University of Dublin, Trinity College Dublin is seeking applicants for its Writer's Fellowship from Irish writers of established reputation. The Fellowship is funded by the School of English, and by a grant-in-aid from the Arts Council, and will be tenable at Trinity College Dublin for the period January-June 2010.
The closing date for applications is 12 noon on Friday, 3rd July, 2009, and information on how to apply is available on the web site.
IFTN is holding a competition to win two festival season passes for the Galway Film Fleadh. Entry merely requires an answer to a simple question.
E-mailed entries must be received by 10.30am on Friday the 3rd of July.
Those of you who couldn't attend the recent "Give Me Direction" screenwriting conference organised by the Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board will be delighted to know that the IFB has released podcasts of four panel discussions, which can be downloaded from the web site.
According to an article on Bloomberg by mid-July 49% of Broadway theatres will be closed to any production despite coming out of a record year for ticket sales. Many shows ended profitably, some were scheduled to close at this point, while there were the usual commercial failures.
It means that during the height of the summer season there will be a limited choice available to the tourists.
"Our costs to carry a dark theater are very low -- real estate taxes, insurance, heat and electricity -- because we lay everybody off," Philip J. Smith, chairman of the Shubert Organization, which owns 17 Broadway theaters, told me [Jeremy Gerard].
Smith points out that while the number of dark theaters may be higher than last year, it's business as usual: His houses are all booked with shows scheduled to open in the fall and winter. Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman and Daniel "Bond, James Bond" Craig are moving into the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre with Keith Huff's "A Steady Rain." That new police drama will be produced by the husband-and-wife team of Frederick Zollo and Barbara Broccoli (whose late father, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, produced the Bond movies).
And the Barrymore Theatre, which had been home to Rush and his dysfunctional royal court, has been booked by producer Jeffrey Richards and his partners for David Mamet's new play, "Race." An acclaimed Los Angeles revival of Mamet's "Oleanna" is also in the offing for the coming season.
The New York Times reports that it's been a good year for women directing Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, a fact that should not be remarkable, but remains noteworthy because it's been a rarity - thus far:
As it turns out, bias against female playwrights has also received attention recently because of a new study that found there is discrimination against women who are writing for the theater. Last week at a meeting about the research, participants discussed how bias in one part of the business can ripple throughout the industry, affecting directors and others.
Still, Ms. MacKinnon and Ms. Sardelli said they feel fortunate to be directing when the industry is opening up to more women. "I think the generation above me really had it harder," Ms. MacKinnon said. "That's when there was the one girl in the room."
She added, though: "It seems to me that there are number of men who aren't that much older than me whose names you see over and over again. There are not that many women who have that kind of relationships with producers. How do you break into that tiny Rolodex?"
The Galway Advertiser reports that in the current tough economic climate some politicians are turning to the Arts to attract investment.
Galway Labour councillor Billy Cameron is urging the Galway City Council to establish a film commission to promote the county as a film location.
"Great film and television drama continues to be made in Ireland year after year," said Cllr Cameron, "but I am convinced we could be losing out due to the fact that we do not have a office under the auspices of the city council."
Cllr Cameron points out that Galway is a "unique centre of culture and creativity" with an office of the Irish Film Board in the city, the Huston School of Film and Digital Media at NUI, Galway, Studio Solas, and the Galway Film Fleadh.
"All of this infrastructure along with the fact that we possess producers, directors, writers, cast and crews in abundance leaves me in no doubt that Galway can become a centre for film making in the west," he said. "A multi agency film commission is pivotal and the cog in the wheel to put Galway on the map for future film making."
IFTN reports that Dublin production company, Little Bird - which was involved in films such as Bridget Jones Diary and Into the West - has folded with debts of over €3.5 million.
The company that were in the process of producing a film about the life of convicted murder Catherine Nevin went into liquidation after failing to restructure in receivership. Kieran Wallace the receiver is in negotiations with a British film company to sell the on-going productions and back catalogue rights to Irish television series 'On Home Ground' and 'The Irish RM'.
The company which holds offices in Dublin, London and Johannesburg commented: “We made significant losses in movie production and development during the period 2000 to 2004, in recent months a number of challenges – some our own – others not, like the collapse in international equity markets, have made it difficult to refinance Little Bird's business.”
During the Galway Film Fleadh the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild will be involved in two events:
At 10.30am on Thursday 9th July at the Radisson Hotel the Guild will present the 2nd Annual ZeBBies Report.
The report, which covers the period July 2007 to June 2008, will provide detailed information on the amount of work which was available to writers, the number of writers who developed projects and produced work, and the rates of pay involved therein. This meeting is open to all.
Immediately following, at 12.00pm at the Radisson Hotel, Irish Equity in conjunction with The Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild, will hold a meeting for actors and writers in relation to on-going problems with contracts.
This meeting will be of special interest to actors and writers working in the industry, but all are welcome to attend.
The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland, in association with the Directors Guild of America, have announced that the winner of the Directors Finders Series 2009 is Ken Wardrop and his feature documentary His & Hers
The feature will be showcased in the Director's Guild of America Theatre, Sunset Boulevard, L.A, on 7th August 2009 to an audience of American distributors and industry personnel with a view to securing a U.S distribution deal for the film.
