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.