Cork film industry left reeling

Cork Film Centre faces an uncertain future after losing its Arts Council funding, reports Colette Sheridan

The director of the Cork Film Centre (CFC), Chris Hurley and his colleagues are working hard towards keeping the facility open “at some level” following the shock announcement from the Arts Council that it is cutting its funding to the centre by 50% this year, with a total withdrawal of funding in 2015.

Last year, the 21-year-old centre saw its funding cut to just €70,000 from a high of €102,000 five years ago. Hurley says that he can see no way around avoiding two redundancies which would see him lose his job, as well as that of Max Le Cain, who is in charge of projects and editing an e-magazine. The other four staff members are on Community Employment Schemes.