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Irish Examiner
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
West Cork production studio 'building an industry from scratch'
If Hollywood has taught the world anything, it's to dream big. Down in West Cork, they've taken the 'build it and they will come' mantra to the next level. While Tinseltown has been trying to get to grips with US president Donald Trump's tariffs announcement — in a now familiar style, a light-on-detail plan to put 100% tariffs on films made outside the US — down on the Baltimore Rd, outside Skibbereen, it is business as usual at West Cork Film Studios. Filming wrapped a few short weeks ago on Hokum, a supernatural thriller directed by Damian McCarthy and starring the A-list actor of Apple TV hit Severance, Adam Scott. It's the biggest production to date to be made at West Cork Film Studios, quietly making its mark in the industry. Setting up a film studio in West Cork had plenty of doubters. 'I think people thought we were daft,' said Édaín O'Donnell, co-founder of West Cork Film Studios with Steve Park. A lot of people in the industry and outside thought it would never work here Édaín has worked in film production in Ireland for decades in various roles, primarily in the art and set paint production, as has Steve — Australian-born but long settled in West Cork. The idea of creating a dedicated film studio locally developed after the region was used for the production of Michael Kinirons's thriller The Sparrow in Baltimore, along with Holding — which was adapted from Graham Norton's novel of the same name. Steve worked on film construction for Holding and Édaín was the head of painting. 'It was so spread out. We had a unit base in Drimoleague. We were in Dunmanway, Skibbereen, Castletownshend. We had workshops in Ballydehob and then we were trying to paint a kitchen set in a marquee,' Édaín said. 'So, at the end of Holding, we had the idea of adapting part of my family's furniture warehouse into a film studio.' Édaín's father Jim has been designing and manufacturing furniture for 60 years. 'My father says he invents and reinvents himself every 20 years. So he's embracing this as a new diversification into film at the age of 83,' Édaín said. Édaín's brother Aodh — an RNLI assessor, trainer, and helm in Union Hall — is also a studio director, adding a different skillset for films with sea or water-based elements. Part of the furniture warehouse was redesigned into a 20,000sq ft film studio. In 2023, the new studio was officially opened by mentor David Puttnam in the presence of stars such as Jeremy Irons. Edain O' Donnell with, from left, film producer David Puttnam, actor Jeremy Irons, and TD Christopher O' Sullivan at West Cork Film Studios open day. File Picture: Johannes Eisele. Now an independent company, West Cork Film Studios has to fly solo. 'It is not just building a studio, it is building an industry from scratch,' Steve said. 'We have a different approach to what a film studio should be. It's more holistic. It's our job to make sure that people that come here to make movies have a really enjoyable experience. That's part of being in West Cork. We're not just selling the studios, we're selling a lifestyle.' This week, film director and screenwriter Vicky Waldron Wight has been enjoying that lifestyle as production gets underway on her international feature film The Body Is Water. Vicky's previous feature film Happiness for Beginners, released in 2023, was a Netflix top 10 hit worldwide. Her other features include The Volunteer and The Lost Husband. She is based in Houston, Texas, but is originally from Monkstown in Cork. 'My parents emigrated when I was 12 in 1985. My mother Helen is from Mitchelstown and was a nurse. She had lived in New York, so had become a naturalized citizen. In 1985 Ireland, times were hard and my dad's business went under. There were four children, so my parents were adventurous and said we might as well just go.' Before she left, her teacher Mrs Murphy showed the young Vicky some things about America. One of those things was Steven Spielberg and his films Jaws and ET. Film became her passion and her career. Making film, I'm compelled. It's like religion for me Ireland remained close to heart. 'I come back every summer now with my kids and have for many, many years. The greatest goal I had was to come back to Ireland and make a film. Now, this is a dream coming true to come back and make a film here because I've never felt anything but Irish. It feels like being home.' The Body Is Water is filming at locations around West Cork until July. The film is not autobiographical, but aspects are threaded through Vicky's own life. 'I had cancer and there's a cancer storyline in the movie, as well as themes of grief and loss. My dad, Michael Waldron, passed away in 2002, and losing him was a seminal moment for our family because he was only 62. 'We all thought we'd be introducing him to our grandkids. Not being able to do that was just heartbreaking, because this fear of missing out that, to me, is what death is really about. When I was sick, it was very hard for me to imagine everyone else's future without me. 