual report and accounts for 2010.

Culture Ireland... and film

The Irish Times has today devoted its junior editorial (they used to call it the Pup in the old days) to the subject of Culture Ireland, one of the agencies that is due to be absorbed into the bosom of the Department under whose aegis it functions.

The editorial refers to the loss of autonomy in an area that had only recently evolved from the Cultural Relations Committee of the Department of Foreign Affairs. It also raises the 'arms length principle', a sort of buffer between decision-making and political influence.

The presumption here is that all funding through government departments, especially areas of discretionary funding, is open to political interference. This is all too true as any applicant for, for instance, Lottery funding, can tell you.

The system there seems to ensure that any successful application is used for local political capital, as if your local government back bencher had secured the money for you by going cap-in-hand to the Minister on your behalf. It makes it appear as if your application didn't quite succeed on its own merits.

Can we be sure that no political influence was brought to bear on any of this Departmental funding, some of it for film bodies, such as Ardmore Studios, in 2009 and 2010? The manner in which this funding is disbursed by the Department could be made a lot clearer.

This is supposedly why we have agencies like the Film Board, the Arts Council and Culture Ireland - to ensure that applications which merit support are successful, not because of influence or pressure of any kind.

When one hears of film projects proceeding without production funding from the IFB, although developed with the agency's support, one has to wonder about the basis on which they were refused while other projects were successful. It's all about clarity of purpose and criteria, and transparency around decision making.

Here is a list of film-related grants offered by Culture Ireland over the last year. I had put together this list a while back and I'm aware that there are some date inconsistencies and other gaps in the data, some of which may be down to a delay between approvals and later payments. It is a principle of Culture Ireland funding that the applications be made in advance of the activity to be undertaken.

