Mr Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, recently visited the set of The Lobster on the Coillte estate in Dromore Woods, County Kerry. Rachel Weisz and Colin Farrell play the lead roles in the first English language film by Oscar-nominated Greek Director Yorgos Lanthimos which is backed by the Irish Film Board.
Colin Farrell with Minister Jimmy Deenihan and Bernard Burke, Area Manager, Coillte.
Speaking during his visit to the set Minister Deenihan said, “As Minister for the Arts and a strong supporter of our film sector it is tremendous to see another film successfully completing filming in Ireland. Productions like The Lobster provide an opportunity to showcase Ireland’s potential as one of the world’s leading locations for film production.”
“Ireland is an excellent partner for European and international productions with a wide range of financial incentives for film and television, excellent facilities, and some of the most stunning locations such as here at Dromore Woods in the heart of Kerry. With the support of the Irish Film Board, I also welcome the hard work of Coillte and OCMS for their efforts to make these stunning locations available for use by the film industry.”
For Academy award winning actor Rachel Weisz, it was her first time to work with native actor Colin Farrell coupled with her first time to shoot on location Ireland. Commenting on her experience, Ms Weisz said: “I enjoyed my time spent filming The Lobster in Ireland. Filming in the woods during spring time can be a muddy experience, but the beauty of the Irish countryside on a spring day like today is spectacular.”
The 2013 figures for the industry show that production activity for the independent film, television drama and animation sector has reached the highest level on record, contributing over €168 million into the Irish economy through employment creation and spend on local goods and services. This represents an increase of approximately 18% on 2012 figures and 42% on 2011 figures.
The Government has also demonstrated its commitment to supporting Irish film and television by the extension of the tax incentive scheme, Section 481, to 2020 and the increase in the value of the tax incentive to 32% from 2015.
Ed Guiney of Element Pictures, one of the film’s producers, praised the professionalism of those involved in bringing the production to Ireland and how the Irish landscape is a huge draw for international film productions. “The availability of a wide and varied range of outdoor filming locations across the country certainly makes it easier to base productions like The Lobster in Ireland. Working closely with the film location company OCMS and Coillte we were able to find a location that met the production teams and truly came to life during filming. Ireland, with its abundance of breath-taking landscape has a lot to offer the national and international film industry.”
In 2013 Coillte’s Enterprise Division, the venturing arm of the Coillte Group, which seeks to identify new business opportunities, established a dedicated Film, Television and Events Business in partnership with O’Carroll Mulhern Services (OCMS). This business recently launched CoillteonFilm.ie, a website devoted to showcasing Coillte properties to the film, television and event industries. Mark Foley, MD of Coillte’s Enterprise Division “The filming of The Lobster on Coillte land in Dromore woods is an example of how we seek to capitalise on our expansive woodland resources and maximise the land usage potential of the Coillte estate. With the launch of CoillteonFilm.ie, Coillte aims to become Ireland’s biggest provider of outdoor film locations by 2018. “
Conor O’Carroll of OCMS, specialists in the creation of revenue streams through the promotion and leasing of site locations to the film, TV and event industry, said:”The partnership between OCMS and Coillte is still in its infancy and yet we are proud to have accommodated a production of this scale and quality so soon into our professional relationship. Coillte has such a vast and varied portfolio of outdoor locations with filming potential, over 6,000 properties in total. This is a partnership that we look forward to growing by encouraging more international productions to set up in Ireland”
Source: Coillte – Minister Deenihan Visits Set of ‘Lobster’ on Final Day of Filming in Kerry