Before the L.A Screening the SDGI will launch His & Hers at a special Industry Awards Ceremony on Thursday 16th July in Dublin in The Morrison Hotel.
This event will be officially opened by the Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism, Martin Cullen, TD.
The awards will be co-hosted by acclaimed directors Neil Jordan and Jim Sheridan, and the guest speaker will be from Pathe! UK.
For further information or to confirm your place contact the SDGI at guestlist[at]sdgi[dot]ie
Filmbase and RTÉ have announced the winners of the first round of the 2009 Filmbase/RTÉ Short film award scheme.
This round was the most competitive yet with over 340 applications being submitted. Each of the three winning teams will receive &Euro;10,000 along with matching equipment and/or post-production facilities at Filmbase to realize their individual projects.
Cold Turkey is written and to be directed by Gavin Keane with producer Ruth Coady on board from Parallel Films. Cold Turkey concerns the misadventures of a frustrated Foley artist, curious children and petrified poultry.
Cured, an unconventional love story with a meaty twist, was written by Louise Ní Fhiannachta and will be directed by Mary Redmond and produced by Laura Ní Cheallaigh.
Windows, which is written and to be directed by Ken Walshe, is the story of a local misfit whose attempts to save a beautiful girl from a ruthless criminal ends in tragedy. Windows will be produced by John Wallace of Blacksheep Productions.
The Stage reports that there are likely to be job losses at the Abbey theatre in Dublin, as negotiations on redundancies get underway.
The spokeswoman was keen to stress that the job cuts do not signal a new financial emergency at the Abbey.
"We are not in crisis – the action we are taking is to avoid being forced into a crisis next year or the year after," she said. "We are simply taking precautions in what is a difficult economic climate for everyone."
Abbey director Fiach MacConghail echoed that sentiment in a message to staff, in which he praised the "highly skilled workforce" and called the proposed job cuts regrettable.
"The theatre itself is now a well managed organisation and we are not currently in deficit," he said. "However, the times we are living in compel us to take action sooner rather than later to avoid an otherwise inevitable financial crisis in the coming years."
Theatre Forum has its own YouTube Channel, which includes videos of interviews, discussions, and panels from its annual Conference last month, which had as its subject "The Way Through".
FÁS Screen Training Ireland is organising a half-day seminar on the 11th of July, in Galway during the Film Fleadh, on the collaboration between Directors and Writers.
The Writer/Director Collaboration is one of the most vital aspects of filmmaking. The Writer envisions and creates a Story. The Director brings the Story to life on the screen. In this seminar we will explore how Writers and Directors can work together more effectively and efficiently and how they can employ the talents and imagination of Actors in the Story and Character development process.
Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board has announced the new deadline of the short film scheme Virtual Cinema. Applications will be accepted until Friday 14th August
Virtual Cinema aims to encourage the exploration of fresh filmmaking ground with no creative holds barred. We are looking for creative ideas which will exploit interesting, new and traditional filmmaking techniques but can hold the attention of the YouTube audience.
The scheme is dedicated to the making of high-quality short films that are suited to the new forms of digital video consumption. Films made under the scheme can be live-action or can use any kind of animation technique and can be fiction or non-fiction. We are looking for new, imaginative, quirky and original ideas.
Films may be made in Irish or English with Irish language applications actively encouraged.
The first round of Virtual Cinema shorts, which premiered last summer can be viewed on a number of websites including the IFB website and YouTube with a number of the shorts receiving a huge number of hits due to viral marketing.
This round the IFB are funding up to 10 films with a duration of approximately 2 minutes and a maximum budget of €2,000.
Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board reports that foreign tourists spent €4.9 billion in Ireland in 2007, and a remarkable 15% of visitors cited "film" as a factor that influenced them to travel here. The IFB reckons that equates to €735 million in direct foreign investment.
The article implies that with the recent success of Once, The Tudors, and The Secret of Kells in international markets Ireland may continue to see an influx of tourists inspired to visit by celluloid fiction.
Northern Irish screenwriters have the opportunity to obtain one of ten free places on the Screenwriters' Master Class at the Galway Film Fleadh, as organised by Northern Ireland Screen.
Four of the ten selected writers will be chosen for a one-to-one with Christopher Hampton.
For full details contact Development Executive Natasha Geary at natasha@northernirelandscreen.co.uk by no later than 5pm on Tuesday, 23 June 2009.
Essential criteria to be considered for selection to attend the Master Class:
The Irish Writers' Centre is holding an Open Public Meeting at 3:30 pm on Saturday 27 June to discuss its future in light of the abrupt loss of its Arts Council grant.
For the last few weeks the Board of the Irish Writers' Centre has been consulting widely with individual writers and with people interested in literature and the arts generally. It has also been engaged with sister organisations in the literature field. The purpose of this extensive consultation is to ascertain what role, if any, the Irish Writers' Centre should play in the cultural life of the country in the future. At a meeting on the 14 July, the Board will consider all the options and all the recommendations submitted.
