World Theatre Day 2010

World Theatre Day is taking place tomorrow.

World Theatre Day was created in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI). It is celebrated annually on the 27th March by ITI Centres and the international theatre community. Various national and international theatre events are organized to mark this occasion.

Its mission is to promote international exchange of knowledge and practice in theatre arts (drama, dance, music theatre) in order to consolidate peace and solidarity between peoples, to deepen mutual understanding and increase creative co-operation between all people in the theatre arts.

There will be events going on around the world during the day, which you can follow in the web site's blog.

Filmbase Discounts

Current members of the Irish Playwright and Screenwriters Guild can now avail of a generous 15% off Filmbase membership.

The screenwriting software program, Final Draft 8, now on sale to Filmbase members at €195, and places still available on the one day training on Saturday March 27th.

Final Draft 8, the latest edition of the number-one selling word processor
specifically designed for writing movie scripts, television episodes and stage plays is now on sale to Filmbase members. New features include Scene Navigator, Scene Properties Inspector and page count management.

The special Offer for Filmbase members is for the standard version with licenses for 2 installations for just €195, and an Educational version with 1 license for just €165.

If you would like to purchase Final Draft 8 then call into Filmbase reception or
contact Gordon on gordon@filmbase.ie or 01-6796716.

Filmbase is also running a one-day Final Draft 8 training course.

Final Draft 8: A Comprehensive Introduction

Intro (10:30am - 1pm) This course is suitable for screenwriters, script editors,
directors, production managers, line producers, AD's and is designed to introduce beginners to the wide range of options available in Final Draft including those used in the production office and the new features of version 8. For anyone considering buying Final Draft, this is a great opportunity to try out the features of this software.

Tutorial (2pm - 4pm) After lunch students will receive further instruction and can practice on the software and have their questions answered by the tutor.

Tutor: Francois Farrugia (MovieSoft)
Date: Saturday 27th March
Venue: Multimedia Training Room, Filmbase

Cost: €60 for members / €75 for non-members.

Apply for Arts Funding Online

The Arts Council has launched its new online services website so applicants can apply online for Projects and Travel and Training awards via the Internet.

Online services was developed to more efficiently manage funding applications and payments. This new website means that you can:

• Download application forms and guidelines;
• Create a profile for banking, tax and contact details (which you can reuse for other applications);
• Upload the completed application form(s) and up to 20MB of electronic supporting materials;
• Avail of a one-week deadline extension to complete online applications;
• (Where successful), submit a payment request or payment schedule with supporting documentation.

In the coming weeks we will be opening up applications for the Touring and Dissemination of Work scheme 2010 via online services. Details of the scheme will be published on our website next week.

How and when to register/signup for online services

We advise you to register immediately for online services as, for security reasons, it may take up to five working days to complete the entire process. We also advise you to submit your final application as early as possible to avoid the heavy traffic on the site in the final days before a deadline.

Storyland II: 3 Winners

The results of the voting in the latest round of the RTÉ Storyland webisodes are in:

1. Zombie Bashers
2. We Own the Streets
3. Butchers
4. Mariana

The top three projects will advance to the next round, and another episode of their series.

Olivier Awards 2010

The Stage reports on the winners of the 2010 Olivier Awards in London this weekend.

Here is a selection of some of the winners - the entire list is on the web site:

* Best New Play - The Mountaintop by Katori Hall at Trafalgar Studios 1
* Best New Comedy - The Priory by Michael Wynne at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
* Best Musical Revival - Hello, Dolly! book by Michael Stewart, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, based on the play ‘The Matchmaker’ by Thornton Wilder at the Open Air
* Best New Musical - Spring Awakening music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater, based on the play by Frank Wedekind at the Novello
* Best Revival - Cat On A Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, directed by Debbie Allen at the Novello

Introduction to Screenwriting

Alan Keane is offering a two-day Introduction to Screenwriting seminar on Saturday, March 27th and Sunday, March 28th, in the Smithfield/Stoneybatter Area in Dublin City.

Screenwriting is a notoriously difficult career to get ahead in and all too often people make the plunge with little knowledge as to how the industry works and what's exactly required to get yourself noticed. This 2-day seminar will act as a crash course in understanding the principles involved in great writing. It will help you to become aware of the skills and craft you'll need to create unforgettable stories that will get you noticed by readers and also help get you an agent.

