With the Director’s Finders Series now in its’ 10th year, IFTN talked to Screen Directors Guild of Ireland Executive Director Birch Hamilton on the success of the scheme so far.
Conceived by the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and facilitated by the SDGI , the Director’s Finders Series presents an Irish director with an opportunity to showcase their film and to have direct access to decision makers in the film distribution process in the US. The awards spotlight works of fiction, documentary or drama feature submissions from Irish directors who have not secured U.S. distribution of their films.
Speaking to IFTN Birch Hamilton said: “It has really become an important part of the industry as it has built up an audience of distributors in the States that are now eager to see what films and directors come out of the Finders Series every year.”
The winner this year was Mark Noonan’s ‘You’re Ugly Too’ - starring Aidan Gillen – chosen by an independent international jury made up of directors, producers and distributors. For Hamilton, the aim of the Finders Series is very clear.
“We are very specific in what we set out to do – which is showcase an Irish movie with the potential of getting US Distribution which is an ever increasing challenge when you look at the volume of independent movies made nowadays. But what we are also trying to do with the Finders Series is create connections within the industry - Mark Noonan is clearly an extremely talented filmmaker and I have no doubt the jury chose him because there will be a very impressive body of work from him in the future. We are optimistic that it will get a US Distribution deal but also I think this is just the start for Mark and we are really excited to follow his career in the future.”
Previous winners of the Director’s Finders Series have gone on to make a significant impact on the international film stage, with five previous winners, including Ian Power’s ‘The Runway’ and Tomm Moore’s ‘The Secret of Kells’, getting a US distribution deal and providing the director with an opportunity to develop key relationships with studios and distributors worldwide. Last year’s winner was Terry McMahon’s ‘Patrick’s Day’ which won awards at international festivals after its DGA screening in LA before getting a cinema release in Ireland and winning three IFTA Awards.
Hamilton added: “What the Finders Series essentially does is give the film weight – having the weight of the Directors Guild of America as well as the SDGI behind a film undoubtedly makes distributors sit up and take notice. It gives them an added incentive to look at the film for distribution and we are at the point now where we have a host of distributors in the States eagerly anticipating what we send over every year.”
The SDGI have had a very fruitful working relationship with the DGA since the early 2000’s when they both signed the Double Declaration – a global standard document to protect Director’s rights.
Speaking more on this, Hamilton said: “When you look at our relationship with the DGA, you realize that the global film industry is actually quite small. There is a lot of cross-over between our directors in Ireland - because all our big directors are now working globally – and because we are working in a digital age there are no borders or boundaries for anyone nowadays. So, we work very closely with the DGA to share information, share knowledge and help each other if we have any specific issues. I think it’s a very important relationship and helps us to look after director’s economic and creative rights globally.”
The SDGI has had a busy week as they have also awarded ‘An Bronntanas’ writer/director/producer Tom Collins with the Foras Na Gaeilge Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Irish language in Film and TV. Collins film ‘Kings’ is also a previous winner of the Directors Finders Series.
“What is really interesting about the Foras Na Gaeilge initiative is that a lot of successful Irish directors these days have started in the Irish language on TG4. TG4 is a springboard for creativity and I am delighted to be working with Foras Na Gaeilge on this as I think this acknowledgement is really important. I hope that it will encourage more directors to tell stories in the Irish language in the future.”
