- Tourism Ireland celebrates film industry at TIFF
- Screen Ireland showcases five features
- Ireland provides backdrop for historical and modern productions
- TourismNI introduced SCENEic Route for film fans
- Recent productions include Derry Girls and Star Wars
Tourism Ireland has celebrated Ireland’s film industry at the 51st annual Toronto International Film Festival with a gala that included Liam Neeson. Screen Ireland is showcasing five features during the festival including Ancestors, Julián, Lemonade, The Lost Children of Tuam and The Pervert’s Guide to Utopias. The event provides a platform for showcasing Irish films, talent, creativity and storytelling to international audiences.
Ireland provides a backdrop for historical, modern-day and even futuristic productions with its mixture of rugged coastlines, dramatic cliffs, rolling greenery, urban streets and centuries-old landmarks. Tourism Ireland notes that powerful cinematic visuals continue to shape travel decisions with screen tourism or set-jetting having become a cultural force with overseas audiences saying TV shows and films inspire destination selection. Set-jetters are eager to step into the world of their favourite films or shows to relive and re-enact key moments.
TourismNI introduced its SCENEic Route earlier this year, a map inviting fans to plan their adventures around filming locations of productions including Derry Girls, Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, Hell Boy II: The Golden Army and more. Recent productions filmed in Ireland include Derry Girls, Normal People, Game of Thrones, How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, The Banshees of Inisherin and Wednesday.
Sandra Bailey Moffatt, Country Director of Canada at Tourism Ireland, shared: “The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the world’s most prestigious film events and an important platform for showcasing Irish films, talent, creativity and storytelling to international audiences. By bringing Ireland’s landscapes, culture and character to life on screen, film can inspire viewers around the world to experience the island for themselves. For TV and film fans, screen tourism is a magical opportunity to go behind-the-scenes of their favourite productions, to walk in the footsteps of those characters and to feel part of that world. It’s one thing to see Ireland on-screen, it’s another to experience it in person to truly connect with the breathtaking scenery and warm hospitality that makes Ireland so special.”
