West Cork is now truly box office

West Cork Film Studios in Skibbereen is officially open for business and the owners are confident the mix of location, facilities, and local talent will make the company a huge success for the region. Jackie Keogh paid a visit to find out more

‘BUILD it and they will come’ summarises perfectly the potential of Skibbereen’s newlylaunched West Cork Film Studios.

Leaving logistics aside, for just one minute, what is driving interest in film making in West Cork is its undeniable appeal as a location.

The received wisdom is that Wicklow has been exhausted whereas West Cork is primely positioned to accommodate the film industry.

The fact that it has lots of fresh and interesting landscapes, as well as a dedicated new film studios at Baltimore Road in Skibbereen, and is soon to be able to list among its assets a 10-acre backlot for outdoor scenes, makes it a serious contender for new productions.

A few days before the official opening of the new studios, The Southern Star was invited to take a tour of the facility and, in typical fashion, arrived 15 minutes early. It led to a chance meeting with Dougal Cousins, the location manager on The Sparrow, which was shot in Baltimore and Skibbereen two years ago.

Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Dara Calleary, and Cork South West TD Christopher O’Sullivan meeting with the directors of WCFS. (Photo: Ger Murphy.)

Dougal had heard all about the new facility – and its many, dedicated departments – and wanted to see for himself what West Cork Film Studios could provide a new production.

He went walkabout with Jim O’Donnell, of O’Donnell Designs Furniture, his daughter Édaín, and son Aodh – three of the six WCFS directors, the others being Katherine O’Sullivan, finance director; Stephen Park, head of construction, and Martin production designer and art director.

‘This is a fantastic addition to the national film infrastructure,’ said Dougal. ‘The range of locations in West Cork is fantastic. There is a great variety of landscapes and seascapes, as well as urban and rural here.

‘The requirements of the story dictate what you are looking for each time. Each project is different, and has different requirements, but when you have an area like this, which has such variety, it gives you choice.’

Speaking of choice, Dougal also commented on the number of people employed in the film industry who select to make their home in West Cork despite the fact that they travel nationally and internationally for work.

He’s not just talking about famous residents – Oscar winners like David Puttnam and Jeremy Irons, or the young bloods like Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal who have bought property locally – he is referring to the stunt men and women who live here, the production people, location managers, and the like.

Aodh, Jim, and Édaín O’Donnell are three of the six directors of West Cork Film Studios, which has been established in Skibbereen. (Photo: Ger Murphy.)

During the Fastnet Film Festival, lots of the more famous faces turned up to have a look at the new facility and Oscar-winner Puttnam did the honours by performing the official opening on July 1st.

WCFS’s finance director, Katherine O’Sullivan said: ‘There are other resources in the town that have made this possible. Skibbereen as Ireland’s first Gigabit town was critical for us,’ she said, ‘because it means we have the requisite broadband.’

Seriously good local stores, catering services, and a plethora of professional tradespeople – not to mention lots of good quality accommodation from Baltimore to Bandon – are all strings to the industry’s bow.’

West Cork Film Studios have well and truly tested the waters. Hundreds of people have, for example, replied to WCFS’s shout out when it was compiling its crew database. 

The lure of the industry can be seen from the age range of people who applied – there were 15-year-olds, keen to be trained, to those beyond retirement age who are highly skilled in their professions but still keen to take up local employment opportunities. 

It’s not just the people of West Cork who are applying either, people from other nationalities, including recently-arrived Ukrainians, are keen to share their skillsets.

Baltimore-based director Pat Collins having a chat with Oscar-nominated Irish actor and Kin star Ciaran Hinds during a tour of the West Cork Film Studio at Baltimore Road in Skibbereen, as part of this year’s Fastnet Film Festival programme. (Photo: Ger Murphy.)

There’s a reason, Édaín said, that the credits at the end of a movie are so long because on any given production there are 58 departments – everything from the producer and director down to best boy.

WCFS might not have the full 58 departments, but it does have provision for a stage studio and a construction studio, as well as hair and make-up, wardrobe, an arts department, accounts, construction, and props, as well as offices for producers and directors, and a fully-equipped canteen.

The proposed sale by the Industrial Development Authority of its 10-acre site has met with some criticism from local councillors, but Jim O’Donnell is firmly of the opinion that the business will generate not just jobs, but the kinds of jobs that young people now desire. 

‘Last year,’ David Puttnam stated at the WCFS opening, ‘the Irish film, television and animation industry added €692m to the domestic economy. In 2010, that figure was €164m, but by 2019 it had risen to €357m. 

‘There are very few areas of the Irish economy, along with the jobs that come with it, offering anything like that level of growth.’

Oscar-winning director and West Cork resident David Puttnam with his wife Patsy. The actor says the Irish film industry is now worth more than €690m. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Édaín addressed the issue of jobs, saying: ‘The film industry works like an old-fashioned apprenticeship scheme for people who don’t necessarily need a degree or a diploma to work on a film, what you need is to be trained under a mentor or head of department.

‘From there, people enter into contract by contract jobs, so people can travel with their newly-acquired skills.  As a career, it provides short, intense bursts of work of three to six months, followed by down time, which seems to suit the up-and-coming generation.’

Another sign of WCFS’s potential can been seen in its off-West Cork Film Studios Extras, which already has on its books 80 people, many with previous experience, keen to be given a chance to don another costume, apply the necessary make-up, and do as many takes as necessary to get the shot right.

Film making, it seems, is now in West Cork’s DNA.