The Strategic Development of the Irish Film and Television Industry 2000-2010 Final Report of the Film Industry Strategic Review Group August 1999 1 2 CONTENTS List of Figures List of Tables Members of the Irish Film Industry Strategy Review Group..........................7 Preface...................................................................................................................9 Terms of Reference ............................................................................................10 KEY STRATEGIC ISSUES AND SUMMARY OF MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................................................11 A. INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................12 B. KEY CONCLUSIONS....................................................................................12 C. STRATEGIC ISSUES AND MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS...................17 MAIN REPORT .................................................................................................25 1. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................27 2. 2010 - PREVIEW OF A “VISION OF THE FUTURE” ................................28 3. IRISH FILM’S EMERGING CAPABILITIES ..............................................30 4. PRODUCING FOR A GLOBAL MARKET...................................................35 A. The Evolution of the International Market......................................................35 B. Products and Markets ......................................................................................36 C. The Market for Theatrical Films—Cinema.....................................................37 D. The Television Market ....................................................................................38 E. The Video Market............................................................................................39 F. Genre................................................................................................................39 G. The Future--Multimedia..................................................................................39 H. Technology and Innovation.............................................................................39 I. People, Skills and Intellectual Capital ..............................................................40 J. Government Incentives and Support Systems ..................................................41 5. THE EUROPEAN PANORAMA .....................................................................43 A. The European Film and Television Industry...................................................43 3 B. Poor Project Development...............................................................................44 C. Government and EU Supports.........................................................................45 D. The MEDIA Programme.................................................................................46 E. EU Industrial Policy.........................................................................................47 F. Opportunities for Ireland..................................................................................47 6. A VIBRANT CULTURE IN FILM ..................................................................49 A. Film as an Expression of Irish Culture............................................................49 B. Commerce and Creative Art in Film ...............................................................50 C. ‘High Art’ and ‘Popular Art’...........................................................................50 D. Irish Language Production…………………………………………………..51 E. Fostering a Vibrant Film Culture.....................................................................52 7. STRATEGIC ORIENTATION 2000-2010 ......................................................54 A. Overview and Prospects ..................................................................................54 B. The Focus of the Strategy................................................................................54 8. RECOMMENDED STRATEGIC ACTIONS.................................................56 A. Script and Project Development......................................................................56 B. People, Skills and Intellectual Capital.............................................................57 C. Industrial Policy towards the Film Industry ....................................................59 D. Developing Strong Indigenous Companies.....................................................60 E. International Focus and the Television Market ...............................................61 F. The Domestic Broadcasting Environment .......................................................62 G. Non-indigenous Film Production ....................................................................66 H. Competitiveness ..............................................................................................67 I. Marketing..........................................................................................................68 J. Investment in Production Facilities ..................................................................68 K. Institutional Framework of the Industry..........................................................69 9. STATE INCENTIVES AND SUPPORTS .......................................................70 A. State Support Systems.....................................................................................70 B. State Support of the Irish Film and Television Industry..................................70 C. Criteria for Evaluating State Supports.............................................................72 D. Sharing Tax Benefits: A Clarification.............................................................72 4 E. Cost-Benefit Evaluation...................................................................................74 F. Recommendations on Tax Incentives ..............................................................76 G. Recommendations on State Structural Supports—The Irish Film Board .......81 H. Estimated Costs and Benefits of State Incentives and Supports .....................87 I. Summary List of Recommendations............................................................89 Appendix 1: Sources and References...................................................................94 Appendix 2: Submissions made to the Review Group.........................................96 Appendix 3: Framework of Analysis .................................................................100 Appendix 4: Selected Industry Statistics............................................................105 Appendix 5: Government Incentives and Supports in Selected Countries. .......116 5 List of Figures Figure 1: Evolution of the Independent Irish Film and Television Sector………30 Figure 2: Cinema Admissions Internationally and in Ireland…………………...37 List of Tables Table 1: Breakdown by Origin and Genre 1995-97 (Based only on Irish Sourced funding and Section 481 funding approvals)…………………………………..…31 Table 2: Attractiveness of Film/TV Market Sectors to SMEs…………………..36 Table 3: Cinema: US Market Shares (%) in Selected EU Countries…………...43 Table 4: Selected EU Country Market Shares (%) of US Market………………44 Table 5: Allocation of Tax Foregone (1)…………………………………………..73 Table 6: Allocation of Tax Foregone (2)…………………………………………..73 Table 7: Net Exchequer Cost of Section 481……………………………………...75 Table 8: Cost of Current Section 481 and Funding………………………………87 Table 9: Estimated Impact of New Tax and Funding Proposals……………...…88 6 Members of the Irish Film Industry Strategy Review Group Ossie Kilkenny (Chairperson) - Chartered Accountant, Partner in the firm of OJ Kilkenny & Co. Kevin Bonner - Partner, Business Insight Jane Gogan - Commissioning Editor, TV3 Ed Guiney - Producer & Chairperson of Film Makers Ireland Mick Hannigan - Director of Cork Film Festival James Hickey - Matheson Ormsby Prentice Solicitors, Partner in Charge - Entertainment Law Department Róisín Hogan – Director, Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design, & Technology Pat Keenan - Branch Secretary, Film, Entertainment & Leisure Branch, SIPTU Arthur Lappin – Producer and Managing Director, Hell’s Kitchen Louis Marcus - Producer, Louis Marcus Productions Liam Miller - Managing Director, Organisation & Development Unit, RTE Kevin Moriarty - Managing Director, Ardmore Studios Pádhraic Ó Ciardha - Leascheannasaí, Teilifís na Gaeilge Martha O’Neill - Producer & Chairperson of Film Institute of Ireland Morgan O’Sullivan - Film & TV Producer Dermot Burke - Principal, Dept. Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht & Islands Rita Meehan - Assistant Principal, Department of Finance In Attendance Peter Carvill - Assistant Principal, Dept. Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht & Islands Facilitation Dr. Charles Carroll, Senior Management Specialist - Irish Management Institute Marita Ryan, Secretary - Irish Management Institute 7 8 Preface The Review Group took a long-term strategic view of Ireland’s film and television industry, focusing on feature films, TV fiction, documentaries and animation for both theatrical and TV markets within the broader framework of the audiovisual sector. The industry expanded vigorously during the 1990s and has shown strong potential to achieve for Ireland a stronger and more distinctive presence in one of the 21st century’s most critical and highly skilled industries. From its analysis, the Review Group recognised that the industry is now at