TOPICS COVERED INCLUDE:
* Format
* Style
* Dialogue writing
* Visual Grammar
* Three Act Structure
* The craft of writing a scene
* Characterisation and the arc of transformation
* Genre
* What the readers are looking for - An industry perspective
* How do I get my first break?

Cost of the seminar is €95.

To register your interest email scriptreadingireland@gmail.com or contact Alan at: 086-1972270. There is also a Facebook page for the event.

Byrne New Cultural Ambassador

On St. Patrick's Day Taoiseach Brian Cowen announced that actor Gabriel Byrne had been appointed as Ireland's new cultural ambassador.

The appointment grew in part from recommendations by the Global Irish Economic Forum at Farmleigh last autumn, and is rooted in the connection between culture and the economy, Mr Cowen said.

Mr Byrne's appointment precedes what the Taoiseach called "an ambitious season of Irish arts in the US in 2011", whose goal will be "showcasing the Irish creative imagination, showcasing world-class Irish artists and companies, and reinvesting in our unique cultural relationship with America".

Byrne said American audiences had a "very limited view of Irish art. It's Druid [theatre company], Brian Friel, the Anglo-Irish stew of Yeats . . . and there's U2. There's a whole other life – great young conceptual artists, film-making, people writing who wouldn't have written 15 or 20 years ago. Right now, there are four major Broadway productions that are Irish."

Lest Irish citizens begrudge funds devoted to the arts, Byrne reminded them that "America is a giant market for Irish culture. And it speaks English, and it receives us with tremendous good will. To a great extent, our culture is what defines us."

Leaving a meeting with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin noted that Byrne "has already been very active on the cultural front, advancing the cause of Ireland". He mentioned Byrne's role in helping to develop the Irish Cultural Centre in New York, for which the city of New York is contributing $20 million (€14.5 million).

Mr Martin praised Niall Burgess, Ireland's Consul General in New York, for involving Byrne, Liam Neeson and the writers Colum McCann and Colm Tóibín in so many events. "It's extraordinary that two of the best contemporary novels about New York were written by Irish people," Mr Martin said.

Martin Cullen, as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, is credited with making the biggest push for Byrne's appointment to the unpaid position. Byrne will work closely with Eugene Downes, the chief executive of Culture Ireland. The role will not necessarily be limited to the US, Mr Downes said, predicting that Byrne "will develop an inclusive vision that reaches out from the Irish arts community internationally".

Let's hope this new zeal for the Arts from the Irish government translates into better funding in the coming years.

Golden Blasters Script Competition

The Irish national science fiction convention, Octocon, has issued a call for scripts for its inaugural short script competition.

It's looking for fantasy, science fiction or horror short scripts, less than twenty pages, and in the usual format.

The fees for the competition are on a sliding scale depending on when the script is submitted:

May 31, 2010
Earlybird Deadline €10.00

July 31, 2010
Regular Deadline €15.00

August 31, 2010
Late Deadline €20.00

It has also issued a call for submissions for fantasy, science fiction and horror short films (under 15 minutes) for its second Short Film Competition.

The films that are short-listed will be screened at this year's convention (October 16-17), and will be judged at the event. There will be two awards: the Silver Blaster (audience award) and the Golden Blaster (jury award).

FRAMEWORKS 2010

FRAMEWORKS is an established scheme for the making of animated short films which BSÉ/IFB considers to be so successful in stimulating ground-breaking new work from Irish animators that it intends to continue the scheme in its present form.

Projects selected for funding will combine creative exploration with an ability to appeal to a broad audience.

The scheme is co-funded by BSÉ/IFB, the Arts Council and RTÉ and the new deadline for applications is April 23rd 2010.

Parameters of the Scheme

• Number of films: up to 6 per year
• Duration: maximum 6 minutes
• Budget per film: maximum €50,000
Format:
• Origination using any technique or format
• Delivery on digi-beta and HD Cam
• Further funding to cover costs of 35mm prints may be provided where a film obtains a bona fide theatrical release in Ireland or is invited to a major international film festival, subject to BSÉ/IFB regulations in force at the time

Information on the scheme's guidelines and how to apply are available on the Irish Film Board's web site.

Roy Wins RTS Award

The Guardian reports that the BBC children's television comedy, Roy (JAM Media for CBBC), won a Royal Television Society award for Children's Drama.

