Film Ireland

"Film Ireland" is a cultural cinema magazine published on a bimonthly basis by Filmbase (aka Film Base) Centre for Film and Video in Dublin, Ireland. It is Ireland's longest-running film publication [Flynn, Roderick and Patrick Brereton. "Film Base", "Historical Dictionary of Irish Cinema", Scarecrow Press, 2007. Page 120.] .

History

)" ["Happy Birthday to Us", "Film Ireland", Issue 100, September-October 2004, page 30.] .

In 1992, after thirty issues, "Filmbase News" changed its name to "Film Ireland". Editor Patrick Barrett explained that the change of name was intended to reflect the magazine's widening audience [Editorial. "Film Ireland", Issue 30, July–August 1992, page 4.] , but former editor Johnny Gogan later stated that "the name change [was] presented as a fait accompli to the board and the organisation" ["Happy Birthday to Us", "Film Ireland", Issue 100, September-October 2004, page 31.] . Gogan opposed the move to make the publication into a national magazine "out of a belief in the parochial which has endured", while later editor Hugh Linehan considered it "a progressive and ambitious move, but one which threw up its own challenges" ["Happy Birthday to Us", "Film Ireland", Issue 100, September-October 2004, page 31–32.]

Other editors of the magazine have included Paul Power, who maintained the magazine's status as a journal of record by keeping "local writers, directors, and producers in the frame of almost every story" ["Happy Birthday to Us", "Film Ireland", Issue 100, September-October 2004, page 33.] ; Hugh Linehan, who went on to edit "The Ticket", the weekly entertainment supplement of "The Irish Times" [Flynn, Roderick and Patrick Brereton. "Film Ireland", "Historical Dictionary of Irish Cinema", Scarecrow Press, 2007. Page 122.] ; Ted Sheehy, Ireland correspondent of "Screen International", "who was often critical of the lack of a professional film grammar within much Irish film production" [Flynn, Roderick and Patrick Brereton. "Film Ireland", "Historical Dictionary of Irish Cinema", Scarecrow Press, 2007. Page 122.] ; and Tony Keily, who believed that film criticism and publication "should be radicated in a common film culture. And the job of a publication like "Film Ireland" is to provide a small space for that culture to grow. A pluralist space that doesn't obviously belong to anybody" [Editorial. "Film Ireland", Issue 87, July–August 2002, page 5.]

Ethos

engaged in debate with Irish Film Board CEO Mark Woods regarding the Board's low and micro-budget initiatives ["Low Future?", "Film Ireland', 'Issue 103, March–April 2005. Pages 16–17.]

Marking the magazine's twentieth anniversary in May 2007, editor Lir Mac Cárthaigh set out the magazine's core objectives, drafted by the previous editor, Tony Keily. These objectives are "To provide a detailed public record of audiovisual culture in Ireland" and "To foster Film Culture in Ireland". To these core objectives Mac Cárthaigh added three further aims: "To raise the profile of cultural cinema exhibition across the island of Ireland", "To promote awareness of and appreciation for Ireland's cinematic heritage" and "To recognise the short film as a cultural artefact, and to encourage discussion of the form" [Editorial, "Film Ireland", Issue 116, May–June 2007. Page 5.] .

"Film Ireland" is also noted for its support of lower-budget and unconventionally-funded filmmaking [Editorial, "Film Ireland", Issue 115, March–April 2007. Page 5.] . Low-budget Irish productions such as Karl Golden's "The Honeymooners" and Perry Ogden's "Pavee Lackeen" have been championed by the magazine ["Something Borrowed, Something New", "Film Ireland", Issue 97, March–April 2004. Pages 12–14.] ["On the Margins", "Film Ireland", Issue 107, November–December 2005. Pages 12–14.] , and "Film Ireland" was one of the first publications to write at length about John Carney's ultra-low-budget feature "Once" ["Film Ireland", Issue 115, March–April 2007.] .

Editors

Editors of "Film Ireland":
*Johnny Gogan ("Film Base News" 1–17, May 1987–June 1990)
*John Doyle ("Film Base News" 18–28, June 1990–April 1992)
*Patrick Barrett ("Film Base News" 29–30, "Film Ireland" 31–34, May 1992–May 1993)
*Frances Power ("Film Ireland" 35–36, June–September 1993)
*Hugh Linehan ("Film Ireland" 37–45, October 1993–March 1995)
*Paul Power ("Film Ireland" 46–54, April 1995–September 1996)
*Ted Sheehy ("Film Ireland" 55–80, October 1996–May 2001)
*Tony Keily ("Film Ireland" 81–95, June 2001–December 2003)
*Lir Mac Cárthaigh ("Film Ireland" 96–118, January 2004–October 2007)

Irish Film Poll (2002)

To mark "Film Ireland"'s 100th issue in 2002, the magazine conducted a poll among its readers to determine their favourite Irish feature films. The definition of "Irish" was left open, though the films had to have be released before summer 2002, and be more than 60 minutes in duration. The results were as follows: ["Shades of Green", "Film Ireland", Issue 100, September–October 2004. Pages 26–29.]
#"The Butcher Boy" (Neil Jordan, 1997)
#"Intermission" (John Crowley, 2003)
#"My Left Foot" (Jim Sheridan, 1989)
#"In the Name of the Father" (Jim Sheridan, 1993) and "I Went Down" (Paddy Breathnach, 1997)
#"The Commitments" (Alan Parker, 1991)
#"The Crying Game" (Neil Jordan, 1992) and "Michael Collins" (Neil Jordan, 1996)
#"The Field" (Jim Sheridan, 1990)
#"Disco Pigs" (Kirsten Sheridan, 2000) and "In America" (Jim Sheridan, 2003)
#"The General" (John Boorman, 1998)
#"Bloody Sunday" (Paul Greengrass, 2001)

External links

Official site: http://www.filmireland.net/

References