'That has influenced all my writing — but this particularly.' Daisy Ridley as Rey and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in a scene from the movie 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi', filmed on Skellig Michael, Ireland. The production firm behind the film received €3.43m in tax credits from the Revenue. File Picture: Jonathan Olley/ Lucasfilm Some of the film is set in Houston, Texas, but most will be a spectacular showcase of Ireland's South-West. Vicky said that West Cork Film Studios offered a priceless opportunity. 'I grew up going to Schull and Barleycove, and have all these places in my mind since I was a little girl. Having production facilities here makes it so much easier to actually execute a vision in West Cork. 'Because of the infrastructure, it makes it very easy and the landscape is maybe the most beautiful in Ireland — places like Mizen Head. That's part of our dream.' While Ireland radiates, Hollywood is in turmoil. Adam Scott, speaking on Rob Lowe's podcast Literally! before arriving in Ireland to shoot Hokum, said it was 'so weird that nothing shoots in Los Angeles' these days. But it's now weird. Ireland's generous Section 481 tax credit is worth up to 32% of expenditure to film productions up to €125m. October's budget introduced 'Scéal Uplift', adding 8% to the 32% credit for feature films up to €20m. Lowe, who films his US game show The Floor in Ardmore Studios, hit the nail on the head. 'It's cheaper to bring 100 American people to Ireland than to walk across the lot at Fox, past the soundstages, and do it there,' he said. 'Green Wave' Ireland is feeling the benefits. The production spend generated by the Irish screen industry in 2024 was valued at over €430m, representing a 33% increase on 2023, according to Screen Ireland. Analysis by Alma Economics for Screen Ireland found the audiovisual sector supports 15,899 full-time equivalent jobs, with a value to the Irish economy of over €1bn. Average small to medium film productions cost around €4m, and a third of that is estimated to go into the community — from accommodation to materials, food to transport. Ireland is booming. The second season of Wednesday — season one was the most popular Netflix show of all time with 250m views — will be released in August, with filming completed in Dublin in 2024. In 2025, Screen Ireland says more than 80 film, TV, and animation productions are planned here. Hollywood has been looking enviously at the success of Ireland, whose success has been dubbed the 'Green Wave'. Like all good movies, there has to be a plot twist. Mr Trump has seen the success of foreign film industries such as Ireland and wants a piece of the action. 'The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,' he wrote on Truth Social, bemoaning countries 'offering all sorts of incentives to draw' filmmakers and studios away from the US. His plan, like most of his other plans to wrest back jobs to the US, is tariffs. A proposed 100% tariff on foreign film production has sent a shiver through the Irish film production landscape. 'Panic is always the worst thing, but you have to plan around the potential risks,' West Cork Film Studios financial director Katherine O'Sullivan said. It's a constant reassessment of where one is at In Skibbereen, filming continues on two productions through to summer with further productions lined up. This year, the studio is paying its own way and eyeing a sustainable future. A deal to buy a former plastics factory from IDA Ireland is close to being finalised, which will transform into a studio back lot. A link up with Kerry College's immersive screenwriting course is in the pipeline. The studio already employs people with neurodiverse abilities to realise their talents, and Édaín says that will be developed further. Collaboration is important, and community is even more so. More than 100 people were employed at the studio during production of Hokum. 'We get huge support locally, and people are seeing the benefit to the whole community. We see the community as co-producers,' said Édaín. The studio continues to be mentored by David Puttnam, while Robert Sheehan of Love/Hate fame has discussed writing an independent film for the studio based in West Cork. Ultimately, filmmakers just want to make movies. 'It's frightening to think that you couldn't make a film in another country because of tariffs,' Vicky said. I have two movies that I'm trying to sell in America, to shoot in America, but it's more expensive 'I love making films in America and in Texas particularly. I would like to make more films in and around Houston and South Texas. 'The tariff conversation is complicated on a lot of levels, but — along with all the US filmmakers I know — I'm hopeful there can be measures taken to bring more work to America via federal and state tax incentives and subsidies. 'Rather than trying to load up and tariff others, actually make yourself more attractive — that is what Ireland has done.'