Roy is a live action television series incorporating animation, and is based on the award-winning Irish short film "Badly Drawn Roy". The show continues to have a strong Irish connection with several Irish writers on the series, including Danny Stack, Neil Leyden, Alan Keane and Declan DeBarra.

Script Frenzy

Are you looking for a writing challenge? Why not take part in Script Frenzy, the international writing event?

The goal is to write 100 pages of original scripted material in 30 days - screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, and graphic novels are all welcome. It must begin no earlier than 12:00:01 AM on April 1 and cease no later than 11:59:59 PM on April 30, local time.

There are no entry fees, prizes or short-lists, just the satisfaction of finally getting that first draft down on paper.

To find out how to take part go to the web site and sign up.

New/Old Shakespeare Play

The Times reports that the play, Double Falsehood; or, the Distrest Lovers, first produced in 1727 as a lost Shakespeare play - but dubbed a fake - has been authenticated.

Yesterday that changed when The Arden Shakespeare, one of the best regarded scholarly editions of Shakespeare's plays, published Double Falsehood, endorsing its credentials and making it available in a fully annotated form for the first time in 250 years.

Next summer Double Falsehood will become more embedded in the canon when the Royal Shakespeare Company mounts a production based on it as part of the first season back at its revamped Stratford-upon-Avon home.

Storyland II: 3

The third episodes of the four remaining projects in RTÉ's Storyland competition are now online.

Vote for your favourite, and the results will be announced on Tuesday the 23rd March.

The top three shows will then progress on to a fourth episode.

Big 5 Comedy Award

Northern Ireland Screen reports that the The John Brabourne Big 5 Comedy Award is a new comedy writing award to write a comedy short film script funded by the Cinema and TV Benevolent Fund, The UK Film Council and Working Title Films.

You can apply under three criteria - under-represented groups, disadvantaged individuals or transitional talent. This is to encourage new voices in cinema and to help those in need of opportunity.

Five short-listed scripts will be judged by a panel made up of:

* Kenton Allen, Big Talk Productions
* Dan Mazer, Oscar nominated writer of Borat and Bruno
* Sarah Farrell, Comedy Central
* Amelia Granger, Working Title
* Sally Caplan, the UK Film Council

The winning script will receive £1,000 as a cash prize from Working Title Films and will be made into a 35mm film directed by a well known director.

The first criteria applies to all new writers who are women, ethnic minorities, writers from the regions or any other under-represented group.

The second refers to new writers with a personal disadvantage such as long term sickness or financial disadvantage.

Transitional talent refers to writers who have worked in other disciplines such as stand up, theatre or radio who have not yet had the opportunity to work in cinema. TV writers with shared credits also qualify under this criteria, but not those who have been sole commissioned writers on shows.

All scripts must be received by Monday 22nd March 2010.

Belfast Film Festival Programme

The 10th Belfast Film Festival (15-30 April) has launched its programme.

The 10th Belfast Film Festival boasts over 30 UK/Irish premieres in a jam packed programme, with 125 screenings and events across Belfast from over 25 countries including, Russia, Japan, Iran, Argentina, Israel and South Africa, to name but a few.

The Festival opens on Thursday 15th April at the Moviehouse, Dublin Road with the UK/Irish Premiere of Triage starring man of the moment, Colin Farrell.

Closing night film of the 10th Belfast Film Festival, will be the UK/Ireland premiere of a film by one of Hollywood’s greatest directors-Francis Ford Coppola; Tetro starring Vincent Gallo is Coppola’s first original screenplay since The Conversation; this beautiful film, is shot in black and white and set in the bristling streets of Buenos Aires.

BBC Axes Friday Play

Yesterday The Stage reported that next year the BBC Radio 4 will axe its long-running drama strand, the Friday Play, as a result of budget cuts at the station.

The broadcaster’s commissioner for drama, Jeremy Howe, met recently with both radio producers and members of the Writers’ Guild of Britain to outline the station’s plans for drama going forward, including the decision to pull the Friday Play from 2011.

It has also emerged that the broadcaster will reduce the number of Friday Play dramas it commissions this year, with just 12 original dramas planned in the slot, compared with 20 last year.

