IFI Librarian Fiona Rigney highlights some additional resources about filmmaking available at the IFI Library

Ahead of IFI Spotlight, our annual focus on film and television made in or about Ireland, IFI Librarian Fiona Rigney picks her top 3 new books about filmmaking now available at the Irish Film Archive and Library.

IFI Spotlight is taking place throughout April with key new Irish film releases and culminates in a day of free seminars and panel discussions at the IFI on Saturday, April 12th. If you are a film student, researcher, academic, filmmaker or simply just interested in the industry, the IFI Tiernan MacBride Library is home to the largest collection of film related publications in the country and is open to all.

Here are some of Fiona's recommended reads (and there are plenty more in the library!):

1. How to Write Great Screenplays and Get Them into Production by Linda M James
This book teaches you all you need to know about how to succeed in writing and making your own screenplay. With great tips and practical advice, this is a must-read for any budding screenwriters and filmmakers.

2. Introduction to Film Studies 5th Edition Edited by Jill Nelmes

This is one of the best core textbooks for anyone studying films or for anybody who would just like to gain an insight into the film industry. This completely revised and updated fifth edition guides you through the key issues and concepts in film studies, traces the historical development of film and introduces some of the world’s key national cinemas.

3. The Technique of Film and Video Editing: History, Theory, and Practice, 5th Ed. By Ken Dancyger

This book contains the best training for aspiring directors and editors and gives a detailed look at the principles and practices of editing for both picture and sound. 

To have a look at these or any of our books, press clippings collection and film journals; call into the IFI Tiernan MacBride Library (located in the Archive Building, at the back of the main IFI building).

The library has over 3,000 books, over 150 different film journal series and over 5,000 press clippings files. The Paper Archive consists of production notes, scripts, storyboards, correspondence, publicity, ephemera, stills and posters, and includes collections from filmmakers such as Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan, Donald Taylor Black, Pat Murphy, Lord Killanin and Josie MacAvin. It also holds a vast collection of material from the Irish Film Board and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.  

For more information on our extensive Paper Collections Archive please check out the website or contact the Librarian/Document Archivist, Fiona Rigney.

Opening hours:   

Monday: 2.00pm-5.30pm

Tuesday: 10.30am-1pm and 2pm-5.30pm

Wednesday: 10.30am-1pm and 2pm-5.30pm

Thursday: 2.00pm-5.30pm

Friday: closed

Library Charges:                                             

Students €1.50 per visit; general public €2.00 per visit.                                     

Annual Library Membership:

Students €15.00 per year; general public €20.00 per year