In a record year for Northern Ireland productions, 17 of the 167 nominations across 41 categories are Northern Ireland Screen-funded projects. This means 17 of the nominated categories are either Northern Irish filmmakers, projects that were filmed in Northern Ireland, or had had Northern Irish cast or crew working on set.
Moyra Lock, Northern Ireland Screen’s head of marketing, talks to IFTN about all things funding-related, what the upcoming UK tax incentive means for Irish and Northern Irish productions, and the status on a fourth season of ‘Game of Thrones’.
‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘Grabbers’ are both up or Best Film at this year’s IFTA’s. What was it about these two films that made them qualify for funding from NI Screen?Let’s start with production funding first. Our production fund has certain criteria; you have to use a certain amount of Northern Ireland crew, you have to make a spend in Northern Ireland, so if you hit those, and then you film in Northern Ireland, you can qualify for production funding.
But, ‘Good Vibrations’ and been with NI Screen for years. It was in development here for two or three years, and the filmmakers, husband and wife team Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa, we would be very supportive of them. Lisa made her first short film ‘18th Electricity Plan’ through NI Screen, then we developed and funded ‘Cherrybomb’, so those are Northern Ireland filmmakers and a Northern Ireland creative team.
We’re trying to develop a sustainable screen industry in Northern Ireland. For every ‘Game of Thrones’ we do, we’d love to have three or four indigenous things
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Chris Martin is the producer and David Holmes is an executive producer. It’s a Northern Ireland creative team and it’s Northern Ireland content and a Northern Ireland story, and it’s filmed entirely in Northern Ireland.
Our remit is we’re trying to develop a sustainable screen industry in Northern Ireland, and that involves the big incoming production, but there’s a huge amount of work in development. For every ‘Game of Thrones’ we do, we’d love to have three or four indigenous things.
‘Good Vibrations’ was based on a much-loved Belfast figure, Terri Hooley. What has the reaction been from locals?‘Good Vibrations’ had its premiere at the Belfast Film Festival and it was massive, the press coverage of it was incredible. Terri himself is a larger than life figure and he has his own following, he’s still very much known in the Belfast music scene and the reaction was spectacular. The premiere was at the Ulster Hall in Northern Ireland, which is obviously where they’ve filmed some of the film.
I think there was a great critical reaction as well, after Belfast (Film Festival) it went to Galway where it won the Audience Award and then it went and it opened Karlovy Vary, who loved it, then it went to the London Film Festival, and Mark Kermode (film critic) had it as one of his highlights in London.
Moyra Lock (right) with Mary McGlinchey of NI Screen |
And ‘Grabbers’?Personally it’s my kind of comedy, the script is very tight, it’s beautifully shot. And the landscapes in Donegal are just gorgeous, but the script and the acting are fantastic. It’s really good film of its type, just smart, and it was ‘belly laugh’.
’Jump’, another NI Screen-funded project, has already received awards from a number of international festivals. Why do you think this film has resonated so well with international audiences? That went very well on the festival circuit, it hasn’t had a distribution deal yet. It was a lovely tight little-made film, and I thought Marty McCann’s performance was brilliant.
‘Jump’ has got that kind of universal story to it, which works with that younger audience. It can be quite truthful, quite realistic. There’s good direction on that film.
You’ve touched on the key elements of what a project needs in order to be eligible for NI Screen funding. Are there any other important aspects? Andrew Reid, our head of production, likes to talk to people rather than say ‘you have to tick 10 boxes’. We’re very keen on development, we do a lot of individual script, for writers, which is a massive part of our business. It’s not the sexy production bit, it’s sort of that behind-the-scene stuff that people never see, but it will come to fruition, because we’ve got some great good writers.
[The new UK tax incentive] might create more co-production opportunities north and south
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We support development of feature film and television drama for individuals and companies, and we are very keen on Northern Ireland writers as well as Northern Ireland-based companies. You have to have some kind of connection here. Production funding is in the form of a recoupable loan, and there are more elements to that. With production funding we can put up to £800,000 to any one production, but you have to be able to spend on Northern Ireland goods and services.
