CinÉireann March 2018 | Page 23

Savage Pictures' producer John Keville is another who has gone on to produce huge feature films having started out with a short.

"My first experience at pitching successfully was in front of the short film panel for the Filmbase award. It was for director Lee Cronin’s short film Billy & Chuck. As I type this I am sitting in Brussels in the grade completing his first film. It is completely obvious that the trust and encouragement Alan and his team in Filmbase showed Lee and many filmmakers through the years was invaluable, and whats more totally justified. It is a worrying time that these talented people and this vital institution for young Irish filmmakers will no longer exist. I want to thank them for the opportunity - They will be sadly missed."

John Keville - Producer

IFTA-nominated filmmaker Garret Daly is just one of those who taught courses at Filmbase.

"It’s a terrible shame to hear this news. Having lectured on a number of programmes there I could see the benefit first hand of providing a link to those curious about the industry and eager to get a start. The range of courses offered were very worthwhile to people and I guarantee there are many working in the industry today that benefited from attending them. That combined with their film schemes, equipment and facilities Filmbase created a hub when there was none in Dublin city. Im sorry for the staff and members who were all deeply dedicated to film. They’ve helped many people navigate their first steps in film production and their presence will be truly missed in time."

Garret Daly - Writer/Director and Filmbase Lecturer

Brendan Muldowney, who last year gave us the medieval epic Pilgrimage, made two shorts and wrote his first feature there.

"Filmbase was instrumental in my career - I made 2 shorts under the short film scheme, attended their CE scheme, took countless educational courses, used the equipment hire and short film insurance service to make independent shorts, hired rooms for rehearsal and auditions, edited films there and had many meetings in the cafe. I also served as a board member and saw the care and attention that was given to facilitating and training the upcoming film community that has blossomed today. I wrote my first feature film SAVAGE during a scriptwriting course there and Filmbase were one of the funders of SAVAGE when we went to make it. The closure of Filmbase is a catastrophic blow to the new and emerging filmmaking community, who rely on its resources to take the next step up."

Brendan Muldowney - Writer/Director

The loss has been felt throughout the industry, with filmmakers, actors, film crew, and festival organisers all lamenting its loss.

"It's odd when a part of the Creative Ireland manifesto is supporting the Irish Audio Visual industry when the government just allowed the heart of the industry to be ripped out! Filmbase has kept independent film-making alive for so long when no one else was bothered. We would not have a growing industry without it's influence and the government will rue the day that it had to close! I feel so sorry for the next generation of film-makers they will never know what they have lost."

Eleanor McSherry - Co-Chairperson at LACE: Limerick Arts and Culture Exchange

"If we want to be able to celebrate Irish film successes in future there have to be more entry level routes into filmmaking in Ireland. While the tools to create film are being democratised we still need support structures to succeed, the closure of Filmbase is a step backwards in that regard."

James Doherty - Director

"I definitely feel that the development of emerging talent is very much lacking here and it’s very sad to see one of the positive and encouraging avenues responsible for that now gone."

Ross Whitaker - Director/Producer

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