A spokesman for the BBC confirmed the move, and said BBC Radio 4, along with other networks, is “trying to ensure it obtains the best possible value from its budget”.

“As a result, we have decided to decommission the Friday Play. This is in order to ensure we do not make ends meet simply by cutting deeper into the budgets of other drama slots. We intend to commission some of the dramas that would have run on Fridays in other drama slots across the schedule. In exceptional circumstances, we will run dramas on Fridays where there is no daytime slot that could accommodate the subject matter or treatment,” he said.

The spokesman added that the Friday Play slot has the smallest audience of any drama strand on the station, and he said Radio 4 “felt losing a single strand was preferable to risking the quality of drama output across the schedule”.

“The network’s commitment to drama remains strong and we will continue to commission nearly 200 single plays a year and more than 100 series and serials, in strands including Woman’s Hour drama, Afternoon Play, Classic Serial and the Saturday Play,” he added.

At his meeting with the WGGB, Howe is also believed to have told the guild that Woman’s Hour drama, which has traditionally nurtured new writing talent, was now looking to commission the “biggest and best writers”.

Discussion with Kavanagh

The IFI in Dublin is hosting an in-depth discussion with Irish director Ivan Kavanagh, and the cast of his new film, The Fading Light, at 4pm on Saturday 13th March.

The Fading Light, the fifth feature from fiercely independent up-and-coming Irish director Ivan Kavanagh, opens exclusively at the IFI on 12th March and we are delighted to host a conversation with the director and his cast at 4pm on Saturday 13th March. The emotionally visceral style that has become Kavanagh's trademark springs from the rigorous background work on each character undertaken by his actors before the plot is revealed to them step-by-step during filming. His previous feature, Our Wonderful Home (2008), will also be screened earlier that day at 2.30pm.

The Q&A with Kavanagh and the cast is free but ticketed. Call the IFI Box Office on 01 679 3477 to reserve your tickets.

Scriptwriting Clinic at GFC

The Galway Film Centre is running a Scriptwriting Clinic from the 7th to 10th May 2010 with Script Editor Mark McIlrath, who has worked on feature film projects in Ireland, Italy, France and the UK. He has been through the Arista and North by Northwest programmes. He is a regular contributor to Film Ireland and Scriptwriter magazine on script editing theory and practice.

This four day course will look at how to develop your story idea. It is aimed at both emerging & experienced screenwriters working on their feature film screenplays. The course is also aimed at emerging script editors. The class is limited to four writers and two script editors. The course offers a great experience for emerging writers and script editors to work intensively on their stories with a professional script editor. It will cover the basics such as wants and needs, objectives, obstacles, rising action and ideas on sequencing & structure. All participants read each other's treatments prior to the course commencing.

Each editor works with 2 writers during the course.

Those interested in this course will need to submit a script or treatment by 4th May.

For writers: Submit a 3 to 10 page treatment/story outline. 10 pages is the maximum allowable.

Information on how to apply is on the web site.

Course cost:
Writers: €465 unwaged/€475 waged
Editors: €365 unwaged/€375 waged
(These fees include membership to the Centre for the year)

Oscar Writing Winners

Last night the Winners of the 82nd Academy Awards were announced. A full list is available to view online.

Here are the nominees and winners (in bold) in the writing categories:

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• District 9 Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
• An Education Screenplay by Nick Hornby
• In the Loop Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
• Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
• Up in the Air Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• The Hurt Locker Written by Mark Boal
• Inglourious Basterds Written by Quentin Tarantino
• The Messenger Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
• A Serious Man Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• Up Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Irish animator Richard Baneham picked up the Best Visual Effects Award for Avatar together with Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum and Andrew Jones.

Creative Thinking Techniques

FÁS Screen Training Ireland is running a course on Creative Thinking Techniques on the 29th of March in Dublin.

This one day programme is aimed at all sectors of the film and television industry.

Course Profile:
Participants will hone their creative thinking techniques.
Topics will include:
• Creative thinking techniques
• Ideas generation
• The Disney Strategy
This course is supported by Bord Scannán na hÉireann/The Irish Film Board.

It costs €100.00 and applications are processed via the web site.

Library Late Interviews

The National Library of Ireland is continuing its Writing for the Stage and Screen events as part of its Library Late series with the following interviews:

Writer and actor, Mark O'Halloran, will be in conversation on Wednesday, March 24th at 8pm. O'Halloran has written the screenplays for the award-winning feature films Adam & Paul and Garage.