Culture Ireland - Film Grants

Winter 2011
Summary Description Amount Approved (€)
Promoting Irish Film internationaly through the project "Reel Ireland" in various countries in 2007 100,000
Desperate Optimists presenting "Civic Life" at film festivals in England and Rotterdam in 2008 15,000
A four day festival of Irish Film and Music to be held in New York, 4th - 11th March 2007 12,000
Organising the Craic film and music festival in New York from the 11th - 14th March 2009 12,000
Organising the Craic Festival at the Mercury Lounge and Tribeca cinema, New York from the 10th - 14th March 2010 12,000
Participation in a four day Music Festival in New York, in March 2007 12,000
Holding a 4 day Irish music festival at Tel - Aviv Cinemateque, 30th January - 2nd February 2008 10,000
The 5TH Irish Film Festival,Moscow to take place in late March 2012 in the 35MM CINEMA, Moscow, Russia. 10,000
Organising the 3rd Irish Film Festival, Moscow, Russia from the 18th - 21st March 2010 10,000
Irish Film Festival (Moscow) being held at 35mm Cinema/Formula Kino in Moscow Russia from March 16th - 23rd 2011. 10,000
The 13th Annual Irish Film Festival, Boston, organized by BIFF Productions, to screen Irish film in Somerville and Cambridge Massachusetts, March 22nd - 25th, 2012. 9,000
Participating in the International Short Film Market at Maison de la Culture, Clermont Ferrand, France from 4th - 12th February 2011 8,000
Presenting of Irish film programme in Margenes festival of experimental film and art, Spain, from the 23rd - 29th May 2009 in Spain, Spain 8,000
Screening the musical "Once" in the U.S.A from 19 - 25 January 2007. 8,000
Presenting the London Irish Film Festival in various London venues from the 7th - 15th March 2009 7,000
Presenting a showcase of Irish cinema at the Festival International du Cinma Mditerranen du Tetouan, Morocco from the 29th March - 6th April 2009 6,000
Organising the 2nd Irish Film Festival, South Africa in Johannesburg, Cape Town from the 17th - 31st March 2010 6,000
Cork Film Festival presentation at the Irish Short Film Stand, at the 27th Clermont Ferrand Short Film Market and Festival January 30th to February 3rd, at the Maison de la Culture, Clermont Ferrand, France. 6,000
Irish participation and presentation of Irish cinema in the IndieLisboa Film Festival, Lisbon from the 23rd April - 3rd May 2009 5,500
The screening of the film 'Kings' in L.A, Palm Springs, N.Y, Boston, 4th Jan - 21st Jan 2008 5,000
Irish participation in IndieLisboa Film Festival, Lisbon from the 22nd April - 2nd May 2010 5,000
The Fleadh Foundation presenting the Craic Festival including Irish music and film in New York City 9-12 March 2012. 5,000
Organising the 11th Annual Boston Irish Film Festival at the Brattle Theatre and The Somerville Theatre from the 25th - 28th March 2010 4,000
Presenting feature documentary "Seaview" in Berlin and to tour ten cities in February - March 2009 4,000
Participating in the European Union Film Festival, Chicago, in March 2007. 4,000
A festival "IndieLisboa" which is a film festival held in Lisbon, Portugal in April 2007 4,000
Participating in the European Union Film Festival, Chicago, in March 2007. 3,000
Presenting "Eamon" at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2009 3,000
Presenting a selection of short films at the Mint Gallery, New Delhi from the 13th - 29th March 2009 3,000
Irish filmakers to participate in IndieLisboa International Independent Film Festival in Lisbon, Portugal from May 5th - 15th 2011. 3,000
The Toronto Irish Film Festival (TIRFF) presenting Irish films in Canada to be held on March 9 -10, 2012 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox building, Toronto. 3,000
The Beirut Irish Film Festival to take place at the Metropolis Empire Sofil Cinema in Beirut from Feb 29 to March 4, 2011 3,000
Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival presenting a series of festival events in New York City in early October 2012. 3,000
Presentation of Irish films at IndieLisboa - International Independent Film Festival organised by the cultural association Zero em Comportamento take place from 26th April to the 6th May 2012 in Lisbon, Portugal. 3,000
Roots Reel Films presenting the second Irish Film Festival to be held in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, in April 2012. 3,000
Gene Siskel Film Center presenting Irish films at the European Union Film Festival in March, 2012. 2,000
International Film Festival Tofifest presenting Jim Sheridan Retrospective from the 11th to 31st of May 2012 in cinemas in Torun, Bydgoszcz, Warsaw, Cracow, Poznan, Lódz and Gdansk. 2,000
Organising the European Union Film Festival at the Gene Siskel film Center from 1st - 30th March 2010 2,000
Screening of A Film from my Parish 6 Farms at the Sundance Film Festival, in Utah, USA from 15 25 January 2009. 2,000
Presenting the annual European Union Film Festival at the Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago in March 2009 2,000
Irish films to be shown at the European Union Film Festival at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 7th - 27th March 2007 2,000
Holding an Irish Film Festival in London at a number of theatres and cinemas, 11th - 15th March 2007 2,000
Irish participation in IndieLisboa - International Independent Film Festival, Portugal, 24th April - 4th May 2008 1,500
Presentation of programme of recent work by Moira Tierney at Polygone Etoile/Film Flamme Cinema in Marseille March 2011 and at EDV in Toulouse April 2011 1,500
Screening of selected Irish films in 'Ireland in Film: Beyond Well-trodden Paths' in Dusseldorf. 1,500
Promoting Irish Short film at the Sundance Film Festival, January 2009 1,500
Screening 12 Irish features and shorts at 'Irlanda en Film..un festival' at La Candelaria, Bogota, Colombia, February 2011. 1,000
Presenting "Bernadette" at the Ambulante Documentary Film Festival, Mexico from the 6th - 10th March 2010 1,000
Attending the 11eme Festival National du Film, Morocco to present own work and that of Solus Collective from the 23rd - 30th January 2010 and Presenting porgramme of own film work at 25th anniversary of Spazio Arka, Sardinia 1,000
Screening of films by Moira Tierney with artists talk and screening of films by the SOLUS Collective, programmed and presented by Moira Tierney, at Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center in New Orleans, February 2012. 800
Presentation of Irish film at EPOS, the International Art Film Festival to take place 1-4 February 2012 at the Tel-Aviv Museum of Art, and in Jerusalem & Haifa cinematheques.
600

