Experts at commercial law firm Philip Lee say Ireland’s film and television sector faces a number of significant challenges on the road to restarting production after COVID-19 disruption.

These include accessing funding, securing adequate insurance policies and completion bonds, ensuring that health and safety protocols can be adhered to on set, and filming crowds in the new era of social distancing.

Suspend

In an article on the firm’s website, Aoife McBennett, Jonathan Kelly, Brian Gormley and Jessica Gorman say the pandemic has had a huge impact on the film and television industries in Ireland, with a number of producers forced to suspend production in March.

They say that, generally, film and television production insurance policies cover every risk unless a risk is specifically excluded, which means producers who bought production insurance before COVID-19 hit earlier this year may well be covered for the economic damages and costs arising from the pandemic.

But the lawyers warn that commercial insurance for COVID-19 “will almost certainly be absent for the foreseeable future”.

Insurer of last resort

While they understand that some insurers are offering policies to cover COVID-19-related losses which are excluded under the main production insurance policy, such policies are expensive and usually cover only named individuals.

There have been calls for the government to step in as an insurer of last resort for the sector.

“We understand that discussions have been taking place between Screen Ireland and the DCHG [Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht] in relation to insurance for Irish productions,” the Philip Lee lawyers say.

Practices

On a more practical level, they say producers will have to change and adapt their usual working practices, to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for cast and crew.

Travel, they warn, raises further issues, with periods of isolation potentially being required for some destinations.