On Monday, April 26th at 8pm broadcaster John Kelly will interview writer and director Paul Mercier. Mercier's plays include Studs, We Ourselves and Spacers, including Homeland and Down The Line for The Abbey. He has also written and directed three short films:"Before I Sleep", "Lipservice" and "Tupperware".

Playwright and screenwriter Mark O'Rowe will be interviewed on Wednesday, May 26th at 8pm. His award-winning plays include From Both Hips, Howie the Rookie, Made in China and Terminus, and he has written screenplays for feature films Intermission, Boy A and Perrier's Bounty.

Film historian Bob Monks will also give a special lunchtime talk to mark the centenary of the birth of film archivist Liam O'Leary (1910 - 1992) at 1pm on Wednesday, April 14th, 2010.

All the events are free.

Dublin Film Fringe 2010

FilmmakersNetwork.ie is hosting the Dublin Film Fringe this Saturday the 6th of March at the Banquet Hall, 15-19 Essex Street West, Temple Bar.

Here is the schedule of events:

13:30 – 15:00 Cinematography Workshop | Banquet Hall, 15-19 Essex Street West, Temple Bar
IFTA nominated DOP Ruiarí O’Brien and Production Depot owner John Leahy talk about the various cameras and formats and when to choose one over the other. Another guest speaker to be confirmed. Followed by general chat and networking.

16:00 – 17:30 Shorts Screening 1 | Banquet Hall, 15-19 Essex Street West, Temple Bar

18:00 – 19:30 Shorts Screening 2 | Banquet Hall, 15-19 Essex Street West, Temple Bar

20:00 – Late! | Le Cirk (Sweeneys), Dame Street

* 21:00 Music Videos Screening (Free finger food / Drinks promo)
* 22:30 – 23:00 Awards Ceremony
* 23:00 DJ

Prices: The workshop and each of the screenings will cost €6 admission. Alternatively you can pay €10 which cover entrance to all 3 events. The Music video programme in Le Cirk is free and there will even be free finger food served!

JDIFF Awards 2010

The documentary His & Hers, written and directed by Ken Wardop, scooped the Audience Award at this year's Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

The winners of the Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards were also announced:

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
Patrick O'Donnell
The Fading Light

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Tilda Swinton
I Am Love

BEST DOCUMENTARY
His and Hers
Written and directed by Ken Wardrop

BEST IRISH FILM
The Fading Light
Written and directed by Ivan Kavanagh

BEST DIRECTOR
Giorgos Lanthimos
Dogtooth

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Written by William M. Finkelstein and directed by Werner Herzog

BEST FILM
Samson and Delilah
Written and directed by Warwick Thornton

MICHAEL DWYER DISCOVERY
Kate McCullough

IWC Publishing Day

The Irish Writers Centre is hosting a Publishing Day on Saturday March 20th from 10am - 4.30pm.

The Irish Writers' Centre is hosting an information day on publishing for writers and other interested parties. The day will feature talks with literary agent Jonathan Williams, commissioning editor for Hachette Books Ciara Considine, digital publishing expert Eoin Purcell, acclaimed novelist John Boyne (author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas) and literary marketing expert Cormac Kinsella. There will be opportunities for question and answer sessions with our guest speakers. The day will start at 10am with registration and run until 4.30pm. Tickets are €50 and can be booked by paying online or calling the Centre.

The Practice of Writing

Novelist and dramaturge, Mia Gallagher, is running a course in the Irish Writers Centre called "The Practice of Writing", on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th March from 10.30am - 4.30pm.

There is no generic 'how-to' when it comes to writing. Each writer is different, with a different mesh of concerns, obsessions, interests, habits, challenges, strengths, fears, hopes and blindspots. All these various elements are what make up an individual practice. But a practice needs to be practised in order to get richer, more informed, more vital and, hopefully, generate more meaningful output.

This workshop is aimed at people who want to deepen their awareness of their writing process with a view to sustaining their writing practice in the long-term. Using elements which are key to the facilitator's own practice – reading, dialogue, field trips, dedicated writing time, entertainment and critiquing – participants will explore ways of generating material, engaging with content and form and challenging their own (and others’) received notions of writing.

The cost of the two-day event is €160 and can be booked online.