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Olivia Colman (third from left) with Kerry stakeholders who supported the filming of Joyride in the county this summer. From left; Siobhan O’Sullivan, Kerry ETB Film Dev Officer, Mary Theresa Buckley, Kerry College Administrative Officer, Olivia Colman, Academy Award Winning Actress and star of Joyride, Kate Kennelly, Arts Officer, Kerry CoCo, Cathaoirleach Chiarrai, Cllr Jimmy Moloney, Elaine Sharp, Kerry College Apprenticeship Services and Bridget Fitzgerald, Economic Dev Officer, Kerry CoCo.
FILMING on ‘Joyride’, starring Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman, has wrapped on location in Kerry.
The feature film, produced by Subotica and funded by Fís Eireann/Screen Ireland & Ingenious, had a successful five week shoot in the county in locations around the county, including Tralee.
Emmy Award-winning director, Emer Reynolds, was delighted with how it went commenting that “Kerry brought an ineffable magic to the film. Its people, beauty, wildness, poetry, humour, light & scale, all of which have seeped into the film’s DNA.”
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Screenwriter Ailbhe Keogan had always strived to have the film shoot in her native Kerry and was delighted that the efforts of the Kerry Film Office made this possible.
“Screen Kerry did colossal work to ensure we could compete favourably with the East coast,” she said.
Siobhan O’Sullivan, Kerry Film Officer, commended Kerry College Monavalley Campus, Kerry County Council and the Creative Ireland Kerry Programme on their support in securing this production for the county, without which “it would not have happened”.
Kerry College Monavalley Campus saw the training opportunity the film presented and enabled a production base to be established on campus.
Kerry College students gained industry experience in the camera, sound, lighting, DIT, AD, Art & Production Departments.
Con O’Sullivan, Manager Kerry College Monavalley, emphasised the importance of such strong links with industry; “getting the first step on the ladder in a career in film is a critical part of our learner’s progression. This was a great opportunity for Kerry College to help provide this”.
Brian Nolan, lead instructor on the Kerry College Broadcast Production Skills course, agreed, outlining that, “putting the skills you have learnt in the classroom into practice in an industry environment is the only way to fully develop your potential.”
The film brought employment opportunities for local crew and trainees and significant economic activity with over 100 people employed in the production, all needing accommodation, transport and catering.
Kerry County Council recognised the benefit to the county of such a production and were proactively engaged from the outset.
Kerry County Council Area Engineers gave swift advice on road access for this road movie while the Arts Office & Economic Office provided support and info throughout.
Bridget Fitzgerald, Economic Development Officer, recognises the economic impact productions have and is looking towards the future.
“We were delighted to support Joyride filming in the county. Kerry has great potential as a film location & we cannot underestimate the economic impact of this,” she said.
Kate Kennelly, Arts Officer agreed, commenting that “the Creative Ireland Kerry Programme supported the production locating in Kerry, in turn supporting the creative sector working in film in Kerry at this time. “
Siobhan O’Sullivan, Kerry ETB Film Development Officer, is looking forward to bringing more production & film business to the county and was clear that “by investing in the Film Industry as a significant employer of the future we have the capacity to unlock Kerry’s full economic potential.”
