The film industry is about to hit a financial crisis unless funding for the Irish Film Board is increased, according to its chairman, Mr Louis Marcus.
The crisis, he said, was due to the success of the industry. He predicted that the board, for the first time, would not be able to fund worthy projects because of a lack of cash. The board might be in the position of hampering development rather than aiding it.
Speaking at the publication of the board's annual report for 1996-97, he said that projects the board had promised to support might be refused finance. This would mean that for many films major investment dependent on board support would disappear.
The complexity of film finance made it impossible to predict how many projects would be affected. "When the film board was reactivated five years ago no one could have predicted the enormous expansion that the industry has since experienced. The present capital grant of £3.4 million is far too modest to meet the demands of the industry, and it is likely that this year the board will not have sufficient funds to support all those projects that should have our investment," he said.
Film industry funding, he said, could be almost fully recovered. What was provided for the industry through the annual grant to the board and in tax concessions was almost entirely recouped through PAYE, PSRI, VAT and company taxes.
The Minister responsible for the industry, Ms de Valera, gave no commitments to increase the level of funding. She announced her intention to commission a strategic review of the industry. It will look at the whole industry, including the tax implications of Section 35 of the Finance Act. It will also examine the funding of the board.
She said that a recent visit to Los Angeles had convinced her that the key for the film industry was to commit more resources to development.
"Development must involve quite rigorous market appraisal. The emphasis has got to be on entertaining audiences." The board's chief executive, Mr Rod Stoneman, said in the annual report that in the four years since the board was reactivated over 40 feature films had been made. Mr Stoneman said continued development must involve strengthening marketing and development. It was expertise in this area that allowed American productions to pervade screens in Ireland and around the world.
Mr Stoneman said the £4 million the board had invested in 1996-97 had attracted total budgets of £57 million. While some of that had been spent abroad, most had been spent in this country.
The Minister, Mr Marcus and Mr Stoneman all congratulated John Boorman on his success in Cannes.