And action... new film studios in West Cork have big ambitions

WHEN Cork TV presenter Graham Norton sat down to write his debut novel, Holding, he could never have known it would lead to a new film studios opening in his native West Cork.

The novel was turned into a TV drama, filmed by ITV, and shot in West Cork.

Édain O’Donnell, of Skibbereen, who has worked in the art departments of many high end film and TV productions, both in Ireland and in the U.S, was among the vast team involved in the TV production.

During her time working on Holding, she took over a side lot of her family’s furniture factory, where she pitched a marquee for the team to construct and paint sets.

That sparked initial discussions about making something more permanent for the needs of film production in the area - and last month West Cork Film Studios opened on the Baltimore road.

Édain, whose CV includes painting a helicopter pad for Mission Impossible, said: “ It wasn’t a broad leap to diversify the building into a production studio.”

Her father Jim explained: “We recognised the potential of having a purpose-built studio here. Not only would it be advantageous for film productions to have everything on tap for their production needs, but it would also give an opportunity to young people from the locality who would like to work in a creative industry and to learn new skills.

We already have an enormous amount of talented people from the industry who live in the West Cork area, and they would also welcome being able to live at home while working rather than having to travel and staying away for months on end.

And so it was that the community of Skibbereen gathered in July to attend the open day of the latest new business in town.

Young people from across the area, all nurturing dreams of working in the film business, rubbed shoulders with famous faces from the industry such as locals Jeremy Irons and David Puttnam. All were delighted to be there to look around the brand new film studios.

West Cork Film Studios sits on 6.4 acres and people milled around, marveling at the vastness of the two stage areas, ready to be transformed into film sets, the hair and make-up areas for actors to be prepared for their roles under the studio lights, the props department, the green screen used as background in filming, as well as several offices, an art department, reception, canteen, and a back lot to film exterior scenes, not to mention ample parking.

Oscar winning filmmaker Puttnam, a resident of Skibbereen, addressed the excited throng.

“Last year, the Irish film, television and animation industry added €692 million to the domestic economy. There are very few areas of the Irish economy, along with the jobs that come with it, offering anything like that level of growth,” he said.

The jobs he was referring to amounted to 11,960.

The founders of the studios are the O’ Donnell family, Jim, his son Aodh, and his daughter Édain, and they are certain the West Cork Film Studios, in an area surrounded by beautiful and diverse locations, will be a perfect choice to attract producers and location managers and thus generate more employment in the area.

A film or TV production in any area benefits the local economy in of hospitality, shops and catering, as well as lots of other myriad businesses too which are needed to the production.

There was an estimated local spend of €750,000 during the filming of Holding, while Puttnam’s 1994 movie The War Of The Buttons was filmed in Castletownshend, Rosscarbery and Union Hall, and enabled many local young people to get an invaluable first experience of working in the film industry.

For some, it whetted their appetite for continuing on to make it their chosen career, such as Danny Crowley, of Leap, a Leaving Cert student at the time, who went on to win an Emmy for his role as Head of Sound on the HBO series Game of Thrones.

Other productions attracted by the lure of West Cork include the recent Netflix drama Bodkin which was filmed last year in Union Hall.

Its executive producers included Barack and Michelle Obama, and this further demonstrated that West Cork is a draw for filmmakers and TV production companies. Having a film studio nearby can only further increase the potential for more projects to be made in the area.

“A film production can build their interiors in the studios, and when they are finished for the day they can just down tools and come back to it the next day without having to move everything,” said Aodh O’Donnell, who is also manager of the adjacent large scale furniture factory, O’Donnell Design.

The O’Donnell family repurposed part of their existing factory, which has been supplying furniture to hotels across Ireland and the UK, and will continue to do so.

Having the studios adjacent to the factory is also a big plus for a potential film production, who can avail of props and sets constructed right there on site for the specific requirements of their production.

There is a real Hollywood vibe to West Cork of late. As well as famous actors such as Jeremy Irons and Sinéad Cusack living in the area, Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal have recently bought homes in Ballydehob and Schull - but it is not just actors who have homes in West Cork.

There are also many people who work in hair and make-up, stunt men and women, costume designers, set builders, painters and directors - all of whom have the specialist skills which go towards making up the necessary components to shoot a film or TV production.

West Cork Film Studios have been busy establishing a database of those who already have those skills, as well as those who would like to be involved, including working as extras in future productions. Students and retired people are among many others on their books.

Plans are in the works to roll out training programmes for various strands within the industry.

“Apart from stunning coastal scenery, we also have so many other amazing locations here in West Cork, such as period houses and squares, and of course in Skibbereen we also have the advantage of high speed broadband.” said Aodh.

He has acted as a marine consultant for previous TV and film productions in West Cork due to his experience as a volunteer with the West Cork Underwater Search and Rescue team, and the Union Hall lifeboat.

With the establishment of the West Cork Film Studios, the stage has now been set to build on the growing reputation of West Cork as a centre of excellence for film production, and also to give hands on experience to young people to learn about all aspects of film-making.

The alchemy of the cinematic elements of the landscape, combined with the talent of its inhabitants, and now a bespoke film studios, are all potentially what will make West Cork a box office success.

“ We are now open for business and looking forward to welcoming future productions to West Cork.” said Jim.