The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has announced details of the latest round of funding under the Sound & Vision Scheme. A total of €5.24m was made available to a wide range of broadcasters and independent production companies. Of this €4.804m has been allocated to 27 television projects, while 72 radio projects will benefit from funding totalling €444,000.
Some notable features of the current round include 66 documentaries (13 television and 53 radio projects) and 15 drama projects- ten for radio and five for TV. Some of the documentaries will focus on the lives and legacies of people like Hugh Lane, John Hume, Dolours Price and Ivor Browne. There are two Irish language drama projects for TG4, including a second series of the well-received ‘An Klondike’, the first series of which is available to a broader audience on Netflix under the title ‘Dominion Creek’.
According to Michael O’Keeffe, Chief Executive of the BAI, said: “This is the third round to be concluded since revisions to the Sound & Vision Scheme were implemented at the start of last year. While we continue to be over-subscribed in each round, the quality of applications remains high due largely to the intense competition for funds. The BAI is very pleased to be in a position to again exceed the indicative allocation by €500k. This has been made possible through the careful management of the fund, which is derived from the television licence fee.
“The BAI is proud of the contribution that Sound & Vision is making to the production of high quality television and radio productions and the provision of funding support to projects such as the Oscar nominated film ‘Brooklyn’. The Scheme is also supporting a range of 1916 commemoration projects including ‘Rebellion’, which has achieved ratings success on RTE1 and EIPIC, a six-part drama series specially addresses a younger audience and has been well received at preview screening in colleges this month,” he says.