If you have any recommendations regarding the future functions, activities, responsibilities, etc, of the Irish Writers' Centre and have not had a chance to submit them already, this open meeting will offer you the opportunity of doing so.
High Tide is open for play submissions for HighTide Festival 2010 to promote new work by emerging writers.
HighTide welcome international scripts, written in English, on the basis that all selected writers are available in the UK for the dramaturgy, rehearsal and production period from November 2009 to May 2010.
The play should be sent to the address below, and must have a title page with author's name, address and telephone number. Scripts will not be returned.
The play must also be emailed to scripts@hightide.org.uk
Please enter your name and title of script in the subject line.
Submission deadline: 31st July 2009.
Please send all submissions to:
HighTide
24a St John Street
London EC1M 4AY
IFTN reports that Irish writer/director/producer Juanita Wilson won the Katrin Cartlidge Foundation Annual Bursary 2009 for her short film 'The Door'. The award of €8,000 will be presented to Juanita at the Sarajevo Film Festival in late August.
The Katrin Cartlidge Bursary is designed to encourage new creative voices in European cinema and to celebrate the independence, singularity and integrity of spirit that Katrin Cartlidge embraced and exemplified in her own lifetime.
The Galway Film Fleadh in conjunction with the Galway Film Centre has announced that American filmmaker Jon Jost (All The Vermeers in New York, Over Here) will host a five-day workshop during the Fleadh, beginning on Tuesday July 7.
The aim of the workshop is to familiarize participants with the myriad qualities which small digital DV and HDV cameras possess and to experiment in using these capacities in a creative manner. The workshop will also focus on the various types of in camera effects and how best to combine these with non-linear computer editing systems.
Those attending the workshop are advised to bring a DV or HDV (or Hi8) Camera and if possible a notebook computer which can be used for editing. The workshop will culminate on Sunday July 12 where participants will have the opportunity to screen the short films which they will make in the workshop at a special screening in the Cinemobile.
For further information please contact education@galwayfilmcentre.ie
The order of the finalists in the third round of the RTÉ web series Storyland are:
BBC Radio 7 has launched a new topical sketch show called Newsjack which seeks to scrutinise the news, views and issues of the day via comedy.
It is seeking new writers for material for the show.
The pilot aired last Thursday 4 June at 11pm, and has been commissioned for an initial six-week run. Each episode can be replayed for a week after broadcast via iPlayer.
Sketch submissions for the show must arrive each Monday by midday.
Further information on the programme and its submission process is available from the web site.
SOURCES 2 is an advanced training programme for European film professionals working in the field of script and story development, and offers workshops all over Europe for international participants, who are guided by international advisers.
The following two workshops are currently available:
SOURCES 2 Script Development Workshop
A workshop for screenwriters and teams of writers, producers or directors with feature film projects and creative documentaries in development.
A seven-day session, with coached development period, and follow-up session.
The application deadline is the 1st July 2009 for the workshop in Graz/Austria, 10th – 18th November 2009, with the support of Cinestyria, the Province of Styria/Cultural Department, the Austrian Film Institute and in cooperation with uniT Graz.
Requested: Feature film projects and creative documentaries
Application fee: €100. Participation fee: €1,800 per project/writer and €900 per second/third person committed to the project. Includes the seven-day session (accommodation and meals included, travel costs excluded), coaching during the re-writing period, and the second session of one day per project (accommodation, meals, travel costs excluded).
SOURCES 2 Projects & Process
Training Mentors for European Scriptwriters
A Workshop for professionals working in the field of script and story development (scriptwriters, editors, tutors, developers, commissioning editors, producers).
This is a three-day session, with coached development period, and round-off by e-mail.
The application deadline is the 1st August 2009 for the workshop in Prague/Czech Republic, 14th – 18th October 2009, with the support of the Ministry of Culture/Department of Media and Audiovision.
Participation fee: €750. Includes the three-day session (accommodation and meals included, travel costs excluded), three-month coaching period, round-off by e-mail.
Further details about the application process is available from the web site
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Arts Office in collaboration with the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) is looking for submissions for Writer in Residence at the IADT from October 2009– May 2010.
This year's residency seeks to support writers of contemporary fiction in all genres, with the exception of scriptwriters, whose genre is supported by the Hugh Leonard Award 2009.
Writers are invited to take inspiration from varied sources including the educational context, the innovative research work and the artistic resources.
The IADT will provide a desk and access to a computer within the college but will not provide an office.
The selected writer will be required to live in (or within reasonable commuting distance) to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County, and to IADT.
Residency objectives
To create opportunities for the individual artist to:
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council is looking for submissions for The Hugh Leonard Award 2009.
The award is open to mid-career scriptwriters who are residents or citizens of Ireland. The award consists of a bursary of €5,000 and the production of a rehearsed reading of one of the writer's scripts at From the Mountains to the Sea, DLR Literary Festival in September 2009.
A budget of €5,000 will cover the production of the rehearsed reading, which will be managed by DLR Arts with significant input from the selected recipient of the award. The successful applicant will need to be available from the 8th – 12th September for the rehearsed reading.
Selection will be made by way of an open submission competition.
Applicants will submit 3 copies of the following:
