Screen Ireland has announced an increase to the budget and funding loan thresholds for Irish Feature Film Development Funding. New supports included a ‘locked box’ development system with the aim to “incentivise and recognise success” of Irish screenwriters and production companies.
Screen Ireland is to introduce increases in their feature film development funding, which will provide support for Ireland-based or Irish screenwriters and production companies to develop original screenplays.
New funding thresholds
Funding thresholds for Irish Feature Film Development have now been increased from a maximum available loan of €50,000 to €75,000, without any requirement for match funding. For loan awards over €75,000, match funding will need to be in place, and the overall cap of the award has been increased to €125,000.
These updates come shortly after Screen Ireland increased its funding thresholds for Irish Production funding in April, aiming to support Irish feature filmmaking across the board.
‘Locked box’ development support
Screen Ireland has also announced a new feature in its development process, a ‘locked box funding’ support system, similar to other national funds across Europe, that will further support the development of Irish screenwriters and production companies across Ireland.
Screen Ireland development funding loans are repayable on the first day of principal photography. In the new locked box funding system, this repayment will be held by Screen Ireland for that relevant production company to reinvest in the development of new Irish feature film projects. This reinvestment is subject to project eligibility criteria, i.e. projects that would normally qualify for Screen Ireland’s Irish Feature Film Development fund, and a maximum allocation of €75,000 per project.
The aim of this support is to incentivise and recognise success, ensuring that support can be reinvested into Irish writers and the screenwriting landscape in Ireland.
Guidelines
Full criteria and guidelines on the new funding thresholds and locked box funding can now be read in the updated Development Funding Guidelines 2024 and a Q&A here.
The next deadline for development is Monday, 1st July 2024 and this round is now open on the Screen Ireland Applications Portal. The new Irish feature film development funding thresholds will apply to any applications submitted for this round onwards, while the lockbox system will apply to any Screen Ireland development-supported Irish feature film projects that have not yet contracted for production.
