Creative BC and Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board Announce $150,000 Fund to Support Co-Development and Gender Parity
Posted: 17th May 2018
Creative BC and Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB) are pleased to announce a new funding partnership that will encourage the development of motion picture projects between British Columbian and Irish motion picture production companies. This is the first international co-development fund of its kind in Western Canada with each partner contributing $75,000 toward the total $150,000 fund that opens for applications today.
“Originating through a trade mission to Ireland in November 2016, our funding partnership has grown from a successful pilot program in 2017 to this new funding program agreement in 2018,” said Prem Gill, CEO, Creative BC. “Creative BC is proud to partner with the Irish Film Board on this collaboration that will support BC’s domestic creators’ to leverage their expertise internationally and develop external networks.”
The original pilot program supported a BC-Irish collaboration delivering a script for a new adventure series called The Gulliver Curse. As the first co-development project to receive program funding from Creative BC through the Project Development Fund, this successful pilot became the catalyst for today’s new agency-to-agency agreement.
“Securing support for The Gulliver Curse through an international program elevated our project and opened up new opportunities for us worldwide” said Brian Hamilton, Principal and Executive Producer, Omnifilm Entertainment. “The new fund delivered in collaboration between the Irish Film Board and Creative BC will support storytellers in each region to expand their content’s reach and their business horizons.”
Importantly, the partners have been able to evaluate the preliminary pilot program and insights gained from that process have contributed to define the formal BC-Ireland co-development fund’s criteria, which will include the following requirements:
- projects must be scripted fiction;
- projects must have an Irish resident producer and a BC resident producer; and
- at least 50% of the $150,000 fund will be dedicated to projects with a female writer or director attached to the project.
“We are delighted that this new partnership will facilitate the development of new voices in both Ireland and British Columbia, and will allow both regions to develop screen content that will have the capacity to reach global audiences”, said James Hickey, Chief Executive of the Irish Film Board. “Driving gender parity with dedicated funding for projects with female writers or directors will also ensure that we champion diverse stories, perspectives and influencers in the international marketplace.”
More information about the fund, including guidelines and detailed application criteria, will be published on both creativebc.com and irishfilmboard.ie in due course.
About Creative BC
Creative BC is an independent agency created and supported by the Province of BC to sustain and help grow BC’s creative sector (film and television, digital and interactive media, music, and magazine and book publishing industries). The agency delivers a wide range of programs and services to expand BC’s creative economy. These include the administration of the provincial government’s tax credit programs for film and television; development funding and export marketing support; and motion picture production services to attract inward investment and market BC as a destination for domestic and international production. The agency acts as an industry catalyst and ambassador to help BC’s creative sector reach its economic and creative potential both at home and globally.
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram: @creativebcs
Website: www.creativebc.com
About the Irish Film Board
The Irish Film Board (IFB) is the national development agency for Irish filmmaking and the Irish film, television and animation industry, investing in talent, creativity and enterprise.
The IFB’s mission is to support and promote Irish film, television and animation through fostering Irish artistic vision and our diverse creative and production talent, growing audiences, and attracting filmmakers and investment into the country.
The IFB is committed to providing leadership, direction and advocacy for the Irish screen industries, as well as supporting writers, directors and production companies through investing in Irish filmmaking talent.
The agency delivers on its mission through generating inward investment by promoting Ireland as a film location as well as promoting Irish films to major international markets. The IFB is also committed to supporting the distribution of feature films, bringing Irish film to wider audiences and engaging with European counterparts on mutually beneficial policy initiatives.
Major Irish and international titles to have received support from the IFB in recent years include Academy Award®-nominated films such as Nora Twomey’s The Breadwinner, John Crowley’s Brooklyn, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster, and the Academy Award®-winning Room, helmed by Lenny Abrahamson. Other notable titles include John Carney’s Sing Street, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deerand Whit Stillman’s Love & Friendship alongside critically acclaimed domestic titles such as Frank Berry’s Michael Inside, Aoife McArdle’s Kissing Candice and Peter Foott’s The Young Offenders.
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram: @irishfilmboard
Website: www.irishfilmboard.ie