A ROUGH GUIDE THE IRISH FILM BOARD The Irish Film Board (IFB) is the national development agency for the Irish film and television industry, investing in talent, creativity and enterprise. We support the industry by funding projects and training and by promoting Ireland as a location for international production. 4 GLENDALOUGH, CO. WICKLOW CONTENTS Making Film & TV in Ireland 6 The Irish Producer 8 Irish Sources of Finance 10 Ireland & International Co-production 12 Location Location Location 16 Urban Ireland 18 Rural Ireland 22 Film Studios 26 Post-production, CGI & VFX 28 Case Study: VFX 30 IFB Location Services 34 Support Networks 36 Irish Talent 40 Irish Short Films at the Oscars 42 Case Study: Feature Film 44 Case Study: Television Drama 50 Animation 56 Case Study: Animation 60 International Awards 66 IFB Contact Details 72 6 MAKING FILM & TV IN IRELAND 6 THE IRISH PRODUCER 8 IRISH SOURCES OF FINANCE 10 IRELAND & INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION 12 8 CLIFFS OF MOHER, CO. CLARE MAKING FILM & TV IN IRELAND orld class film and television drama is made Ireland’s film and television industry is built on in Ireland year after year. talented Irish producers, directors, writers, cast, crew and service providers, backed by consistent Irish W government support, delivered by a competitive tax Recent projects include Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank, two films by John Michael McDonagh, Calvary and incentive and Irish Film Board (IFB) project funding. The Guard, Neil Jordan’s Byzantium, Rodrigo Garcia’s Albert Nobbs, Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire, James We hope this guidebook answers your questions Mather and Stephen St Leger’s Lockout and Tom about making film and television in Ireland. But nothing Moore’s animated feature film The Secret of Kells. beats meeting face to face! So please contact us to arrange a meeting in Dublin or at any one of the Television drama made in Ireland includes Quirke for the international festivals and markets attended by IFB BBC, Vikings for History Channel US, Ripper Street for staff and Irish producers. the BBC and Penny Dreadful for Showtime. We look forward to meeting you. These feature films and television drama series were all Naoise Barry produced in Ireland and many post-produced here too, Film Commissioner in some cases taking advantage of Ireland’s growing [email protected] VFX industry. 10 DUNGUAIRE, CO. GALWAY THE IRISH PRODUCER hen considering making a film or television project in Ireland, you should work with an W Irish production company. You require an Irish production company in order to benefit from the Irish tax incentive for film and television, called Section 481. In addition to arranging access to Section 481 finance, your Irish producer can advise you on other sources of Irish funding, including Irish Film Board development and production support. Your Irish producer can provide the full range of production services, managing all stages of the production process including scouting, scheduling, budgeting, casting, crewing and of course post production too. With over 140 member companies, Screen Producers Ireland (SPI) is the representative body for independent film, television and animation producers in Ireland. “Irish producers are extremely versatile. They combine creative, financial and production knowledge and have an excellent reputation in the international co-production marketplace. With extensive experience in many genres, Irish producers can offer a reliable, flexible and business-like approach to any co-production.” Barbara Galavan, CEO, Screen Producers Ireland www.screenproducersireland.com IRISH SOURCES OF FINANCE There are multiple sources of Irish finance for film and television production. 12 EXISTING TAX INCENTIVE FOR FILM AND TELEVISION: “SECTION 481” What is Section 481? When is it paid? Section 481 is an “investor based” tax incentive for The Section 481 net benefit is made available film and television made in Ireland. to the production on the first day of principal photography or on the financial closing of the film. What types of projects qualify? The incentive is guaranteed until December 2020. The incentive applies to feature film, television drama, animation (feature film and television) and creative Is there a cap on the amount of Section 481 documentary. that can be raised? Yes, there is a ceiling of ¤50m on qualifying How much is the Section 481 benefit worth? expenditure per project. Projects can derive a benefit of up to 28% of their qualifying expenditure, and up to 30% on projects Explain how it works from the foreign producer’s with an eligible expenditure level in excess of ¤30m. point of view. The foreign producer usually teams up with a local What constitutes qualifying expenditure? Irish producer. An application is made to the Irish The benefit is based on the cost of EU cast and Revenue Commissioners for a Section 481 certificate. crew working in Ireland, and goods and services The issuance of this certificate allows the