It is negotiable, but for feature film, television and digital content, which is obviously an area that everybody is trying to grow, we can invest up to a maximum of £800,000, but that’s up to a ceiling of the 29 per cent of the overall project budget. Very few projects are awarded that maximum amount because you have to make a big spend in the north. Obviously when you’re doing a feature film you look at the tax breaks, but hopefully on April 1 you’ll also be eligible for the TV tax breaks that are coming in here.
When the new UK tax breaks come into effect, what impact do you think this will have on international productions filming in the Republic of Ireland?We wouldn’t look at it that way, we never do that. Three movies we’ve already spoken about were all co-productions between the north and south, ‘Grabbers’, ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘Jump’. So in terms of television, we have ‘Game of Thrones’, that hopefully will enable us to hold it, and make it easier to hold it because we now have a TV tax break.
But don’t forget, that TV tax break applies to the whole of the rest of the UK, Scotland will have it, England and Wales will have it. You go out and you find new bigger television projects to bring in, you don’t take them from neighbouring territories. I think [the tax breaks] makes the whole of the UK more attractive. You never know, it might create more co-production opportunities north and south. I remember previously, under the old regime, UK sale and leaseback, which was the tax break before the current UK film tax break, I think there were more co-productions then. I’m not a production accountant, but we would still look for co-production opportunities as well, why wouldn’t you? If there’s value in it for both territories.
Martin McCann stars in ‘Jump’ |
Don’t forget that the UK TV tax break is for high end TV drama only, I think you’ll find when you look at the detail it has to have £1m per budget per episode. Maybe it will mean people will start writing more of that high end drama, but they’re not going to come a dime a dozen because they’re huge productions, and those things take time to develop and finance.
One of those huge productions is ‘Game of Thrones’, which has filmed its last three seasons in Northern Ireland and received NI Screen funding. Has the production sparked a new interest in international productions wanting to film there?I don’t think it works like that, it behoves us to get the story out there that ‘Game of Thrones’ filmed in Northern Ireland. I don’t think anybody would be inundated because there aren’t that many of those big shows around, how many other shows are there worldwide of that kind of size and scale that any territory can pull in? Most of them are probably with HBO! There was ‘The Tudors’ and there was ‘Camelot’, but are few and far between so we’re not going to be inundated.
It shows the world that Northern Ireland can run a big series like that, so no one has to doubt that anymore, no one has to be frightened that we don’t have enough crew or enough infrastructure. That’s what it’s done for us, to basically prove in a way what we had suspected all along, we can do this, and HBO came to us. We fought for it and it was a huge coup for Northern Ireland to win that, but you know, winning that you’ve got to keep it year on year, because number one, you have to see if it goes down another season, and number two, negotiate for that season.
‘Game of Thrones’ shows the world that Northern Ireland can run a big series like that, so no one has to doubt that anymore
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But having said that, I think our fortunes turned, way back in 2007, when we had our first incoming US production, ‘City of Ember?’. It was our first big inward investing studio production from America, and on the other end of the scale we won the Palme D’Or with ‘Hunger’ at Cannes, so that was a phenomenal year, we had something either ends of the market.
We had a fantastically written, produced and acted award-winning art house movie, and then we had this incoming, so from there that really allowed us to build on that success and use those as examples as what we could do. Don’t forget word of mouth is very good as well, when production companies have a good experience and they’re well looked after, there’s a lot of that background work that you keep doing, relationship building, and just go from there.
So what is the update on a fourth season of ‘Game of Thrones’ filming in Ireland?Judging by previous years, HBO does not commit to another series until the previous season airs, but it’s not for me to speak for HBO when they will renew.
It’s just two days now until the IFTA Awards. Would winning an IFTA Award be of an advantage to a producer/director submitting a future project for funding with NI Screen, as it proves they have a track record in successful projects?Yes. Of course it does, because it’s an accolade number one, and recognition from your own territory. It does have good currency, I know you look at figures, like what does an Oscar nomination do, what does an Oscar win do, what does a BAFTA win do in terms of the box office. Absolutely it’s important and it means something, and it means something both artistically to the filmmakers but it also means something economically.
The 10th annual IFTA Awards take place on Saturday, February 9, at the Convention Centre in Dublin. Simon Delaney is hosting for the third year in a row. RTÉ One will broadcast the ceremony on Saturday at 9.35pm.
