THE EMERALD ISLE'S STUNNING LOCATIONS AND GROWING STUDIO BASE ARE HOSTING AN INCREASING NUMBER OF LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTIONS, INCLUDING NETFLIX’S IRISH WISH AND HIT FEATURE COCAINE BEAR.
“WE WANTED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IRELAND’S SCENERY AND UTILISE ITS STUDIOS. COMBINING THOSE WITH THE TALENTS OF THE CREW AND THE APPEALING TAX CREDIT.”
"IRELAND IS DOUBLING FOR BRITISH PERIOD DRAMAS, SCANDINAVIAN LANDSCAPES, EUROPEAN CITIESAND COUNTRYSIDES AND FROM THE UNITED STATES TO OUTER SPACE." | Ireland’s varied landscapes and enticing 32% tax credit are proving a huge draw for many projects. Among them; Netflix’s In the Land of Saints and Sinners, which depicts 1970’s conflict-ridden Ireland in County Donegal, and the streamer’s romantic comedy Irish Wish, which took in the Cliffs of Moher, Lough Tay, and the 17th century, 800-acre Killruddery House in County Wicklow. Killruddery House, a historic private estate and working farm on the southern outskirts of Bray, features heavily in the film, and has been used by several projects over the years including Excalibur, The Tudors and The Count of Monte Cristo. Another project to film in the grassy plains and mountainous region of County Wicklow is the upcoming family drama Bring Them Down, starring Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott. The production team had to enter deeply forested and uncertain terrain, but were able to do this thanks to the support of local bodies like the National Parks & Wildlife Service and Coillte, a state-owned commercial forestry business that manages approximately 7% of the country’s land. “My main focus lay in finding mountainous regions to film in, that would also include large forest areas and blanket bogs,” says the film’s location manager Niall Milton. “The terrain that we were looking for needed to be steep, rugged and give the sense of real danger with drop offs either side. We weren’t looking for anything manicured, it had to feel like we were up on top of a mountain and let the viewers feel that this was a real place that was full of beauty but was hard and rough.” “We filmed at a location called Kippure in the Wicklow mountains. This area is a particularly sensitive location that took weeks of planning and working with national bodies, local authorities and ecologists to devise a method of filming in this amazing location.” Universal’s hit comedy thriller Cocaine Bear was also made in Wicklow, doubling for Georgia in the US, while Subotica Productions’ Freud’s Last Session, starring Anthony Hopkins, depicted scenes of World War 2 battles, as well as flashbacks of the life of Freud’s last patient CS Lewis, in the county. The film also doubled parts of Dublin for war time London, including around the famous psychoanalyst’s Hampstead house, although the actual home and famous couch were recreated in Ardmore Studios in Bray. “A lot of bigger productions that don't necessarily depend on actual locations just want the studio,” says Aoife O’Sullivan of Subotica Productions. “But we really wanted to take advantage of Ireland’s stunning scenery, and utilise the studios. Combine those with the talents of the crew and the appealing tax credit and you’re able to shoot a lot, from bigger sci-fi flicks to animated projects.” The doubling factor is also a key draw. “Ireland doesn’t just ‘do’ Ireland but has doubled for many films from British period dramas, Scandinavian landscapes, European cities and rural locales, to the US and even outer space,” says Michael Byrne, Screen Ireland’s inward production and sustainability executive. Screen Ireland recently appointed industry veteran Keith Potter as head of film with a mandate to continue growing the industry. The agency is planning to launch a new sustainability fund that will offer incentives to international filmmakers. The national film body manages the 32% tax credit, which has no annual limit on the number of projects, 90% early payment available, and the cap per feature film has been increased to EUR125 million spend. It has also launched a regional fund, which international productions can apply for and receive up to EUR750,000 in backing on top of the tax credit. Ireland is renowned for its skilled technicians, but Screen Ireland is looking to secure the future and boost the regions by launching crew development hubs in Wicklow, Galway and Limerick to expand the crew base and make sure there’s not a skills shortage in any part of the country. Key studio spaces include Ashford, Troy Studios and Ardmore Studios, which recently added a 22,000 sq ft stage to its offering. There’s also an expanding VFX sector. The country recently hosted big projects like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Stranger Things and The Mandalorian at its facilities, including SSVFX, Screenscene and Egg VFX. There’s also the impressive EUR84 million Studio Ulster facilities being constructed in Belfast boosting Ireland’s virtual production presence. The site is supported by an integrated research, development and innovation Centre for Excellence in real-time and virtual production to pug the skills gap in VP.” Main Image: Cocaine Bear © 2023 Universal Studios. |
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