IRISH FILM AND TELEVISION THE YEAR IN REVIEW – 2020

Abstract

Introduction Globalizing the Local: Irish Film and TV in 2016 Roddy Flynn and Tony Tracy 253 Sanctuary (Len Collin, 2016) Liz Carville 260 Reimagining an Irish City: I am Belfast (Mark Cousins, 2016) Sean Crosson 263 The Tragedy of the Commons: Atlantic (Risteard O'Domhnaill, 2016) Eileen Culloty 266 The Young Offenders (Peter Foott, 2016) Philip Devine 269 The Horrors of Grief: A Dark Song (Liam Gavin, 2016) Loretta Goff 272 Turn and Face the Strange: Sing Street (John Carney, 2016) Harvey O'Brien 276 Globalizing the Local: Irish Film and TV in 2016 Roddy Flynn and Tony Tracy "Ireland's presence globally is through its culture, that's our strongest identifier" Lenny Abrahamson By any standards, 2016 was an exceptional year of output and achievements for the Irish audio-visual sector which continued to grow in activity, ambition and international acclaim. Alongside headline achievements for feature films such as Room, Sing Street, The Lobster, The Young Offenders there were notable successes in animation, short films and documentary as well as a bumper--and unlikely to be repeated--level of drama and factual programming produced for the small screen as part of the 1916 commemorations. Thanks to such efforts, and despite an increasing tendency towards non-Irish settings and stories in feature film, one of the most striking elements of moving image production in 2016 was the degree to which this range of output balanced cultural and commercial imperatives in an era of increasingly commodified "content". Having said that, there was irony in the fact that having produced an unprecedented quantity (and quality) of material dealing with the historical origins of an independent Ireland in the early part of the year, the television sector underwent rapid and seismic changes in the second half of 2016 in an apparently irreversible shift towards globalized ownership and formats and a fundamental re-shaping of RTEs role as national broadcaster. Off-screen, 2016 was also marked by a perceptible advance in gender participation and a range of female-led successes and appointments. Prolific producers such as Rebecca O'Flanagan (Viva, Handsome Devil), Katie Holly (the period film Love and Friendship was one of the year's biggest and most unusual Irish success stories), Rachel Lysaght (Strange Occurrences in a Small Irish Village, Hostage to the Devil) and Leslie McKimm continued to build business momentum while also being to the forefront of institutional decision processes; Holly and Lysaght were appointed as members of the IFB and McKimm as Project Manager. Within the same organization the confirmation of Dr. Annie Doona as IFB Chair (following the untimely passing of Bill O'Herlihy in June 2016), marked the first woman in the role since Lelia Doolin in the early 1990s. Doona was instrumental in the formulation of the IFB's "six point plan" in Nov. 2015, "a holistic and integrated approach to achieve real change" around gender equality in the industry. Among its commitments was greater focus on, and transparency around funding decisions, the consequences of which have led to an increased proportion of development funding to projects with female involvement in July 2016 and a female-majority board in March 2017. Another notable appointment was that of Ms. Dee Forbes as Director General of RTE. Having previously held senior roles at Turner Broadcasting and the Discovery channel she is the first woman to hold the role at RTE at a time of enormous challenges to public broadcasting and the first external appointment in almost 50 years. …