Film Grant Total: 356,900 [of €4,543,774 Winter 2011 Round total]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Autumn 2011
Summary Description Amount Approved (€)

Producing a DVD of the entire Druid Synge project from a live audience show in August 2005 90,000
Screening a film at the Festival au Desert in Mali, West Africa from the 4th - 15th January 2008 24,000
Orginising Alcine short film festival Spain, showcasing all Irish films from the 9th until 17th November 2007 20,000
Irish artists' participation in Solas Nua 2009-10 season, including US premiere of "Danny and Chantelle" in November-December, two outdoor theatrical events by the Performance Corporation, presentation of a public art piece and DC Irish Writers Festival i 20,000
Participating in the Market of the Clemont - ferrand Short Film Festival in France from the 2nd until 10th February 2008 12,000
Organising a 2nd Irish Film Festa "Casa del Cinema" Rome from the 8th - 11th December 2008 10,000
Promotion of Irish short filmmaking at Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival, France from the 31st January - 7th Feb 2009 9,000
Participation in the 8th Festival in Tel Aviv in 2007. 9,000
Participating in the 9th Annual Boston Irish Film Festival from the 9th - 12th of November 2007 8,000
Promoting Irish short film-making at the International Short Film Market, Clermont Ferrand, France from the 1st - 6th February 2010 8,000
Presenting Irish Film Festa, the third annual Italian Festival dedicated to Irish Cinema at the Casa del Cinema, Rome from the 27th - 29th November 2009 8,000
Delivery by Cinemagic of a series of events in Los Angeles and San Francisco in February/ March 2012. 8,000
Presentation of IrishFilmFesta, annual Italian festival dedicated to Irish Cinema at “Casa del Cinema" in Rome from 1st to 5th December 2011. 8,000
Presentation of Irish short films at the Short Film Festival Leuven from December 3-10th 2011. 7,500
Organising the 4th Irish Film Festa as part of the Archimedia Cultural Association, Rome, Italy from the 24th - 28th November 2010 7,000
Presentation of the first Irish Film Festival of India in the Habitat Centre, New Delhi 16th - 18th, 20th and 21st February and at the NCPA Centre, Mumbai, 23rd, 24th and 26th February 2012. 6,000
Organising the 10th Annual Boston Irish Film Festival from the 9th - 12th November 2008 6,000
A stand and screenings at the Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival in France in January/February 2007 6,000
Irish participation in the 46th Thessaloniki Film Festival in November 2005 5,000
Screening Irish films with Arabic subtiles at a numbe rof venues in Syria from the 7th - 18th December 2010 5,000
Organising a showcase of Irish film, including 3 features, 6 shorts and 9 animation films in Damascus, Syria from the 31st October - 6th November 2009 5,000
Encounters Festival screening 4 Films and Directors Q&A sessions at the Encounters International Film Festival at the Watershed Media Centre and Arnolfini Theatre, Bristol, UK from the 16th - 21st Novemebr 2010 4,000
Irish participation at the 7th Annual Boston Irish Film Festival in November 2005 4,000
Hosting, in association with the Directors Guild of America, the Annual Directors Finders Series in October 2006 and screening of the selected film in Los Angeles in November 2006 4,000
Showing irish films at the 5th Annual San Francisco Irish Film Festival on San francisco Bay from the 2nd - 18th March 2008 4,000
Irish participation in the Festival in November 2006 4,000
Irish filmmakers attending the Short Film festival Encounters Festival 09th-22nd Nov 2008 3,500
Presentation of 2011 Irish Film Festival London at venues including ICCH, Riverside Studios, Tricycle & Rio Cinema from November 2nd - 6th 2011. 3,000
Presentation of contemporary Irish films at the 27th Haifa International Film Festival, Israel 13-22 October 2011 3,000
Presentation of Irish films in New York in 2006-2007 3,000
Irish participation in the Cherbourg-Octeville Film Festival in France in March 2007 3,000
An exhibition of the "BURN Project" in Mexico and two screenings of "Sugar" at the International Independent Film Festival in Argentina in October/November 2006 3,000
