Film Ireland is currently working on its new website.

We apologise for the current temporary holding page but will continue to publish content (see below).

We look forward to revealing our new website very soon.

The Writers Guild of Ireland has announced the appointment of Hugh Farley as its new Director, following the departure of David Kavanagh.

The Guild is the representative body for writers in Ireland for stage and screen.  Its 510 members write for film, television, radio, theatre, animation and games providing the basic foundation for employment in Ireland of tens of thousands of people.

Hugh Farley has been Series producer on ‘Ros na Rún’ and on ‘Red Rock’, has worked as a screenwriter and served on the Board of the Guild, and has extensive experience as a director.

He replaces David Kavanagh who has taken up the position of Executive Secretary of the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe.

Screen Ireland has announced the successful applicants for funding for the first quarter of 2019 for fiction, animation, and documentary. Projects are given funding at development, production and distribution stages.

The Irish Film Institute has unveiled the first volume of The Loopline Collection, showcasing materials from Loopline Film, one of Ireland’s most influential production companies. Founded in 1992 by filmmaker Sé Merry Doyle, this pioneering company specialised in documentary and TV series, producing a number of hugely important films including significant portraits of prominent cultural figures and work highlighting pressing social issues. Among the material is previously unreleased footage of U2 playing live on Sheriff Street in 1982.

The material is accompanied online by never-before-seen outtakes, interviews and additional material, giving unparalleled access not only to the subjects themselves, but to Merry Doyle’s immersive, detailed and committed filmmaking approach.

This first volume of the collection documents fascinating moments in recent Irish social history: most timely is Liam McGrath’s Essie’s Last Stand, a look at an elderly woman’s fight to stay in her home as developers look to take over her apartment block for redevelopment. Alive Alive O: A Requiem for Dublin features original poetry from Paula Meehan, and examines a time when the livelihoods of Dublin’s iconic street traders were under threat and when drugs became a scourge of the inner city; the film, directed by Merry Doyle, includes footage shot by cinematographer Robbie Ryan, Oscar-nominated this year for his work on The Favourite. Looking On focuses on a vibrant inner city festival in 1982, spearheaded by activist Mick Rafferty and the late politician Tony Gregory, and features the early rooftop appearance by U2.
Other titles to feature as part of the collection include the intimate portrait Patrick Scott: Golden Boy, produced by Andrea Pitt and Maria Doyle Kennedy of Mermaid Films as part of RTÉ Arts Lives, which gives an unparalleled insight into the work of one of Ireland’s foremost abstract painters; the film includes footage shot by Seámus McGarvey, the Oscar-nominated cinematographer of Atonement and Anna Karenina. Patrick Kavanagh: No Man’s Fool is a focus on the life of the renowned poet, with contributions from poets John Montague and Macdara Woods, writer Dermot Healy, and singer Jimmy Kelly.

The Imprint series, hosted by Theo Dorgan and first broadcast on RTÉ between 1999 and 2001, features in-depth and revealing interviews with some of the literary world’s most notable figures such as Margaret Atwood, Richard Ford, Gore Vidal, Eavan Boland and Colm Tóibín, while the six-part series The Good Age, originally broadcast in 1997, is an intriguing look at the issues facing older people, with candid personal testimonies about intimacy, self-care and ageism.

The Loopline Collection Volume 1 is available now on the IFI Player.

The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has issued new guidelines on Section 481, the Irish tax incentive for the film, television and animation industry. There are a number of key changes in how to apply for the incentive, together with a new requirement for producers to submit a Skills Development Plan for approval by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland (Screen Ireland) for all projects with eligible expenditure in excess of €2 million.

Producers will now need to set out the estimated number of employees on set likely to be upskilled in the course of the film and submit a Proposed Skills Development Plan to Screen Ireland, which must be agreed in advance with the agency.

The Production Company is responsible for submitting their approved Skills Development Plan to Screen Ireland. Applications will be reviewed by Screen Ireland and Screen Skills Ireland (SSI) and amendments may be requested to the application, especially where specific skills deficits have been identified by the skills audit and industry engagement.

Applications will also require details on gender equality initiatives, diversity and inclusion initiatives together with a sustainability plan. The production company will be required to furnish a full compliance report in order to receive a final compliance certificate to accompany an application for the final 10% of the Tax Credit.

Applications must be made 20 working days prior to making an application to the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for certification under Section 481 Taxes Consolidated Act 1997. Applications should be emailed directly to section481@screenireland.ie

Other changes to the incentive are as follows:

• The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will now be administering the incentive, with payments still made by the Revenue
• The producer company must apply to the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for a certificate stating that the project is to be treated as a ‘qualifying film’ for the purpose of Section 481
• This application must be made to the Minister at least 21 working days prior to the commencement of Irish production
• Where the Minister issues a certificate in relation to a qualifying film and all other provisions of Section 481 are complied with, a producer company may then make a claim for the film corporation tax credit.
• The system will work on a self-assessment model in which Revenue will no longer issue a certificate indicating the amount of tax credit the production should be entitled to.

Commenting on the changes James Hickey, Chief Executive, Screen Ireland said: “We welcome the new changes to the administration of Section 481. The new skills development requirement linked to the tax credit will provide a strong structured basis for the sector to grow and develop in the coming years, focusing on the skills of the individuals working within the industry. The new skills development requirement is wide-ranging and inclusive, covering skills development across all levels of production, focusing on quality over quantity in terms of the outcomes it delivers.

