Film in Limerick announced as Film Commission of the Year at BAFTA in London

Film in Limerick, through Innovate Limerick, won the Film Commission of the Year Award at the International Makers and Shakers Awards at BAFTA in London, December 2023. Accepting the award were Regional Film Manager, Paul C. Ryan and Crew Academy manager Rachael Power.

Film in Limerick picks up Film Commission of the Year Award at the International Makers and Shakers Awards at BAFTA

Film in Limerick, through Innovate Limerick, has won the Film Commission of the Year Award at the International Makers and Shakers Awards at BAFTA in London.  

Competing against fellow film commissions in Paris, London, Miami, Colorado and the Portugal Film Commission, Film in Limerick received the award for their training partnership with Screen Ireland where they launched the National Talent Academy for Film and TV Crew in Munster.  

The Makers and Shakers awards celebrate excellence across screen content production worldwide and shine a spotlight on the work of film industry support services that have made a significant impact on the industry through creativity, innovation and ground-breaking initiatives in the past year.   

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Nurturing a vision to develop a highly skilled crew base throughout the wider Mid-west region and to create ongoing programs, Film in Limerick continue to build crew skills as well as delivering training for writers, producers and directors in partnership with Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board. The aim is to address and support the current skills gaps in the industry and drive more regional crew from all backgrounds and disciplines into the sector.  

Commenting on the award, Regional Film Manager, Paul C. Ryan said; “The award is a testament to all the hard work of local crew and stakeholders in recent years to develop the Mid-West and wider region as an exciting hub for Film and TV production. With a rapidly growing crew base, world-class studio infrastructure and a film-friendly environment, the local sector is growing rapidly and we look forward to a busy 2024 as global production resumes.”  

“The development of a dedicated Crew Academy for Munster and the hard work of Academy Manager Rachael Power and support from our funders Screen Ireland, Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, Regional Skills and the local councils and LEO offices in Limerick, Clare and Tipperary, has helped to develop the Mid-West region into a major hub for the screen industries,” he continued. 

Commenting on the selection of Film in Limerick, the judges noted, “This initiative ticks all the boxes. It stands out as an outstanding project, effectively transforming the region, fostering community unity, and empowering a generation. The winner’s concrete idea has proven to be exactly what the judges were hoping to see in this category.” 

Winning the award comes on the back of a number of successes for Film in Limerick in recent months including being short-listed for a global award at the Cannes Film Festival as an emerging location for film production.  

The sector has seen unprecedented growth in the Mid-west in recent years, with several returnable TV series being produced here including Hidden Assets, Smother and the upcoming Blackshore series. Movies like Bonhoeffer, and soon to be released Double Blind and Woken, were also filmed at various locations across the region. 

Find out more about Film in Limerick.
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