Fundamental Principles
Screen Ireland’s assessment and decisions in relation to funding are guided by factors which include editorial and creative merits as well as a number of important investment considerations.
Our principles for review are broken down under the following headings:
- Creative Vision
- Talent Development
- Accessing Audiences
- Culture & Additionality
- Industry Growth & Creative Ambition
Creative Vision
Screen Ireland supports the pursuit of high-quality audiovisual works. We are committed in funding projects of increased value to the Irish and International market that represent our identity, creativity and storytelling strength in a clear, powerful and authentic way.
In considering whether to support a project for funding Screen Ireland will focus on the following editorial objectives:
- Clarity of Vision
- Authenticity & Originality
All projects must clearly indicate their aims and objectives and how they plan to (in terms of development funding) or have achieved these targets.
Clarity of Vision
Proposals for funding should be clear and concise in terms of their submission. Those proposals which directly indicate the opportunity and set out the pathway forward in terms of the creative proposal and its journey are favoured.
Clarity can be achieved through rigorous examination of not only the broader proposal and copy, but also by ensuring that the creative world, characters and broader themes of any submission are clearly indicated within the proposal.
Whilst there is scope for continued development, Production applications will need to be fully formed and the basic foundation of the above creative elements clearly understood and considered.
In the case of Development, whilst some of these elements may not be fully formed, a clear statement of intent and process should be indicated.
Authenticity & Originality
Screen Ireland funding will be directed in supporting projects that offer an authentic and original purpose, ensuring high quality creative work, though the talents of Irish writers, directors, producers and other key personnel.
At the heart of Screen Ireland funding, is the support of new, ambitious and authentic stories which offer a new perspective and drive a different sensibility and understanding on screen. This creates opportunities to project a broad range of diverse, talent driven narratives that connect to audiences due to their inherent distinctive and honest voice, ultimately defining a unique USP.
Funding decisions will favour those creative talents who bring to the screen a strongly individual view of the world, and who create works that give a new and/or reinvigorated approach to that experience.
These requirements do not mean that existing forms or genres will be avoided, but instead that the Irish writers, directors and producers supported will bring a fresh approach and new thinking to these forms or genres.
Given the limited capacity for market, Irish talent will need to be able to work with talent from other countries on projects being funded by Screen Ireland, and originality will continue to be factored in as part of the assessment of the combined talents of all parties involved.
Talent Development
At the core of Screen Ireland funding is the development of Irish talent, which includes a broad range of diverse voices and backgrounds.
We actively encourage and seek out opportunities to support an increasingly wider range of perspectives and viewpoints through the projects and stories that we fund.
Strong preference will be given to submissions which:
- are of Irish initiation in a creative sense; that is, conceived, written, produced and/or to be directed by Irish talents
- entail new, emerging, and diverse Irish talent in key creative roles, i.e. director, writer, producer, composer, principal actor and other heads of departments.
Accessing Audiences
Screen Ireland is increasingly focused on ensuring that funding decisions will favour projects that reach a clearly defined audience.
This does not mean that Screen Ireland is only interested in supporting material with commercial prospects, but instead that it is open to considering projects that may appeal to a wide range of viewers, be they commercial, arthouse, festival-going or cross platform etc.
Particular emphasis will be paid to a project's potential to engage its intended audience as well as the planned approach and scale of the project.
A clear audience opportunity must be present and considered as part of each individual proposal with a focus in reaching new and diverse communities and a broad range of interests.
Culture & Additionality
In responding to needs of the Irish audiovisual production industry, Screen Ireland considers that certain projects, in terms of their content, provenance or benefit to the industry, represent clear priorities for its funding.
Culture
Screen Ireland places increased importance on projects and submissions that are culturally representative and offer unique Irish perspectives. Submissions which offer further opportunity to find a voice for our rich culture and traditions are recognised within our review and we seek to ensure there is a range of traditional and modern Irish themes and topics supported as part of our funding. This includes content which focuses on Irish Heritage, diverse Communities and Landscape and offers a contemporary relevance to the Irish perspective and history.
Strong preference will be given to submissions which:
- tell Irish stories, drawing on and depicting Ireland's culture, history, way of life, view of the world and of itself
- are made wholly or predominantly in the Irish language
Additionality
An essential rationale for making public money available to an industry is that it should create activity that would not otherwise occur, i.e. that the market, left to itself, would not create.
It follows that audiovisual works backed by the Screen Ireland should be those that would not be made or would not be made with the same level of benefit to Ireland, unless enabled to do so with the support of Screen Ireland. Such audiovisual works and the benefits that flow from them represent ‘additional' economic activity.
This does not mean that Screen Ireland is interested only in supporting material with limited commercial prospects. There is a wealth of evidence in our audiovisual history to show that the successes are frequently ground-breaking projects.
Screen Ireland will give energetic backing to producers who display an ambition to achieve market success and to projects that display an awareness of the market while at the same time providing a challenge to existing perceptions of what the marketplace expects.
Industry Growth & Creative Ambition
Screen Ireland also supports projects that offer an increased growth trajectory for the Irish Audiovisual Sector.
Screen Ireland is seeking to achieve further innovation in creative storytelling, targeting local and international opportunity and building creative producers, talent and a broader industry of scale through increased international partnership and visibility, whilst also supporting continuous employment and spend in the Irish economy.
Serious attention will also be paid to submissions which:
- propose a distinctly Irish project (in terms of setting, characters, etc.) that has international investment and is a partnership of Irish and non-Irish talent.
- involves an Irish producer as minority co-producer where (a) Screen Ireland is convinced of the quality of the project and (b) the amount of the Screen Ireland's investment corresponds to the level of involvement of Irish personnel, elements (shoot, postproduction, etc) and facilities in the project.
Screen Ireland will always be vigilant in ensuring that investments entail a high volume of expenditure on Irish personnel and in the Irish industry, and this aspect of a submission is likely to play a material part in a positive decision.
Further consideration will also be given in relation to:
Track-record of the Producer
- Has the producer managed and delivered audiovisual works in a professional and efficient manner before?
- Has Screen Ireland had positive previous experience of dealing with the producer and the creative team?
- In a co-production, do the non-Irish producers involved have good professional track records?
Irish Employment
- Are the key creative and technical positions to be filled by Irish personnel?
- In a co-production, is the proportion of these appropriate?
- Will the production offer employment to Irish personnel across all possible grades?
Spend in the Irish economy
- Will the work be made in the Republic of Ireland?
- Will the project make extensive use of Irish production and post-production facilities?
- Will the project attract inward investment into the Irish economy?
Sales and Distribution
- Is there a target against international sales for the film or television series?
- Does the project have a distributor attached?
- Are any sales agents, distributors or broadcasters providing production finance?
Financial Structure
- Are the proposed co-financiers of the film or television programme reliable?
- Will the proposed financing arrangements allow Screen Ireland to negotiate a reasonable recoupment position?
- Will there be reasonable transparency of accounting with regard to sales revenues, e.g. by use of a collection agent?
Further Note: Some Screen Ireland funding programmes have specific criteria of their own and are not necessarily governed by all of the principles set out above.
Cinema Distribution
Distribution Support is provided to Irish distributors of Screen Ireland-backed films who demonstrate that funding from Screen Ireland will enhance the promotion of a film in the Irish market. Direct Distribution/Exhibition Support is provided to Irish producers to help defray the cost of a limited theatrical release in Ireland (including Northern Ireland) for feature films already in receipt of Screen Ireland production funding that have been unable to secure suitable theatrical distribution by a bona fide Irish distribution company but that still have clear potential to reach and engage an Irish audience.