“We look forward to working with the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, who will now be administering the incentive with the Revenue. We also look forward to the expected publication of guidelines on eligible expenditure and PAYE/Schedule D employees from the Revenue, which will help ensure the incentive works more efficiently.”

For more information visit https://www.screenireland.ie/filming/section-481

The Galway Film Fleadh and Galway 2020 are looking for young film fans to take part in the European Film Academy (EFA)’s Young Audience Award. The EFA Young Audience Award is a simultaneous, Europe-wide, film viewing event for young people aged between 12 – 14 years. Participation is free.

On Sunday 5th May, three nominated films are screened in 56 different cities, in 35 different European countries. Each participating city has an audience of young people, who act as a jury and vote for their favourite film. And all participating cities interact with each other via video conference and social media.

In between screenings, film educators lead the audience in discussions about the films they’ve seen.

The entire day culminates with the audience transmitting the results of the national vote – a bit like the Eurovision Song Contest.

Being on the jury for the Young Audience Award offers a unique opportunity to discover great films, that don’t normally play in the your local multiplex. It presents films which reflect the realities of young people all over Europe and raises interest in European stories, people, cultures and societies, building bridges to exchange different points of view and increasing awareness of important social issues.

The three nominated films are: Fight Girl, about a headstrong 12 year old named Bo whose parents’ divorce is distracting her from the Dutch national kickboxing championship; Los Bando,a crazy road movie about a young band from Norway who journey across the country to attend the National Championship of Rock in a race against time, the police and their parents; and Old Boys, set in an all-boys boarding school in England, where social misfit Amberson finds himself playing matchmaker for the school hero Winchester, who has a crush on the French teacher’s fiery daughter Agnes. 

To join the Galway jury of the Young Audience Award, you must be aged 12 to 14, be attending school in Galway City or County and have an active interest in films. The EFA Young Audience Award will take place on Sunday May 5^that Pálás Galway, from 9:30a.m. – 6p.m.

The Bird and The Whale

The 2019 Irish Animation Awards ceremony was held in Dingle last night  and the big winner was Paper Panther Productions, who scooped up three awards, including Best Animation and Best Design & Art Direction for the stunning The Bird and The Whale. They also won the Best Newcomer Award, a new category introduced this year.

Among the other major winners on the night were Cartoon Saloon for The Breadwinner (Best Feature) and Brown Bag Films for Vampirina, which won Best Animated Preschool Series (up to 6 years) and Best Writer for an Animated Series.

Boulder Media and Windmill Lane’s Danger Mouse was another outstanding success, bringing home three awards for Best Director, Best Music and Best Sound Design. Nora Twomey, the Oscar nominated director of Cartoon Saloon’s The Breadwinner also came home with the prestigious Murakami Award.

The awards this year was the biggest yet for animation Ireland, with four new awards categories and a huge increase in the number of entrants. There are 16 categories in total, up from 12 in 2017 and one of our new awards is the Kids’ Choice Award, with the winner being chosen by primary school children across the country. Another new category is Best Newcomer, which according to , Animation Ireland Chairperson Moe Honan ‘’shows the continuing increase in the amount of new studios being set up. The new award categories and the sheer volume of entries reflect the substantial growth in the sector over the past two years.’’

Winners of each category received a statuette designed by animator, film maker and teacher Eimhin McNamara. The statuette resembles a Phenakistoscope which was an early animation device used to create an illusion of motion.

Full List of Winners:

Best Animated Preschool Series (up to 6 years)

Vampirina: Going Batty – Brown Bag Films

Best Animated Short Film

The Wiremen: Jessica Patterson/ JAM Media

Best International Short Film

All the Things- Chris Guyot & Paul McMahon (USA/IRL)

Best Writer for Preschool Animation (up to 6 years)

Becca’s Bunch: Acorn King- Shane Langan & Amy Stephenson

Best Writer for an Animated Series

Vampirina: Home Scream Home -Chris Nee/ Brown Bag Films

Best VFX as part of Animated TV Series or Film

Space Chickens in Space – Paul Rutledge/ Gingerbread Animation

Best Animation for Apps, Gaming and Interactive

Aurora- Pink Kong Studios

Best Design and Art Direction

The Bird and the Whale- Carol Freeman/ Paper Panther Productions

Best Director of an Animated TV Series

Danger Mouse- Aidan McAteer/ Boulder Media

Best Animation

The Bird and the Whale- Eimhin McNamara & Carol Freeman/ Paper Panther

Best Music

Danger Mouse: Melted- Sanj Sen and Dominic Lawrence /Boulder Media

Best Sound Design

Danger Mouse- Dominic Lawrence and Sol O’Carroll/ Windmill Lane

Best Irish Feature Film or Special

The Breadwinner- Nora Twomey/ Cartoon Saloon

Best Newcomer

Paper Panther Productions

Kid’s Choice Award For Best  Pre-School Animated Series (up to 6 years)

The Doc Mc Stuffins Christmas Special-Brown Bag Films

 Kid’s Choice Award For Best  Animated Series (6-12 years)

Space Chickens in Space- Gingerbread Animation

Murakami Award

Nora Twomey