Pierce Brosnan met in Dublin with Sile de Valera T.D. Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, and with Mary Leonard and Roger Greene, Chair and Chief Executive respectively of the Screen Commission of Ireland. The meeting was held to discuss the on-going work of the Screen Commission, of which Pierce Brosnan is a Board member. In addition Mr. Brosnan informed the Minister and the Screen Commission executives that he is planning to shoot a feature film in Ireland next year, which will be produced by his own company Irish Dreamtime and will be directed by Bruce Beresford.
He confirmed his continuing support for the Irish film industry and for the work on its future development as undertaken by Sile de Valera. He stated that he was very encouraged by the current level of film activity in Ireland and the work of the Screen Commission in attracting international production to this country. This year has seen a rapid rise in the level of film production in Ireland and it has been the busiest in recent years, attaining almost capacity levels.
The Screen Commission has just completed its second year of operation, having been founded by Minister Sile de Valera in 1998. During this time the Screen Commission has expanded its activities and services and experienced a notable increase in enquiries from international film producers. In its first year of operation the Commission handled 1,500 enquiries and this year to date it has handled 3,500 enquiries. These enquiries can be broken down as 90% producer enquiries of which half came from the United States and the other half the UK and Europe. The specific nature of the enquiries is approximately 55% tax incentive information and 45% locations and film industry infrastructure.
This leap in interest from abroad is as a result of the Screen Commission’s international marketing campaign, principally in the US, Canada, the UK and mainland Europe. The Screen Commission also attends the major film festivals and markets internationally where it liases with film and television producers, as well as the major Hollywood studios.
For further information contact Roger Greene
Screen Commission of Ireland
01 672 7252
www.screencommireland.com
