In the light of Northern Ireland's increased exposure on-screen, and the recent influx of high-profile international projects, Michael Open casts an eye over the state of production in the North, and talks with NIFTC Chief Executive Richard Williams.

Perched on the edge of Europe and, for over thirty years, locked in an outwardly incomprehensible cycle of sectarian strife and political deadlock, Northern Ireland would not have seemed the ideal place to start a film industry. Yet with the creation of the UK's National Lottery in 1994, and the tendency towards economic democracy within the British government, that is exactly what has been the intention for the past decade.

The story so far
Before that, filmmaking in the North had meant documentaries (some, notably by John T Davis, very good) and the occasional incoming major production, with the latter being heavily circumscribed by the cost of insurance against possible terrorist or paramilitary disruption. The frustration of local filmmakers and would-be filmmakers led to the formation of the Northern Ireland Film Council (a voluntary, largely self-appointed body) in the early 1990s. In 1997, this was replaced by the Northern Ireland Film Commission - a fully funded QUANGO [Note: A quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation; a semi-public administrative body with financial support from and senior appointments made by the government -OED.] which received money from the Department of Economic Development for film production and the Department of Education for film exhibition and education.

From the very beginning, then, the dual nature of film production – the economic and the cultural – was reflected in the organisation's line of responsibility. Additionally, there has always been a very close relationship between the Commission and local broadcasters – reflected in the fact that their first offices were a literal stone's throw from the BBC's Broadcasting House in the direction of UTV's headquarters.

In the first years following the Commission's formation (1997), the Lottery Fund was administered by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, resulting in an initial rush of low-medium budget feature films, and a large number of shorts. Of features emerging in the first year included: Crossmaheart – a romantic thriller set in border country, All For Love – the Little Bird historical romp, Divorcing Jack – the Colin Bateman-scripted comedy thriller, Titanic Town – Julie Walters getting on her high horse about the agonies of living in West Belfast, and Sunset Heights – Colm Villa's somewhat OTT, but at least passionate, dystopian vision of a future Ireland dominated by gangs.

Forgetting the 'quality' for a minute, the process seemed to be really up and running with, notionally, fifteen feature films made in the North in the first three years of the 'new deal'. However, closer attention to the figures shows that only seven of these had more than 10% of the budget spent in the Province. But the explanation of that is probably more to do with the lack of infrastructure than any more sinister issue. Three of the films were 'unfunded' incoming productions, with An Everlasting Piece (1999) having the might of Dreamworks behind it.

Around this time the lead role in funding passed from the Arts Council to the Film Commission, which then changed its name to the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission. At this point the pace of feature film production slowed, from seven in 1999 to just four in the three years 2000-2. Since then numbers, at least, have improved, with three features and a TV drama in 2003; The Mighty Celt, Breakfast on Pluto and The Secret Life of Words (not funded by the Commission) in 2004; and six, mainly smaller, films last year.

Finally, the changes in UK tax legislation announced in the Finance Bill of April 2006 are bound to provide many more opportunities for film production, and Northern Ireland is positioning itself to take some portion of these. The commencement of principal photography on Nic Roeg's much-awaited Puffball (from a novel by Fay Weldon), and the arrival in Belfast of Lord Richard Attenborough signalling the imminent start of Closing the Ring, showed that the new regulations are working to the industry's benefit.

The full article is printed in Film Ireland 111.