“There’s something considerable happening here… It’s an exciting time for Northern Ireland.” – Richard Williams, chief executive, NI Screen.
The Dan Gilbert Memorial Lecture.
Last week saw the Belfast Media Festival 2015 take place at The MAC, with two days jam-packed full of events, and with lots of film and media professionals, students and other interested parties intermingling. Myself included. I managed to get along on Friday for a couple of sessions and, while I might not have recognised everyone I passed, it was a golden opportunity for those in the industry to rub shoulders with some very influential people. I did spot Glenn Patterson though, and I bumped into a few familiar faces from the world of newspapers, so all was not lost!
Camilla Long of Bespoke Communications.
The first event I took in was the Dan Gilbert Memorial Lecture from RTS, where I listened to chief executive of NI Screen – Richard Williams – chat about the myriad successes of our film industry here in the province. And what successes they are. The Fall, Line of Duty, Game of Thrones… to name a mere three. Believe me, the list goes on. Northern Ireland is making a real name for itself in the film and media industry and it would be remiss of us not to realise this and ensure that support is in place for it to flourish further.
Two years ago, NI Screen announced its four-year strategy to make Northern Ireland second only to London and the UK in terms of filmmaking prowess. This was the ‘Opening Doors’ project – the name inspired by CS Lewis’ book, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
“We don’t like to oversell,” said Williams. “So you can believe that we mean it. It’s all about marketing and to get the message (about NI) out to international and external audiences.”
The reason for Northern Ireland’s “considerable growth” said Williams, is because NI Screen is investing significantly in every area within the local media industry, including:
– Animation
– Factual and entertainment programmes
– Gaming
– Independent film
– Irish language and Ulster Scots programmes
– Large-scale productions
– TV drama
As a former newspaper man, Williams also referenced the demise of print newspapers, saying that publications like the Belfast Telegraph where he once worked, were simply the “first fall guys from the digital revolution.” It’s not something they can really change, he added. The future for film however, is oh so much brighter…
My second event of the day was the Women in the Media: Get Connected panel session, organised by Camilla Long of Bespoke Communications, and with her new business partner, Sarah Travers, part of the panel. Singer/songwriter, Cheylene Murphy, was first to speak, giving an inspiring talk about her Go Girl project, which she set up so creative young women could spark off one another and encourage and support each other in chasing their dreams.
Musician, Cheylene Murphy.
This was followed by a general discussion on why women are still largely under-represented in the media, with the panellists sharing details about their individual support networks for women (and their experiences of these), including the ‘A Wee Cup of Tea’ initiative from Dundalk, and Women in Business NI. From listening to the discussion, my conclusions were that women seem to be less confident in putting themselves forward for some key roles (this was backed up by a research grad on the day), and that they’re largely underestimated – still – by men in the media industry.
The good thing is that something is being done about it through the various women’s networks we already have and those which are continuing to spring up as we speak. As an Entrepreneurial Spark ‘chiclet’ however, my advice is this:
#GODO!
All in all, it was a BMF to remember…