save irish cinema!

This week, the monkeys running the Department of Finance will decide the fate of the Irish Film Board /Bord Scannan na hEireann. In other words, they will basically be deciding the fate of Irish cinema (& the jobs it provides, the tourism it stimulates, the jobs that tourism in turn stimulates & so on... not to mention the value placed on Irish art & the continued promotion of Irish culture & its prominent place in the larger context of Europe & the world, but I digress).

I have to admit that I have a sinking feeling about this. In a time where the government seems to be failing us to an almost grotesque degree, running its laughable Health Service Executive into the ground like a mad drunk whose taken leave of its last sense, doling out fat checks to fat cats while the rest of us enjoy recession, making the biggest cuts first to those areas of that can withstand it the least (health & education for starters) & continuing to bail out corrupt bankers & line the pockets of crooks - well, forgive me for not feeling the most optimistic today.

Hopefully, I can be proved wrong when the verdict comes down, but something tells me that the crazy people in charge of the government finances, who place health, education & long-term investment in growing jobs at the very bottom of the priority barrel aren't going to have the foresight to see how vital support of a country's cultural heritage & support of homegrown art really is to the wider interests of the economy.

And the oscar for Most Short-Sighted, Ill-Advised Government goes to?

The winner will be announced later this week. Let's keep our fingers crossed (after writing & calling our local reps and demanding that they support the continued work of the Film Board).

Further reading: http://cineuropa.org/newsdetail.aspx?lang=en&documentID=111639

And please check out the amazing grassroots action started by our very own Jessie @
http://www.causes.com/SavetheIFB!!