The Irish Film Board (IFB) has made good on its pledge to “commit to gender parity in its funded projects,” Screen Daily writes. In fact, three of its four latest production loans were given to women-helmed films.
Filmmakers Neasa Hardiman, Trish McAdam, Anne Sewitsky, and Sinead O’Shea were all granted funding this quarter.
Hardiman (“Happy Valley,” “Z: The Beginning of Everything”) is set to make her feature directorial debut with “Sea Fever,” which she penned. Centering “on a science student who becomes isolated from her superstitious trawler crew as they struggle to overcome a deadly parasite in their water supply,” “Sea Fever” has received a provisional commitment from the IFB. Fantastic Films will produce.
“The End of Romance,” written and directed by McAdam and produced by Fleming Creative, was awarded €450,000 (about $485,000 USD) in production funding. “Set against the backdrop of the First World War and the 1916 uprising in Ireland, [‘The End of Romance’] focuses on Maud Gonne and two key connections in her life — her relationship with the poet WB Yeats and with her impulsive 21-year-old daughter, Iseult,” according to Screen Daily.
Sewitsky’s “Queen of Ice” received €175,000 (about $188,600 USD). The film is a biopic about “Norwegian figure skating champion Sonja Henie, who went on to become a famed Hollywood actress.” Sewitsky (“Happy Happy”) will direct from a script by Andreas Markusson and Mette Marit Bolstad, and Subotica Films is set to produce.
Narrative filmmakers weren’t the only ones to receive support from the IFB. O’Shea’s first documentary, “Mothers and Sons,” was granted €100,000 (about $108,000 USD). Blinder Films will produce the doc.
The IFB’s dedication to gender equality is similar to efforts from the British Film Institute (BFI) and Screen NSW in recent years. In 2014, the BFI Film Fund imposed new guidelines, aka the “three ticks” system, for financial support. They system “mandates diversity guidelines must be met in two of the following categories: A) On Screen Diversity, B) Off Screen Diversity, C) Creating [Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic] BAME and Disability Opportunities and Promoting Social Mobility.”
Screen NSW (New South Wales) launched its 50:50 by 2020 program in 2015 to “promote Australia’s cultural identity, encourage employment in all aspects of screen production, encourage investment in the industry, enhance the industry’s export potential, encourage innovation, and enhance quality in the industry.” So far, the initiative has been a resounding success. “Across all genres and formats, female directors are attached to 46 percent of projects funded (up from 28 percent), female writers are sitting at 48 percent (up from 30 percent), and female producers are at 67 percent (up from 56 percent ),” Screen NSW announced in November.
These efforts from IFB, BFI, and Screen NSW demonstrate how easy gender equality and inclusivity can be when those in charge choose to pay attention. There’s still a long way to go, but hopefully these organizations will inspire others to follow suit.
