Remarks at a Reception to Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Bord Scannán na hÉireann
Áras an Uachtaráin, 25th April 2013
May I welcome you all to Áras an Uachtaráin.
Ba chúis áthais dom gur iarradh orm bheith i m’óstach don ócáid seo inniu le cothrom fiche bliain athbhunú Bhord Scannán na hÉireann/Irish Film Board a cheiliúradh. Déanann an failtiú seo An Bord Scannán/The Film Board a cheiliúradh, ar ceann de bhunchlocha éacht cultúrtha na hÉireann é.
[I was very pleased to be asked to host this event today to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Bord Scannán na hÉireann/Irish Film Board's re-establishment. This reception celebrates one of the cornerstones of Ireland’s cultural achievement – Bord Scánnan – The Film Board.]
An Bord Scannán was re-established in 1993 and it was my privilege for its re-establishment, or more accurately it’s re-funding to be one of my first decisions when I became Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht.
There is a rich history associated with Irish film, an archive that grows richer and above all, a talented and ever heroic film community.
I do think that it is important to acknowledge that in its first phase from 1980 to 1987 Bord Scannán na hÉireann/Irish Film Board made a crucial contribution to Irish film making culture and activity producing such works as ‘Eat the Peach’, ‘Reefer and the Model’, ‘Anne Devlin’ and ‘Angel’.
After the removal of funding from the Irish Film Board in 1987 Irish stories and film-maker’s continued to achieve considerable international success including the Oscar nominated films ‘My Left Foot’, ‘The Crying Game’, ‘The Field’ and the box office success ‘The Commitments’, which were all produced with non-Irish finance.
The success of these projects coupled with intensive local lobbying by members of the film community led to my being able to convince the Cabinet of the day of the case for the re-establishment of the Irish Film Board.
I was powerfully assisted by the 1992 Report of the Working Group on Irish Film, the Secretary to which was Chris O’Grady whom I am delighted to welcome along with your good selves here tonight, and I am glad to see some of the team which worked with me in what was then a new Department here this evening including my then advisor, Colm Ó Briain, and my Programme Manager, Kevin O’Driscoll.
Re-funding An Bord Scannán was just one of a set of steps which were proposed to develop and promote Irish film and independent television production. Other steps included independent commissioning by Teilifis na Gaeilge, investment and training by Údarás na Gaeltachta, and a role for independent productions.
Following the re-establishment of An Bord Scannán, film quickly became a highly valued activity on a cultural and economic level.
In more recent times The Government’s Enterprise Strategy Group report ‘Ahead of the Curve – Ireland’s Place in the Global Economy’ (July 2004) has spoken of the development of high added value intellectual property as a competitive advantage in Ireland in delivering a new vision and strategy for industrial policy.
The programmes of the Irish Film Board have provided Irish film talent with the opportunity to realise the development of a rich variety of significant projects. In 2010, the Irish film industry supported 261 productions and provided employment to over 16,000 people. What is even more important is the recognition of the large range of skills involved in filmmaking and their availability now with so many educational and training opportunities on offer.
Export of Irish film and television has also grown in recent years, with millions of audiences around the world watching Ireland on screen.
A key strategy for the IFB is finding new-co-production partners as industry continues to move away from traditional reliance on the UK for the co-finance and distribution of Irish films in Ireland. While it is recognized that the Irish commercial market is small, Irish films, audiences, exhibitors, distributors, filmmakers and production companies are not reaching their full potential owing to the historical dependence on the UK and the gap now left by the lack of UK finance for Irish films.
It is time that Irish intellectual capital is exploited from Ireland to its full potential – domestically and internationally – rather than watered down and managed by diverse overseas interests. It will take time for this strategy to bear fruit but there is undisputed economic, export and employment potential in the Irish audiovisual sector. The ownership and retention of rights for Irish-owned intellectual property is a growing trend in the animation sector and one which is beginning to emerge in other sectors of the industry.
Animation, for example, is a key success story for Ireland. Much of the current animation talent emanated from the Sullivan Bluth Studio when it was based in Ireland in the late 1980S and early 1990s.
The Irish Film Board is a key funder of animation, a growing digital sector of the industry crossing traditional content and story development and new technologies.
Film however, is never a mere commodity. It is an art form that expresses the imagination, the memory and the complex present of a people. In using the many and various artistic mechanisms in innovative and challenging ways, such as script, lighting, direction, music and silence, film has the possibility of addressing and conveying the very essence of our being, of our human struggles.
Some of the issues explored most effectively by Irish film-makers aptly reflect the deep concerns of our citizenry including portrayal of immigration within an Irish context, social exclusion and our struggle with sexual repression and frustration.
