Screen Ireland Recognises Resilience of the Irish Creative Screen Industries Facing Unprecedented Challenges through 2020
Posted: 10th December 2020
Screen Ireland Recognises Resilience of the Irish Creative Screen Industries Facing Unprecedented Challenges through 2020
Speaking at the Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht yesterday, Chief Executive Désirée Finnegan highlighted the challenges faced by the creative screen industries throughout COVID-19.
Désirée Finnegan provided a broad outline of the difficulties that were faced by the industry when production came to a standstill in March this year, highlighting the resilience of the sector working collaboratively since the start of the crisis, prioritising health and safety. By the end of 2020, 12 feature films, 3 TV productions, 8 Animated TV shows and 13 Documentaries supported by Screen Ireland will have been produced. A number of major international productions have also wrapped including Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, and TV series Valhalla and Foundation are also in production.
Screen Ireland also discussed the broad range of nineteen COVID-19 measures which have been introduced throughout the pandemic, the latest of which includes a new Animation Concept and Innovation Fund, regional talent academies for TV Drama and Animation and a support fund for cinemas, who continue to face significant challenges.
In immediate response to the pandemic, the agency rapidly repurposed funding to focus on project development which could continue remotely. Support was provided for distributors who had to contend with films scheduled for cinema release transitioning to other at-home viewing platforms. Skills development was also prioritised as Screen Skills Ireland transitioned all of its courses online free-of-charge and later introduced new COVID-19 Return to Work and Compliance Officer training.
Throughout the pandemic, Screen Ireland’s key priority has been to get the industry back to work, with the health and safety of cast and crew the primary concern. In preparation for recommencing production, Screen Ireland supported Screen Producers Ireland in the development of comprehensive health and safety guidelines and introduced a COVID-19 Production Funding to help address the increased cost of the new protocols.
Screen Ireland was awarded €5 million by Minister Catherine Martin T.D. to administer a Production Continuation Fund for the sector, in response to the challenge around production risk. This fund was run as a pilot in 2020 and it was emphasised that it will still be required into 2021. The animation industry was also commended on demonstrating outstanding resilience, adapting quickly to remote working and keeping production activity going despite many challenges.
As part of the committee briefing, Screen Ireland also addressed the work that is being carried out in recent years to bridge industry skills gaps, the close alignment of skill development with the Section 481 tax incentive, along with new opportunities to engage closely with new technology, future skills and new industry entrants.
Looking Ahead to 2021
Screen Ireland is expecting a significant amount of production activity in 2021, including large-scale TV productions in Limerick, Cork, Donegal and Dublin. There are also a number of proposed developments in studio infrastructure that have the potential to transform Ireland’s international offering in the coming years.