Territory Focus: Ireland

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Overview

Irish Film Board

Hot projects

The current boom in the Irish film industry could crudely be boiled down to people and money. The top creative and business talents at work need financial support to grow; yet investing cash into less-than-stellar talents would help no-one. So it’s those remarkably talented writers, directors and producers having access to smart money that has led to Ireland’s film industry being arguably at its peak.

The Irish Film Board’s support has kept the industry buoyant even during recent rough years when the country at large was undergoing an economic crisis.

The Section 481 tax scheme is stable and healthy, and set to become even more lucrative soon. And Ireland’s producers are adept co-producers, also helped as the only English-speaking territory with access to Eurimages funding.

But when we talk about great films, we don’t talk about the patchwork of financing, but the magic we’ve seen on screen. For a country of 4.6 million people, Ireland is punching above its weight creatively.

There’s the animation boom that has led to four Oscar nominations since 2002, strength in genre films (Irish director Ruairi Robinson’s sci-fi project The Last Days On Mars has landed in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes) and great independent dramas from the likes of John Michael McDonagh, Lance Daly and Lenny Abrahamson.

Throughout history, the Irish have been lauded for their storytelling tradition. With the right business smarts behind them, Ireland’s current generation of storytellers are demonstrating their prowess on the world stage.