The Irish Film Board from 1993 to 2004 played its important part in developing an indigenous industry that produced over 100 feature films and which saw tremendous success both critically and commercially. Irish films won major international awards and the industry was punching well above its weight. Irish film talent was being recognised internationally and cooperation between Irish producers, writers and directors was well underway producing such work as ‘Ailsa’, ‘I Went Down’, ‘About Adam’, ‘Disco Pigs’, ‘Song for a Raggy Boy’, ‘Intermission’, ‘Man About Dog’ and many other nationally and internationally acclaimed films.
Central to the role of the Board has been the identification, development and support of emerging Irish talent, often through short and low budget films. Examples of internationally acclaimed talent who worked on Irish Film Board funded projects in the early part of their careers include Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan, Damien O’Donnell, Seamus McGarvey, Brendan Gleeson and Stephen Rea.
In this period Ireland enjoyed high levels of film production through the utilisation of the film tax incentive Section 35, which later became Section 481 of the Taxes Consolidated Act, 1997. Ireland was innovative in introducing a film production tax incentive, which has since been copied by many other countries.
Since 2005, Irish films have picked up 130 significant awards worldwide and have also been selected for the most prestigious film festivals in the world including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and Sundance, screening to international critical acclaim.
Major successes of note include:
‘The Wind that Shakes the Barley’ winning the Palm d’Or (Best Film) Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006.
In the same year the Oscar for Best Short Film was awarded to Martin McDonagh’s Irish film ‘Six Shooter’ which starred Brendan Gleeson.
These accomplishments were closely followed by more success in Cannes when Lenny Abrahamson’s film ‘Garage’ was selected for the prestigious Directors Fortnight strand and brought home the CICEA Award in 2007.
Also in 2007 John Carney’s film ‘Once’ became the ‘little film that could’ winning the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. It went on to blaze a trail of success in its wake with 18 award nominations and 14 wins including the Oscar for Best Song at the 2008 Academy Awards and the coveted prize of Best Foreign Film at the Independent Spirit Awards.
The Irish Film Board has also done much valuable work in both encouraging new talent in the film industry and attracting and developing new audiences for cinema. Film education is important and the level rises with an ever widening critical community aware of technical and artistic achievements.
The Board’s most recent strategy committed to enabling ‘the growth and exposure of Irish film talent through a coordinated skills strategy’. This goal underlines the investment which the Irish Film Board has made, and continues to make, to the future of our film community ensuring that we continue to empower creative citizens to make their unique and valuable contribution to our culture and indeed to our economy.
But film is important for our citizens. Going to the pictures, arguing about film, imagining film, adds immeasurably to an Irish evening out. The support of the Irish Film Board to the Cinemobile launched in 2001 is a great example of bringing arts and culture right into the heart of society and into the everyday spaces we inhabit, allowing them to be enjoyed and appreciated by all. Since its launch several hundreds of thousands of citizens have benefitted from this mobile cinema which has enabled them to participate in the Irish film culture as engaged and appreciative audiences.
The credit for success of the Irish Film Board over the last twenty years is due in the main to the writers, producers, directors, cast and crew who all combine to make a film happen. However, it would be remiss of me not to mention all of the dedicated hard work and effort of the staff and board members of An Bord Scánnan/The Irish Film Board who served on the board or were employed in the agency during these last two decades. There are so many that one might mention. They all deserve very hearty congratulations.
In particular I recall the late Tiernan Mc Bride who made such an immeasurable contribution to the Irish Film Industry. I would also like to mention Lelia Doolan who became the first Chairman of the newly constituted An Bord Scánnan/The Irish Film Board and whose artistic courage and rebellious talent has not only won her critical acclaim but has paved the way for a younger generation of innovative film makers and original Irish work.
Looking to the future, film as part of the audio-visual ecology is critical in the development of our rich cultural and artistic heritage. Creativity, community, citizenship and cultural industries are inextricably linked.
From local arts centres, through national cultural institutions, to stages, screens and bookshops in cities worldwide, Irish art and artists bring a shared meaning and celebration of the human spirit.
Chomh maith leis sin, tarraingíonn siad, cáil shainiúil ar Éirinn mar thír a dtugtar tacaíocht láidir don nuálaíocht agus don chruthaitheacht inti. Is i saothar ealaíontóirí agus oibrithe cultúir na hÉireann is ea ba shláine agus feabhsaithe clú na hÉireann.
[They also bring a distinctive renown to Ireland, as a country where innovation and creativity are strongly supported. It is in the work of Irish artists and cultural workers that Ireland’s reputation has been safest and enhanced.]
However, the creative industries can only flourish in a sustainable way if they are rooted in creative communities where every child and adult has the opportunity to contribute and imagine and where there is access to the cultural and creative spaces for all citizens. Integral to a creative future is an appreciation of film culture and a strong welcome for new voices, brave ideas and bold advances. This role will be carried out by An Bord Scánnan/The Irish Film Board and I am in no doubt that we will be back here in another twenty to celebrate further successes.