Film Ireland - Ethos

Ethos

Film academics Roddy Flynn and Pat Brereton have described Film Ireland as "a full-fledged debating space devoted to the politics of film support and film culture in Ireland", and the magazine has regularly acted as a platform for filmmakers to air their views. In recent years filmmaker Martin Duffy questioned the Irish Film Board's development of his feature film Jenny's Gift, and writer/director Liz Gill engaged in debate with Irish Film Board CEO Mark Woods regarding the Board's low and micro-budget initiatives.

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".

Film Ireland is also noted for its support of lower-budget and unconventionally funded filmmaking. Low-budget Irish productions such as Karl Golden's The Honeymooners and Perry Ogden's Pavee Lackeen have been championed by the magazine, and Film Ireland was one of the first publications to write at length about John Carney's ultra-low-budget feature Once.