No impact locally in Limerick from writers’ strike

EVEN though the Hollywood strikes have shut down production on all major TV and movie projects, Limerick and the Mid-West has not yet been directly impacted so far by the situation.

And, the strikes could even benefit the region.

That's according to Regional Film Manager at Film in Limerick, Paul C Ryan, who said the situation has not impacted film productions in the Mid-West.

Mr Ryan said: “We’re yet to sort of see the impact of it. Since the second strike started, we're waiting to see if some independent films will be able to go ahead.

So with the big studio productions, there’s nothing being green lit at the moment because of the strikes. And it’s been that way now for a while, but we expect that once strikes are over, there’ll be a lot of activity.”

“In the meantime, a lot of the productions that we would have in the UK or in Ireland generally are more smaller independent productions that are likely not affected. It’s sort of a case by case scenario depending on who's funding the project and how it's being cast. So I guess, it's a sort of wait and see scenario right now,” he added.

Plans for two major festivals a year in Limerick

In recent years, the sector has gone from strength to strength across the Mid-West.

“We’re seeing a lot of interest in projects (which are) scouting in the region. Part of that is the fact that we have this huge event called Cineposium taking place in September, which is bringing up to 200 studio executives and industry and film commissions to Limerick for a week, to focus on regional production and how we work with studios,” explained Mr Ryan.

Speaking of the lack of impact from the strikes in the region, he said: “Part of it is because we've had a bounce from the Cineposium, and then part of it is, I think, because production is not going on.”

“There's more of a focus on development at the moment. We have more producers and financiers looking around, which is a great opportunity, because when this strike does end, we expect to see a big increase in the number of productions that we'll be filming.”

The regional manager pointed out a number of independent productions are ongoing in the region as well as in other parts of the country.

“We have a number of independent productions that are both European and from the US that are planning on being in the country before the end of the year, or that are looking to shoot in the Munster region,” he said.

Film in Limerick is a project developed by Innovate Limerick to cater for the growing film industry in the region.