Rebecca O’Flanagan is Irelands ‘Producer on the Move’ at the Cannes Film Festival
My Brothers producer Rebecca O'Flanagan from Treasure Entertainment is Irelands European Film Promotion's (EFP) ‘Producer on the Move' at the Cannes International Film Festival.
A graduate of University College Dublin and King's Inns, Rebecca worked freelance for a number of years in the Irish film industry before becoming manager of Film Makers Ireland. In 2000, she joined the Irish Film Board to work as Development Manager. In 2004, she established Rubicon Films, which partnered with Treasure Entertainment, of which she is also now a director. Since then she has produced the short RIGHT NOW LADIES AND GENTS and the IFTA-winning TV series THE RUNNING MATE.
In 2008, she executive produced Conor McPherson's feature film THE ECLIPSE which opened at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival where it won the Best Actor Award. In 2010 it won the IFTA for Best Feature Film. Rebecca was back at Tribeca last year with Paul Fraser's MY BROTHERS which she produced through Rubicon Films in 2009. The same year she produced the IFTA-winning series YOUR BAD SELF. She has lectured on the Master of Arts in Screenwriting at the School of Film and Digital Media in Galway as well as a number of other international film courses.
The aim of the EFP is to select enterprising producers from various European countries, to focus the spotlight on them, supporting their networking on a European level and attract the attention of the international film industry and press. The programme, which is funded by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union, the EFP member organisations and sponsors, is successfully used by the participants at the film festival in Cannes as a platform to make new contacts.
Over three days during the festival, Rebecca and the other 24 selected producers will be put into the spotlight and brought together with the international film industry and press. They will be able to discuss ideas as well as the planning and financing of international projects, and explore the potential for possible co-productions. As a result of these diverse meetings and the focus from the international festival publications in Cannes, the selected producers will develop many new ideas and gain many new contacts.
Other recent Irish ‘Producers on the Move' include Macdara Kelleher, Fastnet Films (The Runway, Kisses, Nothing Personal), Katie Holly, Blinder Films (Sensation, One Hundred Mornings, Come on Eileen) and Andrew Freedman, Venom (His & Hers, The Herd, Return to Roscoff).
More About Producers on the Move
2011 will see the largest number of participants since the programmes launched 12 years ago. 25 outstanding film producers from 25 European countries will be taking part in European Film Promotion's networking platform PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE at the Cannes International Film Festival between 14th - 17th May. Albania is represented with a producer for the first time.
Financially supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union, the initiative offers the participants an ideal opportunity via its numerous networking events to forge contacts with colleagues from other European countries as well as to meet representatives of film funds and learn more about the production conditions within Europe. In addition, the participants profit from the PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE label which is now linked to the names of such internationally successful (co-)producers as Janine Jackowski of Komplizenfilm (Germany - Sleeping Sickness), Daniel Mitulescu of Strada Film (Romania - If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle) or Ferenc Pusztai of KMH Film (Hungary - Adrienn Pál). From the past three editions 60% of the participants have worked with one another on concrete projects, some of the films have already been realised and others are still under negotiation or at the planning stage.
Some of this year's lineup from PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE will be represented in various sections of the Cannes Film Festival. Iceland's Hlín Jóhannesdóttir of Zik Zak Filmworks co-produced Rúnar Rúnarsson's Volcano which has been selected for the Directors' Fortnight, while Cinefondation, Cannes' platform for the promotion of innovative productions, has picked Attila Csáky's project Hier by Balint Kenyeres as well as Bogdan Mustata's Wolf, which will be co-produced by Gian-Piero Ringel (Germany), to participate in this year's edition of the Atelier. In addition, the award-winning feature debut Sebbe by Swedish producer Mimmi SpÇ»ng will be presented in the Cannes Junior category.
All of this year's participants have projects in the pipeline with great potential and a European orientation. Their latest films have attracted international attention. For instance, The Albanian, co-produced by Dritan Huqi (OnFILM Production), and Loss, produced by Latvia's Linda Krukle (KrukFilms), were both awarded critics' prizes.
For the second time, EFP will be cooperating for PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE with experts for film financing: with Eurimages, the largest European co-production fund, and with Commerzbank. They will provide the participating producers in Cannes with information about complementary financing opportunities.