Puttnam ‘dismayed’ at councillors’ jobs comments

OSCAR-winning film producer David Puttnam has said he is ‘dismayed’ by the reaction to a local film studio’s plans to expand its operations in Skibbereen.

And he has invited local politicians to an open debate with schoolchildren on their futures.

The filmmaker was reacting to an article in last week’s edition of The Southern Star in which Fianna Fáil Cllrs Joe Carroll and Patrick Gerard Murphy complained that the IDA was ‘washing its hands’ of regional areas.

Mr Puttnam said he would be happy to meet the councillors and discuss the issue in an interactive way with them, and ​with the ​students at Skibbereen Community School.

He also expressed the hope that West Cork’s Oireachtas members Michael Collins (Ind), Christopher O’Sullivan (FF) and Holly Cairns (SD) would attend.

‘We could all benefit from trying out our ideas on ambitious Junior, Leaving Certificate and transition year students,’ he said. ‘After all, it is their future we’re talking about – let’s involve them in the conversation.’

The Skibbereen-based producer, a former chief executive of Columbia Pictures, said he was ‘dismayed’ by the councillors’ comments, claiming them to be of a ‘back to the future’ mindset.

He believes the new studios have the potential to create lots of jobs – not just in Skibbereen, but throughout West Cork.

David Puttnam said the councillors are right to highlight the need for jobs that will ​allow ​young people ​to ​live locally, but laying the blame at the feet of the IDA was, he said, ‘a genuine misappropriation.’

He congratulated the IDA on what he described as ‘their inward investment in the development of film, television and related industries in Skibbereen,’ saying: ‘It represents a tremendous opportunity for the young people of the region.’

As someone who spends much of his time teaching at schools, colleges, and universities throughout the world, the producer believes jobs in the film industry – across all aspects of production, ​as well as the provision of services – more than meets the brief of the Government’s employment policy.

‘What our young people need,’ he said, ‘are satisfying and sustainable careers to ensure quality employment with a focus on enabling the creation of highly productive, sustainable jobs and the skills that drive them.’

In the past decade, employment in these industries has more than doubled​, he said. It has also brought international recognition, and ​many ​associated benefits to the accommodation and hospitality sectors, as well as retail and service providers.

Meanwhile Édaín O’Donnell, a director of West Cork Film Studios, confirmed that a new company West Cork Film Studios Extras has compiled a database of more than 80 extras who have previously worked in West Cork. She also outlined details of WCFS’s training programmes across all disciplines within the film industry.