Reeling in business
CORK is increasingly popular as a film location, says Niall Mahoney, of the Cork Screen Commission. The Ballincollig-based office is a one-stop shop for assistance with filmmaking. Set up in 2011, it promotes screen activities, be it film, television, online or gaming, in Cork.
From Scotland, Mahoney, a producer, says potential film projects “are under wraps at the moment. Producers hold their cards close to their chest until a film is given the green light. Executives realise they can’t start telling people (about a film project) until the money is in place. The danger in talking about films is that things can change. I can say there are a number of indigenous and international productions that are being looked at for filming here in Cork. Things are looking positive for 2013.”
Mahoney is working on a potential project with a Dublin company interested in the Victorian streets, and pre-Victorian inner city alleys and lanes, in Cork as locations. The old docks is “a prime example of a location that other cities don’t have, as they’ve been done up. In a curious way, the fact that Cork didn’t have the level of development that Dublin had during the boom years is to our benefit. It means we have locations, including beautiful locations, that we can sell internationally and nationally,” he says.
Mahoney, always on the look-out for developing strands in television and film, identifies comedy as “a huge growth area. Ireland is known internationally as having great talent for comedy. It is something that can be produced in any region. You don’t have to be in London. There’s potential for (comedic) short films, feature films, online material and TV series. Look at the success of Sminky Shorts, for example.” Created by Andrew James, from Cork, Sminky Short animations have become a global internet sensation.
The film industry is becoming leaner and more cost-efficient. “I believe we have a chance to start afresh, and pick up on the new technologies in things like animation, or even filming dramas with the new cameras. You can now edit on your laptop. So, it’s really about bringing together the skills and creativity of people. There’s plenty of that in Cork. It’s a matter of putting people in touch with funders and distributors. That’s my job.”
Plans for 2013 include working with the business community via a film partnership. “It’s going to be a combination of businesses, hoteliers, restaurateurs, industry professionals and Cork County and Cork City Council members working together. The partnership will be able to offer vendors discount schemes to make Cork a more productive place and to present a unified front. When big films come into Dublin studios, I try to picture what locations would work and bring the executives down to Cork’s unique locations. When they get here, it’s all about making life as easy as possible for them. We can help sort out hotels and a base for the film crew, which makes coming to Cork very attractive and cost-effective,” he says.
The Cork Screen Commission, backed by the local authorities and assisted by the Cork Film Centre, has an extensive database of Cork-based screen professionals. It has contacts with producers and advises on funding and writing proposals.
There is a thriving film community in Cork. Mahoney says about 200 people work freelance. This year’s Cork International Film Festival included the Made in Cork category of shorts, screening over three nights. The winner was Shaun O’Connor for his touching film, Uisce Beatha. It was made for €300.
“On one side, you’ve got a lot of short-film makers emerging, such as Shaun. There are also film-makers getting together online. Ego Motion is a collective of filmmakers in Cork that bands together when required. They all work on each other’s films. They have won awards,” Mahoney says. ( Member Dan O’Connell won the ‘8 Minute Ford Short Film Competition’ for A Selfless Act).
“Then, you’ve got successful TV producers like Aidan Mulcahy, from Cork-based M3TV. He made one of the biggest documentaries ever, The Dark Secrets of the Lusitania.” He also made the television series, From Here to Maternity, which was screened on RTÉ.
Mahoney is grateful the Government supports the Section 481 tax incentive. “The tax incentive is the major playing card we have as a small island. We’re a high-cost economy, up against Eastern Europe and India. Section 481 is important on the international stage.” It has a ripple effect for a burgeoning film location like Cork.