Irish Examiner
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Scary Éire: Why Irish horror films are having a moment
Steeped in the supernatural but anchored by our stories and history, Irish horror is having a moment, with tales of the unexpected and scary movies making waves at home and internationally. In a nation reared on stories of banshees and fairy forts, pookas and changelings, ghosts as well as more recent societal traumas, it makes perfect sense. Now, a new wave of talented storytellers are building on growing audience interest in our knack for bringing a scare to the screen. They include Bantry filmmaker Damian McCarthy. Following the international success of his most recent film, Oddity, McCarthy's latest drew Severance star Adam Scott to Ireland to film on location in West Cork. Hokum - shot at the recently opened West Cork Studios - stars Scott as a horror novelist who visits a remote Irish inn to spread his parents' ashes, unaware of rumours it is haunted by a witch. The film is being backed by Screen Ireland. The latest horror feature to come to our screens is in the Irish language. In cinemas from this weekend, Fréwaka tells of a young woman (Clare Monnelly) sent to a remote village to care for an agoraphobic woman Peig (Bríd Ní Neachtain). Peig lives in fear of Na Sídhe, sinister entities who she believes abducted her years before. Fréwaka's writer and director, Aislinn Clarke, believes that horror can be an interesting and unique way of looking at trauma in our lives and our histories. 'Horror is well placed to examine stuff like social trauma, generational trauma without being preachy, or worthy, or feeling like it's going to be a hard time for audiences,' says Clarke. 'Using metaphors, using the dream space to go into thinking about these things without being confronted by it too directly. Often people actually need that to start them off.' Fréwaka is the latest Irish horror film. The success of Fréwaka (meaning Roots) on the festival circuit in advance of release means that Clarke has spoken with audiences and industry people around the world - and has noticed a growing interest in Irish horror movies. 'It really is having a moment everywhere. I was in LA a few weeks ago, and everyone was talking about it like it's a phenomenon. For such a small number of people - there aren't that many of us - we're making a real impact, as we have done in other art forms as well." Clarke points out that many Irish traditional stories - the old folk tales - are very dark. "It's not really a surprise to me that we're making horrors. Historically, there wasn't that much infrastructure to allow filmmaking and new filmmakers to develop. It just wasn't there in the same way it might be in London or Hollywood,' says Clarke. As the Green Wave of Irish filmmakers and stars making their mark at home and abroad grows, it allows for more opportunity. 'It's not really surprising to me that as soon as we have that bedrock of that fertile ground, horror comes really quickly after that.' A growing number of Irish horror storytellers are bringing their spooky tales to Irish cinema audiences - but also driving strong international interest. An Taibhse (The Ghost) - made on a tiny budget by filmmaker John Farrelly and set in post-Famine Ireland - has made waves in Irish cinemas and at festivals in Brazil, Argentina and South Africa. West Cork filmmaker Damian McCarthy's Hokum is being produced by Julianne Forde and Ruth Treacy of Tailored Films. As well as their recent success with The Apprentice -the Oscar-nominated tale of the young Donald Trump - other Tailored productions include gothic horror The Lodgers. Bantry director Damian McCarthy's next film will star Severance actor Adam Scott. Picture: Marcin Lewandowski Kate Dolan's recent horror You Are Not My Mother offered an Irish perspective on a mystery around a possible changeling, while Lorcan Finnegan's NOCEBO starred Eva Green as a designer suffering from a mysterious illness. Finnegan will next direct Nicolas Cage in forthcoming thriller The Surfer. Lee Cronin's The Hole in the Ground, starring Séana Kerslake as a young mother who forms suspicions about her son, was a hit with audiences and critics. As the Irish reputation for scary movies grows, some filmmakers are drawing the interest of international studios. They include Kate Dolan, who is directing the thriller Soulm8te, to be released in cinemas worldwide next year. Some studios are also opting to make films on location in Ireland. Following his success with the latest film in the Evil Dead series, Evil Dead Rise, Irish filmmaker Lee Cronin is now shooting a new take on the iconic horror The Mummy in Ireland. Starring Jack Reynor, the film will be released internationally next year. Other big studio horrors recently filmed in Ireland include Abigail, the tale of a criminal gang who take a young girl (Irish actress Alisha Weir) to ransom, only to discover she is a vampire. Having impressed US studio bosses following the release of The Hole in the Ground, Irish writer Stephen Shields worked as co-writer on the movie, released here by Universal Pictures. That it was filmed in Ireland, he adds, was a happy coincidence. Stephen Shields wrote Abigail. 'It being shot here was just completely Kismet, just meant to be,' says Shields. 'What happened was, after Lee Cronin and I made The Hole in the Ground, I was in Los Angeles for a round of meetings. One of those meetings happened to be with Universal. I went in just to have a general conversation, had this idea for a vampire movie-heist movie in the back of my head. Universal really latched on to it.' Shields, too, feels that Irish horror filmmakers are having a moment and this is resonating internationally. 'We come from a land of fairy tales and myths, and a lot of them are very horror-centric. Now that we're growing up as filmmakers and making movies, they're coming to the forefront.' He also thinks that horror is one of the enduring staples in what is a time of ongoing change in screen entertainment. 'My personal opinion is that horror, of all the genres of filmmaking, is the most audience-friendly. And what I mean by that is, I think more people go to the cinema to watch horror because, in terms of a communal experience, it's a great genre to go and see. I put that up there with comedy as well. "It's very reactive, and that's not to say anything bad about dramas or anything like that, but I think people like to go to the cinema to have that emotional experience." Shields adds that you don't need a really big-name star to sell a good horror film. "It's always good when you have a big movie star - but I think the concept of horror itself is the thing people go to the cinema to see. It's the experience that sells. It serves as a great genre for attracting up and coming stars as well, which is always good. A lot of the most famous Hollywood movie stars out there started their journey in the horror space.' Fréwaka is in cinemas as from Friday, April 25. is in cinemas as from Friday, April 25. Abigail is on rental platforms including Sky and Apple TV
