Specialist cinema ventures in Cork and Limerick are to receive substantial capital funding from the Cultural Cinema Consortium, a joint initiative made up of the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board.
The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, announced yesterday that the consortium has offered capital funding valued at €750,000 each to the Limerick Filmhouse, developed through the Belltable Arts Centre, and the Kino cinema in Cork.
This represents the first round of funding from the consortium, which was set up following the report, Developing Cultural Cinema in Ireland, published in 2001 by the Arts Council.
Among its objectives, the consortium aims to foster an attractive investment environment for exhibiting arthouse film: foreign-language productions and independently-produced, English-language films.
The capital funding to Cork and Limerick, which was made following a public tendering process, is designed to improve opportunities for regional cinema operators to develop multi-screen operations that will enhance and expand the range of cinema available in Ireland.
The capital funding awarded will allow both ventures to undertake planned expansion of their activities without undermining the stability of their operations.
Congratulating the two State agencies on their co-operative work on the initiative, Mr O'Donoghue said: "As an art form, cinema is capable of reaching audiences in all parts of the country. This funding will ensure greater access for Irish people to international, classic and Irish films."
The Kino, which opened in Cork in November 1997, is at present the only dedicated arthouse cinema in the country outside of Dublin. The Kino development will involve expanding the facilities from one to two cinemas, and the addition of a café and bar.
Mr Mick Hannigan, managing director of Kino, commented on the initiative: "We are delighted that this funding will enable us to realise our ambition of providing Cork cinema-goers with a wider range of film."