Director John Boorman and film producer Kieran Corrigan yesterday launched their brand-new project – Irish Film School – at the Lir Academy, Dublin. In a discussion at the launch with RTÉ broadcaster Marian Finucane, the pair spoke at length about the mission and ethos of this latest arrival on Ireland’s film scene. The school will officially open at the Lir Academy on October 22nd, and is offering training courses to students, such as filmmaking with Boorman, the business of film with Corrigan and film and TV production with US film and TV line producer Tom Kane, among others.
The school aims not only to immerse its students in a stimulating, creative environment but also to help them gain an understanding of how best to negotiate the challenges all aspiring filmmakers inevitably face in seeking financial backing for their work. In this sense, Irish Film School endeavours to synthesise its students’ artistic sensibilities with an essential, business-like pragmatism. It is hoped that this combination will equip future generations of filmmakers with the skills required for success in the film industry. Some of the students have said that they enjoy learning from a variety of filmmaking resources like Friends in Film as well. Since there are so many different approaches to making film it is smart to consider a range of educational tools to help you get the job in the film industry that you’d want.
In a press statement, explaining his motivations for founding Irish Film School, Excalibur and Deliverance Director Boorman said: “I founded Irish Film School in order to help young filmmakers to avoid all of the mistakes that I have made during my life in film.”
A lifetime of accrued wisdom coupled with an insider’s knowledge of the film industry will undoubtedly be manifest in the intense, hands-on courses that Boorman will oversee at Irish Film School.
In the press statement, co-founder Corrigan emphasised the importance of institutions such as Irish Film School in providing potential career pathways and employment opportunities for budding filmmakers in an industry that is perpetually being reshaped: “The film and television industry is rapidly changing and developing in a whole range of areas. It is essential that people entering the industry today from countries around the world have an understanding of the relevant, practical skills that are needed to thrive.”
The Irish Film School grants access to its students to the highest quality of expertise and instruction from established figures within the film industry. Moreover, it gives its students opportunities to forge a diverse web of connections through its networking sessions.
The courses were described at the launch as complementary to the traditional film courses taught in colleges and universities, not as an automatic substitute to academia. Given this, the courses on offer at the Irish Film School can, perhaps, best be thought of as similar to apprenticeships due to the practical experience they bring to the students embarking on them.
Affordability and accessibility was a topic not touched upon during the talk. It remains to be seen whether the advantages of enrolling in these first-rate courses will be enjoyed by some, but not others, who may be excluded on account of the cost of Irish Film School’s course fees.
However, judging from John Boorman’s eloquent overview of his motivations for founding the school, delivered at the launch, it became abundantly clear that a real integrity and dedication to nurturing quality cinema ultimately guides the actions of the man at the helm of Irish Film School. In Boorman’s own words, it has become a melancholy truth that “originality is the enemy” in today’s commercially-driven film landscape. Irish Film School, given time, may prove itself to be a unique launchpad for students who possess the very originality that Boorman rightly feels is often lacking in film and television today.
