Ireland Film & Television Net : News

10th Galway Film Fleadh Since Lelia Doolan and Miriam Allen set up the Galway film fleadh in 1998 it has grown into the main Irish film festival and continues to develop. Pat Collins as new programme director did an excellent job in continuing the tradition of showing new, exciting and challenging material from around the world that we would rarely get to see in Ireland otherwise.

Competition & Mergers Review Group to investigate Media Monopoly After the recent relevations that Ray Burke the Fianna Fail TD received payments from a company connected to the media tycoon Tony O'Reilly which 'may' have affected his decisions in the distribution of MMDS licenses, investigations into media ownership and competition have begun.

TnaG Increases Audience Share The channel is currently broadcasting four and half-hours daily and can be received by 74% of the national audience and on all basic cable packages. The station would appear to be positioning itself outside its initial remit in order to face the realities of the market.

Cablelink sale. In keeping with it's commitments to opening the telecommunications and broadcast markets to full competition in line with European directives the government has ordered that Cablelink be sold off before the end of the year.

Galway Film Fleadh 10th Birthday Both the Galway Film Fleadh and the Galway Film Centre celebrated their 10th Birthdays this year during the Fleadh in the Film Centre on the 8th of July. Needless to say a wild time was had by all.

6th Dublin Lesbian & Gay Film Festival

Announced this week: Deadline for Miramax Award Application - details tomorrow

Upcoming events over the next couple of months

Ardmore Sound Visit Ardmore Sound, Ireland's leading sound post-production house...

Welcome to IFTN News Updated Friday 17 July 1998

Well, we have just about survived another Galway Film Fleadh.

It's beginning to get the stage where I mark my age by the amount of Fleadh's I've attended. It is, at the best of times, a rather hectic week for all involved and this year was no different. Pat Collins did a fantastic job as festival programmer, serving up some of the best films that will be seen in Ireland this year. Festival Manager, Deborah McVey, ran a frighteningly well organised programme of events and films. To be honest, I found it a bit disconcerting half the fun of the Fleadh use to be the chaos that surrounded the whole event. Lelia Doolan was her usual power house of energy making sure nothing stood in the way of a successful Fleadh and God help anybody who got in her way. As a prime example she moved the IFTN stand while we were all at lunch, I came back to find our backdrop wrapped around a statue in a completely different part of the Town Hall, I spent the rest of the festival fending her off and praying we wouldn't end up in the broom closet, but what can you do, it's all part of the crack. Needless to say there were many late nights or more correctly early mornings in the Fleadh club where as we all know the real business is done. The Fleadh Fair, organised by Miriam Allen and Jackie Leonard, which co-ordinated pre-scheduled meetings between film-makers with projects in development or completed and international financiers, film distributors and major producers has developed into the major market opportunity in Ireland. Many of the projects discussed there will bear fruit in the coming months. Galway has, quite deservedly, managed to position itself as the event in the film and television calendar. If you want to do business you've got to be there.

Michael McMahon 17/7/98

Submissions for 43rd Murphy's Cork Film Festival Submissions are invited for Ireland's oldest film festival, the 43rd Murphy's Cork Film Festival. Closing date July 17th, 1998. Click Here for further info.

July deadline for Jesuit film & video awards Budding film makers are invited to submit entries for the 7th annual Jesuit film & video awards. The deadline is 31st of July. Click Here for further info.