Certificate in Business and Legal for Film
Course Overview
Gain the business, legal and professional skills needed to finance productions, navigate industry challenges and build a sustainable career in screen media.
The screen industries are evolving rapidly, creating new opportunities for those who understand not only the creative process but also the business, legal and professional frameworks that underpin successful productions. This industry-focused programme equips learners with the knowledge and skills required to navigate the commercial realities of film, television and digital media, from securing finance and managing budgets to understanding legal obligations and building sustainable professional practices.
Why Study a Certificate in Business and Legal for Film at Griffith College?
Learners explore how projects are developed, funded, managed and brought to audiences while gaining insight into the key drivers of long-term success in the screen industries.
- Delivered by experienced industry practitioners, the programme combines practical business knowledge with contemporary industry challenges, including sustainability, emerging technologies, professional resilience and well-being.
- Designed for those seeking to upskill, broaden their industry knowledge or gain an introduction to higher education,
- This programme provides valuable insight into the business side of screen production and the skills required to build sustainable careers and organisations in a rapidly changing industry.
- Gain an understanding of the legal frameworks that underpin screen production, including contracts, copyright, intellectual property, employment law and rights management.
- Examine emerging industry challenges, including sustainability, AI, ethical practice and the long-term resilience of creative organisations.
- Build leadership and professional practice skills that support effective collaboration, communication and decision-making in high-pressure creative environments.
- Gain insight into international screen markets such as Cannes Marché du Film, the European Film Market and the American Film Market, and understand how projects secure investment and reach audiences.
- Develop the commercial knowledge needed to support sustainable careers and businesses in the screen industries, from independent productions to larger media organisations.
Course Highlights:
- Learn from a faculty of active screen industry practitioners, including filmmakers, producers, writers and media professionals who bring current industry experience into the classroom.
- Study business, legal and professional practice within a dedicated screen media environment, where creative, technical and production disciplines work alongside one another.
- Gain insight into how the screen industries operate beyond production, exploring finance, law, leadership, sustainability and professional development alongside creative practice.
- Join a faculty with deep connections to the Irish and international screen industries, providing learners with an understanding of contemporary industry challenges, opportunities and emerging trends.
Intake Dates
- Dublin - Blended - October 2026
Course Details
Modules:
Business & Legal for Film
Where other modules focus on the creativity of screen production, this module introduces the fundamental principles of film production as a business. It introduces learners to the mechanics of film finance and the legal principles that underpin this practice.
Advanced Producing
Learners will research the production techniques required to develop, finance, set up, run, and realise a film, TV, or screen production. They will also learn how to compose an industry-standard funding application for film, TV, or screen projects and confidently use industry-standard software to generate budgets and schedules effectively and in a timely manner.
Marketing Distribution & Exhibition
This module will equip learners with the skills necessary for their work to be viewed outside an educational context. Learners conceive, research, develop and produce marketing and distribution plans for their final year work and also lay the foundations for exhibiting their graduation film or projects. With support from their tutors, learners submit their films to festivals and online screening sites. This is an industry-focused practical module which provides practical presentation skills and equips the learner with an appreciation of how to generate and/or identify an audience. Upon completion of this module, learners will be aware of how the marketing, distribution, and exhibition processes for fiction and non-fiction screen media work, with a view to promoting their work.
Sustainability, Technology, Leadership & Global Impact
This module provides an overview of the principles of sustainability and professional ethics and responsibility, and develops learners' ability to think critically about the sustainability impacts of products and organisations on people and the planet, and the related ethical implications of marketing and promotional work that facilitate them. Learners will examine leadership approaches that drive positive, equitable, and sustainable change. They will develop the capacity a) to articulate a personal view of social responsibility, informed by knowledge of sustainability, legal and ethical frameworks, and b) to apply this to the real situations they will encounter in their professional careers.
Wellbeing and Resilience for Creative Professionals
This module prepares learners for the psychological and professional demands of working in the screen industries. The module develops an advanced understanding of wellbeing, resilience, and sustainable creative practice within film, television, and screen production environments. It equips learners with the psychological insight and practical strategies required to maintain mental health, professional effectiveness, and creative integrity in high-pressure, collaborative, and deadline-driven production contexts. Learners will critically examine how psychological processes such as stress, motivation, identity, emotional regulation, and self-management influence creative decision-making, teamwork performance, and long-term career sustainability within the screen sector.
For further information, please contact professionalacademy@griffith.ie
Timetables
Timetable
This programme will be delivered two evenings a week from 18:00 - 22:00.
For further information, please contact professionalacademy@griffith.ie
How to Apply
Entry Requirements
This programme has been developed for learners who wish to attain a qualification in business and legal issues related to the film, TV and screen media sector. The programme is intended for applicants who have completed their secondary education. Candidates applying on the basis of their Leaving Certificate must obtain a minimum of two H5 grades and four 4 O6/H7 grades, to include Maths and a language (English, Irish or another language).
English Language
The English language entry requirements for the programme are CEF B2+ or equivalent. Candidates with English language levels below CEF B2+ must first reach this minimum standard before enrolling on the academic programme.
Candidates with equivalent grades from other awards and mature learners (23+) are also considered.
If English is not a first language, proof of English proficiency is required. For more information, please visit here.
Fees
Please note that not all study modes may be offered at all times; for confirmation, refer to the Intake dates on the Overview tab.
Tuition Fees
Study Mode: Part-Time
Dublin: €2490.00
Flexible Payment Options
Students wishing to avail of an instalment plan should contact professionalacademy@griffith.ie
Sponsorship
Is your company paying for your course?
They will need to complete a Griffith College Sponsorship Form(PDF file) and send this to professionalacademy@griffith.ie
