The Irish Film Board (IFB) has announced it will support six Irish production companies by funding their expenses for the Banff World Media Festival, which takes place at the Rocky Mountains, Canada, over June 10-13.
The IFB has partnered with the Banff Festival to create a ‘Spotlight on Ireland’ programme, aimed at raising awareness of the official bilateral co-production treaty between Ireland and Canada. The treaty was signed in 1989 by both governments and is designed for co-productions of both film and television in any genre.
As part of ‘The Spotlight on Ireland’, the IFB will provide six Irish production companies with travel and accommodation funding of €1,000 to participate in the networking event. The offer is open to six producers of six different production companies; one producer per company.
The six chosen candidates will get the opportunity to give a group presentation to Banff delegates at the festival. Each production company will also have a profile on the Banff website and Banff’s hard copy publications.
The Banff Festival boasts to having the world’s largest global development and production marketplace, giving filmmakers the opportunity to network with industry professionals. The festival attracts over 150 development executives from both television and digital media.
This year’s festival includes the Banff Master Class Series, with Hollywood’s ‘hottest writers and showrunners’, and the Banff International Pilots Competition, where nominated pilots are screened and one production is crowned the winner. Previous attendees include Hollywood actors Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), Ricky Gervais (The Office) and Lisa Kudrow (Friends).
The IFB has reminded applicants the eligibility process is competitive, with preference being shown to those who have previously completed work on an Irish-Canadian co-production.
The application process is now open to those who meet the criteria which is layed out on the IFB’s homepage. Interested parties must email their expression of interest to Jonathan.Loughran@IrishFilmBoard.ie by 6pm tomorrow (April 27). Application requirements in full can be found on the IFB website.
