A £5 million (#6.35m) company development initiative for Irish film production has been launched by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera.
"The essence of this proposal, which will be subject to criteria laid down by the Irish Film Board, will be the introduction of a three-year cycle of funding for a number of medium-sized production companies," she said.
She was speaking yesterday at a lunch hosted by the Irish Film Board (IFB) and the Screen Commission of Ireland at the 54th Cannes Film Festival, which was attended by journalists from the key international film trade papers, along with a number of Irish film producers and executives, and Ireland's honorary consul in the south of France, Mr Pierre Joannon.
The company development initiative is designed to allow Irish film producers to compete internationally to attract the talent and finance they need to make commercially viable films to build up equity in their companies.
The IFB has established the initiative in partnership with Anglo Irish Bank. Over a three-year period the IFB will provide up to £2.5m, Anglo Irish Bank will provide up to £1.5m, with the companies required to raise the balance of £1m.
Mr Ossie Kilkenny, chairman of the IFB, commented: "This partnership with the banking sector is the first initiative of the Irish Film Board that specifically sets out to assist Irish production companies grow and strengthen their operations. We see the participation of Anglo Irish Bank as crucial to the success of this initiative and we believe this involvement will greatly strengthen and enhance the commercial focus of the operations of selected companies.
"This initiative is a challenge to Irish producers to grasp the opportunity now presented to them. We want to consider applications from any producer, large or small, who has a vision and a determination to realise their ambition."
Earlier in the day the Minister opened the Irish Pavilion on the Croisette in Cannes. Strategically located close to the Festival Palais, the pavilion serves as a meeting place for Irish delegates, of whom there are over 120 at the festival, and their international contacts. The pavilion project was developed by the Northern Ireland Film Commission, the Irish Film Board and the Screen Commission of Ireland.
"Over the last seven years," Ms de Valera said, "the Irish film and television industry has developed from a marginal level of activity to an estimated annual turnover of #200m in 2000". She also noted the Government's extension of the Section 481 tax-relief scheme to 2005 is "the first time an Irish government has given the scheme such a long extension into the future."
On Wednesday, Ms de Valera was among the guests at the festival's opening night, which, she told The Irish Times, had "a great sense of occasion" and she described the opening film, Moulin Rouge, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, as "tremendous".