The cost of participation in the sixth edition of the Algerian film festival, Festival du Film Amazigh, in December 2005 3,000
Irish participation in the 4th Annual S.F. Irish Film Festival in San Francisco in March 2007 2,500
Screening of Fairytale of Kathmandu in the Best of Input event in Taiwan from the 5th - 7th December 2008 and at the Adelaide Film Festival from the 19th February - 1st March 2009 2,500
Irish participation in the 10th Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia in November/December 2006 2,300
"Best of Cork" touring programme of recent Irish short films in various locations from October 2005 to October 2006 2,000
Showcasing Irish films to professional international audience in New York and Los Angeles from the 26th February - 4th March 2010 2,000
Orla Murphy attending the Rhode Island Film Festival USA August 2009 2,000
Presenting Irlanda en Film..un Festival in Multiple Venues in Cartagena, Colombia from the 29th - 31st October 2010 2,000
Presenting "Focus on Ireland" at Interfilm International Short Film Festival at the Babylon Mitte Theatre, Germany, Germany from the 16th - 21st November 2010 2,000
Samson for film Sunflower being shown at the Palm Spring International Shortfest June 2009 1,500
Kilburn Festival towards bringing in 3 directors present at the screening of their films at the Kilburn Festival 1,500
An international conference on contemporary Irish cinema at the University of Limoges, France, in November 2007 1,500
Participating at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2008 1,500
Representing Irish Animation and screening of films at the prestigious Fiae Film Festival at Rio De Janeiros Museum of Modern art, Brazil from the 6th - 14th November 2008 1,500
Showing the short film "Recoil" at the International Short Film Festival in Drama, Greece in September/October 2005 1,440
Screening two Irish Documentary films at the Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival from the 5th - 9th November 2009 1,350
Mary Keane showing her film 'Together' at the Danca Em Foco International Dance Festival in Brazil from June 29th - July 12th 2009 1,300
Screening "Puppy Love" at the Irish Film Festival in Boston, 8th - 12th November 2007 1,300
Participating in the Manhattan Short Film Festival New York in September 2006 with his short film "Last Night" 1,200
Fastnet Films to attend Toronto Film Festival Sept 2009 1,200
Katie Holly, Blinder Films screening their film 'Lowland Fell' at the Edinburgh International Film Festival from 17th - 28th June 09 1,200
Participating in the 11th Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin Film Festival in Paris in November- December 2006 1,000
Showing the video work "Walk" at the Recontres Paris/Berlin Festival in Paris in November/December 2006 1,000
Showing video works "Gravity Loop" at the Recontres Paris/Berlin Festival in Paris in November 2006 1,000
Film festival celebrating women in film called "Amharc Eile: Women Directors in Irish Cinema" in Washington in October 2005 1,000
Participating in the Trinidad Film festival from the 23rd - 27th October 2007 1,000
Declan Cassidy film being shown at the Palm Spring International Shortfest June 2009 750
Conor Ferguson attending Sapporo Film Festival 14-18 October 2009 with film 'Atlantic' 750
Towards the screening of ' The Secret of Kells' at the Icon International SF Festival, Isreal, 4-10 October 2007 700
Treasure Entertainment to attend LA film festival for screening of 'Eclipse' on 23rd September 2009 650
Tom Collins to attend LA Film Festival 650
John Fleming attending Los Angeles Film Festival with film 'Guest of another nation' September 2009 650
Colette Farrell to attend the Short Film Golden nights Tour event in Paris on June 30th 2009. 600
Lenny Abrahamson, director of "Garage" attendence at "Around the World in 14 Films" festival in Germany, Germany from the 28th November - 06th December 2008. 600
Kate McCullough to attend Cannes Film Festival to promote her short film'Signifigant Others' from 19th-22nd May 2009 500

Film Total: 367,640 [of €4,417,690 total for Autumn 2011 round]
---------------------------------
Summer 2011
Summary Description Amount Approved (€)

The Reel Ireland Programme, a touring package of Irish film aimed at bringing Irish cinema to a large worldwide audience 30,000
Presenting a two-day film festival of Irish films and workshops in five venues in Palestine in August/September 2006 15,000
Irish participation in the Summer Film School Festival including film, music and literature in the Czech Republic in July 2005 12,000
Performing in association with the Directors Guild of America, the Annual Directors Finders Series in September 2007 and screening of the selected film in Los Angeles on September 14th. 7,000
Inviting 5 international film curators and programmers to Cork Festival to view new Irish shorts and film works from 14 - 21 Oct. 2007 7,000
Performing at the Seoul International Youth Film Festival, Korea from the 16th - 22nd July 2008 6,000
Organising the 1st Irish Film Festival in conjunction with Metro Cinemas in Hyde Park, Johannesburg from the 26th - 30th August and V&A Waterfront Cape town from the 2nd - 6th September 2009 6,000
Presenting film programmes at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt, El Teatro, Tunisia and La Maison Des Cineastes, Mauritania between September - November 2009 5,000
SoGo Dublin Arts Festival presenting Irish Film Festival in Kas, Turkey 15th-18th September, 2011. 5,000
Premiere screening of 2 Films in London, October, 2006. 5,000
REEL, the First Ireland-Scotland Film Festival to be held in Scotland in October/November 2006 4,000
Inviting international festival programmers to the Galway Film Fleadh, July 2007 4,000
Inviting ONCE film director John Carey to the Melbourne International Film Festival 25 July - 12 Aug 2007, Australia 4,000
Attendence at the Galway Film Fleadh, July 2006 3,500
Irish participation in Arcipelago, the 13th Festival of Short Films and New Images in Rome in June 2005 3,150
Participation at Beckett-an Exhibition, Film Series and Symposium, in Toronto from November 8 to December 22, 2006. 3,000
A showcase of Irish film and music and a workshop series at the Festival du Film Amazigh in Algerie in December 2006/January 2007 3,000
Performing "New Boy" at the 16th International Kodomotachino Kinder Film Festival in Tokyo from the 9th - 17th August 2008 3,000
Participation in a one-day- festival of film by Irish women in the Irish Cultural Centre in France, France from 28 -30 Sept. 2007 3,000
Participation in the 9th Seoul International Youth Filmmaking Camp in South Korea from 19 - 24 July 2007 3,000
Showing "Damb - The Mali Project" in Meeting House Square, Temple Bar on the 23rd July 2008 3,000
A screening of the current programme in Anthology, New York, 2 - 4 Oct and in the Cairo Film Festival, November, 2008 3,000
Presenting "Watching & Waiting" at the Melbourne International Film Festival, August 2010 3,000
Showcasing Irish film at the San Francisco Irish Film Festival, USA from the 9th - 12th September 2010 3,000
Presenting Irish films through "Irish Sidebar" at the 38th Norwegian International Film festival, Norway from the 21st - 26th August 2010 3,000
screening an Irish small Animation movie at the Prestigious "Prehilidka Animovaneho Filmu" film Festival, Czech Republic, 11th - 14th December 2008 3,000
Screening arthouse and experimental Irish short films and animation at the ISAFF Open Cinema Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia on 19 Aug. 2007 2,800
Showing Irish films by Jim Sheridan in the Cinemateca Portuguesa, Museu Do Cinema, Lisbon from 12 -17 Oct. 2007 2,500
Attending the Film Market at the Venice Film Festival 2007 from 3 8 Sept. 2007 2,000
Presenting a retrospective of John T Davis films in Sao Paulo and Curitiba, Brazil from the 26th August - 1st September 2010 2,000
Organising the Irish Short Film Season at the Liverpool Irish Festival 2010 at Fact - Foundation for Art and Creative Technologies, Liverpool from the 15th-31st October 2010 2,000
Cork Film Festival presenting Irish Film Showcase at the Liverpool Irish Festival, 27th and 28th October, 2011 2,000
Presenting own short animated films and documentary feature at the International Animation Film Festival Hiroshima 2010 from the 6th - 12th August 2010 1,500
Presentation of her films and discussion on her work at the Versmidjan Hjalteyri Arts Centre Iceland from the 20th-27th August 2009 1,000
Screening of film "Fileacn" at the 13th Rhode Island International Film Festival from the 4th - 9th August 2009 1,000
Presenting the Irish Short Film Festival in Ukraine from the 26th August - 14th September 2010 900
The ICON-TLV SF Festival presenting Irish filmmaker Conor Horgan at Screening of '100 Mornings' in Tel-Aviv Cinematheque Israel, 15th-27th October, 2011. 850
Showing "Till Every Motion, Pulse and Breath Be Over" at the Brick Lane area in London's East End, August 2008 700
Programme of regular screening of Irish films and associated events at the London Irish Centre in 2009 600
Screening "Split Lip" at the Straight 8 Film Festival in London in August 2009 200
Producing a film project in collaboration with Travel Queeries documenting the Copenhagen Queer Festival in July 2007
Showcasing "the best of Ireland" at the Irish Film and Television branches in New York and Los Angeles from Aug. 2007 - March 2008