Section purchased in Ireland, up to a maximum value of 80% 481 finance to be raised. of the global budget. NEW TAX INCENTIVE FOR FILM AND TELEVISION: “NEW SECTION 481” What is New Section 481? activities in connection with a qualifying project. The From a date to be fixed in 2015, and subject to EU rebate is paid by the Irish Revenue Commissioners. approval, the Section 481 film and television tax It amounts to 32% of qualifying expenditure, on up to incentive is amended with the effect of creating a 80% of a project’s budget. new 32% tax credit scheme. What constitutes qualifying expenditure? How does it work? The benefit is based on the cost of all cast and crew, The tax credit provides a production company which regardless of nationality, working in Ireland, and goods falls within the Irish tax net with a cash rebate based on and services purchased in Ireland, up to a maximum Republic of Ireland expenditure on film and television value of 80% of the global budget. COMING IN 2015: IRELAND'S NEW AND IMPROVED 32% TAX CREDIT MOONE BOY IRISH FILM BOARD Ireland’s national screen agency supports Irish filmmaking from script to screen. Visit the IFB website, www.irishfilmboard.ie, and explore the “IFB Funding Programmes” section, which details current production and development funding schemes. BROADCASTING AUTHORITY OF IRELAND IRISH BROADCASTERS One of the BAI’s objectives is to stimulate the Ireland’s public service broadcasters are RTÉ and provision of high-quality, diverse and innovative TG4. TV3 is Ireland’s one commercial station. All programming. To this end, it allocates public funding three commission original content. through the Sound & Vision Fund. www.bai.ie OTHER FINANCIAL INCENTIVES EURIMAGES Corporate Tax and IP: A tax rate of 12.5% applies to Ireland is a member of the Council of Europe’s all corporate trading profits. A 25% tax credit can be production support fund, EURIMAGES. The fund claimed against R&D expenditure. Tax deductions are supports feature films, documentaries and animated available for capital expenditure on the acquisition of films that are intended for cinema release and are qualifying IP assets. co-productions between at least two member states. www.coe.int/eurimages Value Added Tax (VAT): Incoming production to Ireland is exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT) on a wide range of Irish goods and services. IRELAND & INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION reland’s competitive tax incentive, experienced talent base, and distinctive yet adaptable landscapes make it a unique and valuable co-production partner. Ireland has co-produced with almost every European territory, as well as Canada, Australia and South Africa. Ireland has a 14 I wealth of experienced co-producers across all forms of film, television, animation and digital media. What co-production agreements is Ireland party to? Are there any limits on financial or creative Ireland is a party to the European Convention on contributions? Cinematographic Co-production which enables If the official Irish co-production is bi-lateral, the co-production of feature films amongst members of minimum contribution of a territory is 20%, with the EU and some EEA states. Ireland also has bi-lateral the maximum being 80%. If it is a multi-lateral co-production agreements with Canada, Australia, co-production under the European Convention, New Zealand, Luxembourg and South Africa. then the minimum contribution needs to be 10%, with the maximum being 70%. What type of projects do the co-production agreements cover? How do I find information on Irish co-producers? The European Convention on Cinematographic The Irish Film Board can assist in partnering you Co-production covers feature film production with a suitable co-producer and currently provides (live-action, animation and documentary). Ireland’s detailed producer information on the following database bi-lateral treaties cover feature film, television http://companydatabase.irishfilmboard.ie/search. production and other forms of digital production. Screen Producers Ireland’s website www.screenproducersireland.com also What are the benefits of certifying as an has information on Irish producers. official co-production? If a project is certified as an official co-production, What recent productions involved Ireland as it confers national status of all the co-production a co-production partner? territories to the relevant production. In 2012, the feature film Byzantium, directed by Neil Jordan and starring Saoirse Ronan, was structured as The production can then benefit from other local an Irish and UK co-production. The F Word, directed territory benefits such as broadcast licence fees, by Michael Dowse and starring Daniel Radcliffe, access to tax incentives, regional subsidies and the was an Irish and Canadian co-production. local distribution market. Ireland is also a member of Eurimages, the European co-production fund, which The animated feature film Song of the Sea, directed has an annual budget of over €20m available.