Dublin, September 23, 2010 The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland is currently knee deep in an active rights campaign of change to change the way in which Irish film directors rights are structured. The representative body for directors involved in the Irish and international audiovisual industry, is currently negotiating with Producers on the rights that are historically changing the way directors are remunerated to bring Ireland into line with the rest of the world.
Speaking at the SDGI annual AGM Birch Hamilton said, “It is amazing when you think that 6% of the worlds GDP is generated from copyright and yet Irish directors are not being equitably paid for usage of their work. There are immense challenges for authors in a world were people expect things for free and SDGI is actively working to ensure that Irish directors can sustain a career in the industry by getting a fair payment for their work. If content is at the heart of the new digital world then it follows that directors are its lifeblood.”
She continued, “What we are hearing from the government is that the creative industries and the smart economy are the key drivers in moving us out of recession. The government needs to promote this vision with a realistic support to individual creators. We need to take control of this agenda.”
Ciaran Donnelly, Chairperson of the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland (SDGI), who represent television and film directors, reiterates on behalf of all members of the Guild that “If directors are truly ready to take on the immense challenges of the 21st century then I think we have no choice but to equally embrace the way our rights are structured for the future of the Irish film and television industry as a whole.”
Established in 2000, the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland (SDGI) is the representative body for Directors involved in the Irish and international audiovisual industry. These include Directors of feature films, fiction, animation documentary, television drama, short films, video art and commercials. On behalf of its members, SDGI seeks to improve the working environment for directors which boosts productivity in the industry. SDGI represents the views of its members to relevant bodies in the audiovisual industry on a number of issues effecting directors and the independent film, television and animation sector.
