Anatomy of a Failed Project

Martin Duffy, director of Taliesin Jones and The Boy From Mercury among other features, puts some serious questions to Bord Scánnán na hÉireann (BS/IFB) about their development of his project Jenny's Gift. [Extract]

For two and a half years, my main professional focus was on getting a small scale feature film called Jenny's Gift into production. This is the story of how it never happened. While BS/IFB do not - as far as I know ­ have a clearly stated decision making policy, I offer this tale of a dream unrealised in the hope that it ­ accompanied by responses from the Board ­ will offer some clues for others who seek to spend more of their professional lives making work and less of their time trying to meet the needs of an inscrutable BS/IFB.

The most important thing to say about my script Jenny's Gift is that it comes from my heart. When I returned to Ireland in 1999, I declared the ambition to make my stand here and persevere with making personal projects. By late 1999, however, my inner life had unravelled as I finally started dealing with the fact that I had been abused ­ mentally, physically and sexually ­ when I was a boy. That therapy carried on into 2000 and in April of that year it spilled over into my imagination as certain story strands came together in my head.I had long carried around the idea of a creative 'gift' being a two-edged sword and the notion of a story of an old musician meeting a young musician who, like him, hides a wound by getting lost in music. From there came the simple start; a woman brings her young teenage daughter to the attention of an elderly musician. He nourishes the girl's musical gift and acknowledges that she, like he, is wounded. He believes this is because of the death of the girl's father ­ but then discovers that the girl is being abused. When he starts trying to help, all the complications of the situation break loose ­ changing both their lives profoundly.

My aim was to write and make a feature that dealt with the subject of child abuse in a way that was neither didactic nor graphic. Above all, I wanted to tell a story that offered help and hope to abused children. I wrote the first draft of the script in a week ­ sleeping when I couldn't stay awake, and grabbing whatever food was at hand rather than cooking. At the end of the week I began to develop a skin condition that lasted for more than six months; I became allergic to sunlight. It was caused by being completely drained by the impact of the preceding months.All this is by way of letting you know my connection and commitment to the story. As I half-jokingly wrote to Rod Stoneman, "this time it's personal".

Initially, I sent in two applications to the Film Board. One for development funds, and one for production funds. Why? I had written this in a simple and achievable way and I wanted to go quickly into production on a very low budget ­ around IEP£150,000.

The word came back, through Rod Stoneman, that the Board were supportive but felt I needed to focus more on development. I was frustrated by the decision at the time, but in retrospect it was wise. I had received input from various friends in the business, as well as from people working in the field of film education, and the script needed more work. Feedback at that stage could be summed up as the following points: Samuel (the elderly musician) did not seem to be much of a hero; the ending seemed too abrupt and Samuel's character (an elderly gay English man) tended to have very stilted dialogue. I worked on incorporating these points into a new draft. A friend in the film business in New York, TC Rice, said the story lacked a third act. This was an interesting thought and indeed I realised my first draft was stunted. In early Autumn, I was receiving a flow of responses from the scripts I had sent out. Perhaps foolishly, I had sent my first draft to a few potential serious backers, and all had negative responses. Channel Four's response was that they had already made a drama dealing with child abuse (they were also, presumably, only ever going to make one love story, one historical drama etc). Granada said they were already committed to another Irish project. Mary Callery, newly appointed in RTE's independent production unit, had written saying RTE would no longer be getting involved in feature film projects ­ only TV series. I wrote back pleading for help and she kindly met me. She offered 'an enhanced presale' of IEP£25,000 ­ this of course being dependent on the film's being completed and delivered. But it was a welcome start and the first tangible piece of money brought to the project.Through Marina Hughes, producer of my first film The Boy from Mercury, I was introduced to Michael O'Sullivan of Anglo Irish Bank who said that ­ as an act of support for the project ­ he would source Section 481 funds for an absolutely minimal fee. It was another welcome act of faith, though again not money up front for production.

The project then entered a dark phase I see no point going into. I had gone to an upcoming producer and not once but twice he told me he had resubmitted the project to the Film Board for production funding, only to come back to me some time after each deadline confessing he had not submitted the project.

The full text of this article is printed in Film Ireland 89