An Irish trade mission to the US will see meetings with a number of major film studios.
Tourism Minister Catherine Martin will lead the mission, ahead of a strong Irish showing at the Academy Awards this Sunday.
She will meet with studios and production companies including Sony and Disney - which includes representatives from Marvel, Searchlight and Lucas Film.
Advertising for Marvel Studios 'Avengers: Endgame' in Times Square, New York in April 2019. Picture by: Richard Levine / Alamy Stock PhotoThese meetings will focus on continued growth of the sector, discuss opportunities for increased collaboration and explore new opportunities for production.
Representatives from Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, Tourism Ireland, the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs will also be on the mission to Los Angeles.
Minister Martin will also present a special award to 'An Cailín Cíúin' - the first Irish-language film to be nominated for an Oscar - at the Oscar Wilde Awards on Thursday.
Oscar statuettes to be presented to winners at an Academy Award presentation in 2008. Picture by: Richard Levine / Alamy Stock PhotoThis year marks a record-breaking 14 nominations for Irish stories and talent across the Academy Awards.
The trade mission, which is a part of the Government's St Patrick's Day programme, aims to build on the recent critical success for the Irish screen industry.
Minister Martin said the timing of this visit is important.
"The eyes of Hollywood and the world are on Ireland this Oscars weekend and this presents an important opportunity to showcase Ireland’s culture and creative talent to a global audience," she said.
"This weekend is also important for Ireland and Irish people around the world.
"Some 14 Oscar nominations is incredible for a country the size of Ireland and I know the nominations are a source of national pride for young and old.
"It highlights the country's contribution to the arts and culture, provides opportunities to further promote Ireland as a tourism destination, and will inspire future generations of Irish creative talent and filmmakers," she added.
US tourism
Recent large-scale productions based in Ireland have ranged from Disney's ‘Disenchanted’, which transformed the village of Enniskerry during production, to this year’s viral hit ‘Cocaine Bear’, shot on location in the Wicklow countryside which was recreated as a US National Park.
In 2019, the island of Ireland attracted 1.7 million tourists from the United States, approximately 10% of all American visitors to Europe.
American tourists spent €1.6 billion on the island of Ireland in 2019, up 71% since 2014 - an average spend of €916 per tourist.
Tourism Ireland is undertaking an extensive and targeted programme of promotional activity in the US again this year, which includes the 'Fill Your Heart with Ireland' campaign.
