Galway has announced its bid to join UNESCO's Creative Cities network as a City of Film which was officially unveiled by Bill O'Herlihy, Chairman of Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board and Mayors Councillor Pádraig Conneely and Councillor Liam Carroll.
With the audiovisual sector in the West of Ireland having a direct contribution of €72 million to the region in 2012,* and only two other designated Cities of Film in the world, signals the significance of the bid, which is supported by the IFB, Galway City Council and Galway County Council, on both a national and international scale.
UNESCO's Creative Cities Network is designed to promote the Educational, Social, Economic, Scientific and Cultural development of cities. Currently there are 34 member cities around the world in the Creative Cities Network, including cities of film, literature, music, design and other art forms with only two other Cities of Film in the network: Sydney and Bradford. The latter became the first UNESCO City of Film and is twinned with Galway, lending its position as an avid supporter of the current bid by Galway.
Galway's relationship with film-making dates back to the earliest days of the last century when the industry was still in its infancy and now boasts a rich film heritage with productions including: Robert O'Flaherty's ‘Man of Aran‘, John Ford's ‘The Quiet Man' starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, John Huston's "Sinful Davy" along with the 2011 hit "The Guard'. In the 1970s, it was Bob Quinn's initiatives in film-making and innovations with Irish language television and cinema which, along with other Irish film-makers, laid the foundations for the vigorous and developing film-making activity we see today.
The City of Film will have a broad remit to include television and animation and so Galway's heritage of productions such as ‘Ros na Rún', ‘Na Cloigne', ‘1916 Seachtar na Cásca' and ‘Rásaí na Gaillimhe' will form part of the bid. Over the last 25 years the Galway sector has grown to be the largest concentration of people working in film, television and animation outside of Dublin.
Galway is now home to a vibrant and productive audiovisual sector that is comprised of 50 production companies and supported by one national broadcaster, three national funding agencies, two third level institutes offering courses dedicated to audiovisual production alongside a raft of other supporting agencies.
There are now over 600 people working in the film and television in Galway, showing a 24.5% growth in employment over the past five years, supported by an 18.6% increase in revenue for the industry over the same time period.
The UNESCO status will provide international networking and business opportunities for production companies, greater awareness of the region's potential to produce film and television projects, promote the region as a location destination, increase business in the tourism and hospitality sector and provide greater opportunities to learn, enjoy and get involved in film and media related screenings, exhibitions, festivals and activities. It will also extend the opportunities for children to learn more about film, to watch a greater range of work and to understand the value of film and media literacy in today's society.
Led by the two Councils, the bid is facilitated by Galway Film Centre and also encompasses over 50 key partners from across the West of Ireland including; Bord Scannán na hÉireann / The Irish Film Board, Galway Picture Palace, Galway Film Fleadh, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Abú Media, Studio Solas, GMIT Film and Documentary Dept., Huston School of Film and Digital Media, Media Antenna, Cinemobile, Teach Solais and Eo Teilifís.
Further information
* As part of the bid an economic survey of the sector in Galway has just been completed by Dr. Patrick Collins, a Geographer with the Whitaker Institute at NUI Galway. The information gathered shows that in economic terms, the audiovisual sector had a direct contribution to the economy of Galway in the region of €72 million in 2012. The sector employed 610 people in county Galway last year (470 on a full-time basis and 240 [full-time equivalents] on a part time basis), and many more were employed indirectly in a supporting capacity (catering etc.). This reflects a vibrant and growing sector with an average growth in production company employment of 24.5% over the past 5 years.
List of over 50 organisations involved in UNESCO bid:
At the core of the work being done on the bid is The Western Audio Visual Forum which is made up of the following eighteen organisations: Údarás na Gaeltachta, TG4, Galway County Council (Arts Office), Galway City Council (Arts Office), NUI, Galway, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Telegael, EO Telifís, Tidal Films, Abú Media, Gaelmedia, Galway Film Fleadh, Galway Film Centre (Chair), Cinemobile, Studio Solas, Power Pictures, Media Antenna and Galway Picture Palace. Also involved in the preparation of the bid are Teach Solais, Europus Teoranta, A Man & Ink, Claddagh Films, Dig Productions, Fake Dog Films, LittleVision, Riverside Television, ROSG, Scannáin Dobharchú, Spirit Films, Two for Joy, 2000AD Productions, Magamedia, Sónta Productions, Film Stills Ireland, Props & Vintage, Savage Creative, Costume & Couture, Léirithe le MacDara Ó Curraidhín Teo, Fíbín Teo, Fréam Teo, Ikandi Productions, Moving Still Productions, Big Yes Productions Ltd, FM Media Teo, Rúnda Films, Sonny and Skye Productions, Merchants Gate Films, The Visual Brew, Tandem Productions, RílMedia Teoranta, Iris Media Productions, DeFacto Films and Beyond The Wall Films.