Film Total: 169,700 [Total for Summer 2011: €3,693,213]
-----------------------------
Spring 2011
Summary Description Amount Approved (€)

The 2nd phase of Reel Ireland programme, which is to promote and co-ordinate Irish feature films on an international level in various venues throughout 2006. 90,000
Screen Directors Guild of Ireland hosting the annual General Assembly of the Federation of European Film Directors in Dublin Ireland from the 14th - 15th June 2008 8,000
Screen Directors Guild of Ireland hosting the annual Director Finders Series to enable Irish Directors to present their film to the American Film industry on the 26th September 2008 7,000
Motovun Film Festival - "Made in Ireland" to be held in the town of Motovun, Croatian region of Istria, July 25-29, 2011. 6,000
Performing the "Small Engine Repair" Film at the Nashville Film Festival from the 19th - 26th April 2007 6,000
Towards the cost of showing their film Eden at the Tribecca Film Festival, New York, USA April 2008 5,000
Performing a play "Eyes of the Docks" in Canada, Lebanon, Holland and Jordan 4,000
Participation at the 3rd Annual San Francisco Irish Film Festival, March 2006. 3,813
Irish participation in the Centre's European Union Film Festival in March 2006 3,000
International film programmers to attend the Galway Film Fleadh from the 8th - 13th July 2008 3,000
A market screening of Irish short films at the Festival du Court from January 29th to February 3rd, 2006. 2,876
Cinematheque Tel Aviv presenting Irish films as part of the Docaviv - Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, Israel from the 12th - 21st May 2011 2,400
Participation in the Short Films From International Festivals 2,350
Irish participation in "The Craic" Festival in New York in March 2006 2,000
Performing a concert with Liam Clancy at the Whitehorse Tavern, Greenwich Village, New York on the 30th June 2008 2,000
Ross McDonnell presenting his movie "Colony" at the 12th Docaviv tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival from the 6th-15th May 2010 2,000
Irish participation in the Films @ Kilburn Festival at the Tricycle Cinema, London in July 2009 1,500
Attending Toronto documentary for which their film the Trial has been selected for attendence from 22 23 April 2008. 1,500
Associazione Amici del Future Film Festival: Focus on: Contemporary Animation in Ireland at Future Film Festival, Bologna 20 - 23 April 2011.
1,000
Showing "1897-1979" at the Portland Documentary and Experimental Film Festival, US from the 6th - 10th May 2009 750
Organising the 6th Directors Finders Series Award at the America Theatre, Los Angeles, USA on the 24th September 2010

Total: 154,189 [Total for Spring 2011: €4,537,091]