MEDIA Results - Irish Co-development & TV Funding Success!
We are delighted to share more good news about funding awarded to Irish audiovisual companies! Two further TV funding awards have been confirmed as well as eight Co-development awards that feature Irish companies either as lead applicants or partners.
This is a fantastic result that represents a doubling of MEDIA Co-development funding awards for Irish companies since the 2022 results. MEDIA’s Co-development Funding award supports the co-development of fiction, animation, creative documentary for cinema, TV or digital platforms. The Irish companies, partners and projects are detailed below as are some quotes from companies who are delighted with their recent funding success!
Commenting on the Irish results, Orla Clancy MEDIA Office Dublin said: ‘The most recent results show that Irish Film and television companies are continuing to collaborate successfully with companies from across Europe. Through these results alone, we can see co-development partners from France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Italy and Sweden. It is wonderful to see so many Irish beneficiaries as lead partners in the collaborations. This co-development scheme is also a fantastic way for small companies to work on a European level by being a minority partner on a project.’
Eibhlín Ní Mhunghaile from MEDIA Office Galway added: ‘We are delighted to see Irish companies benefit from European Co-Development, a more challenging funding application than the previous Single Project Development scheme as European partners are required. This European collaboration is also evident in the TV & Online funding results which will see Gaeltacht company Telegael co-producing a 26x22’ Animated TV Series with Italy, Luxembourg and Germany; and Irish animation studio, Daily Madness, co-producing a 56x11’ TV Series with Belgium and France.’
Since the 2021 – 2027 Creative Europe programme started, €5.8 million has been awarded to Irish companies under the MEDIA strand. You can read our most up-to-date Irish results in our latest Irish MEDIA Results booklet produced to coincide with the Galway Film Fleadh 2023 in both Irish language PDF and English PDF.
The Galway Film Fair at the Fleadh is also supported by MEDIA’s Markets & Networks funding scheme. The next round of MEDIA funding calls is expected to be announced in early September 2023. Sign up to our newsletter (form at the bottom of the page) to make sure you don’t miss funding calls and our events!
IRISH CO-DEVELOPMENT RESULTS 2023
Funded projects with an Irish majority producer:
- John Lennon’s Beatle Island: Utopia Lost, Documentary - Gambit Pictures with French minority partner Zed Zooethnological Documentaries.
- The Olive Bunch, Animation - Daily Madness with minority partners Pixel Giants and Prickly Pear Animation, both from Cyprus.
- Kindred Spirits, Animation - Cartoon Saloon with French minority partner Folivari.
- One Night Only, Feature Drama - Wide Eye Films with German minority partner Egoli Tossell Pictures.
- Sultry Days, Feature Drama - Treehouse Media with minority partners TOP BERLIN Film & TV, Germany; Stowarzyszenie Kraków Film Klaster, Poland.
Funded projects with an Irish minority producer:
- Fish & Chips, Feature Drama - Wildcat Pictures minority producer with majority producer Emma Film Italy and minority producer Lava Films, Poland.
- A Few Miles South; Feature Drama - Stop Gap Films minority producer with majority producer New Europe Productions, Poland.
- Celtic Utopia, Documentary - Plainsong minority producer with majority producer MDEMC Produktion, Sweden.
TV & Online Content Irish Results Update
- Klincus Corteccia (animation) - Telegael Teoranta,
- Goat Girl (animation) - Daily Madness
WHAT DOES CREATIVE EUROPE MEDIA FUNDING AWARD MEAN TO YOU?
We asked the successful Irish companies to comment on how their Creative Europe MEDIA funding awards will impact their companies and their projects.
Stop Gap Films
‘I am absolutely thrilled that our project, A FEW MILES SOUTH, is one of the recipients of a Creative Europe MEDIA Co-Development Award. This is a great endorsement of the project and the co-development team in Stop Gap Films and our partners, New Europe Productions, in Poland. This award will give us the opportunity to continue the cross-Europe collaboration already in place between Ireland and Poland. Having the expertise and support of the Creative Europe MEDIA team behind us will ensure we will have everything in place to take A Few Miles South in an exciting direction.’ Diarmuid Hughes, Producer/Co-Founder, Stop Gap Films.
Wildcat Pictures
'Receiving Creative Europe’s Co-Development support for director Giulio Squillacciotti's film, FISH AND CHIPS, is hugely encouraging and inspiring for both our company and the project. We at Wildcat Pictures, along with our co-producers Emma Film (Italy) and Lava Films (Poland) are delighted to receive this endorsement from such a major international organisation. The resources awarded will allow us to shape our project with careful collaboration, bringing together the varied strengths and perspectives of each co-producer. For a film which charts three European stories of migration crossing paths in a rural Irish town, international co-development is not only valuable, but imperative, and we appreciate the recognition of this through Creative Europe’s support. We are beyond excited to dive into the development of this exciting project, together with our co-producers and the creative team.' Jessie Fisk + Jane Doolan, Company Directors, Wildcat Pictures.
Wide Eye Films
‘This co-development funding from Creative Europe MEDIA is a tremendous boost which empowers us to pursue a more daring approach in realising writer/director David Gleeson’s vision for ONE NIGHT ONLY. As Wide Eye Films has been the proud recipient of MEDIA support on a number of previous occasions, I can attest to its transformative impact on a film's viability during development. Together with our German co-producers, Egoli Tossell Pictures, we are excited to use this funding boost to broaden the scope of our ambition for ONE NIGHT ONLY, aiming to create a truly unique and unforgettable cinematic experience for a global audience.’ Nathalie Lichtenthaeler, CEO and producer, Wide Eye Films.
Plainsong Films
‘Plainsong Films, and our Swedish partners MDEMC, were delighted to be in receipt of Co-Development award for our project CELTIC UTOPIA. Plainsong also received Slate Funding in 2022 and the support of Creative Europe with both these awards has immeasurably accelerated the company's growth, reach, and creative development.’ Clare Stronge, Documentary Maker, Founder, Plainsong Films.
Treehouse Media
‘Treehouse Media Limited and our European partners at Top Berlin Film GmbH and Krakow Film Klaster are delighted to receive this funding from Creative Europe MEDIA. This gives us the necessary support to develop our script further and create a professional pitch and trailer for major film markets. SULTRY DAYS is a sensual and poetic coming of age drama about a love quadrangle based on the novella by Eduard von Keyserling. The story explores nobility and patriarchy before the outbreak of the First World War and the end of the German monarchy.’ Liam Beatty, Associate Producer, Treehouse Media.
Cartoon Saloon
‘We are delighted to have received Creative Media Co-Development Funding for our project KINDRED SPIRITS. Development funding is the lifeblood of every studio and integral to the industry as a whole. With this funding we can continue to nurture our relationship with our co-production partner Folivari and work together to develop a beautifully handcrafted feature film. We are thoroughly looking forward to diving straight into the world of KINDRED SPIRITS and we can't wait to see the fruits of our labour.’ Tomm Moore, Director + Co-owner, Cartoon Saloon.
