Ireland has been chosen as the location for a major new German feature length TV drama which is due to start filming in August. 'An Ocean Apart' by Robin Pilcher will be aired to over 6 million viewers on the Saturday night prime time slot on the ZDF German state television station. With the assistance of the Irish Film Board and Tourism Ireland, the German producers scouted Ireland in June and July and opted to base the production in Kenmare, Co Kerry, with filming taking place on location in both Cork and Kerry. Hotel and Self-Catering accommodation has been organised in Kenmare for around 35 film crew and 15 actors. This represents approximately 1,296 bed night's worth of business to local accommodation providers and some of the crew is already on site. The project has a budget of €1.3M and will spend the majority of this in the local economy during the five week shoot. Actual filming will take place between 25 August-23 September and locations include amongst others Bantry House, Dunboy Castle, and a private period house at the Kenmare River as well as filming in Kenmare and Cork City. There will also be a variety of scenic shots from all around counties Cork and Kerry. There will be numerous references to Ireland throughout the film. Welcoming the news, Arts, Sport and Tourism Minister, John O'Donoghue T.D., said that the decision by the German production company to film in Cork and Kerry was excellent news for tourism to the region. 'The publicity value of a production of this nature is incalculable. The film is essentially a ninety minute advertisement for some of the most stunning locations that Ireland has to offer and will be seen in Germany by millions of potential visitors. This is a good example of the Irish Film Board and Tourism Ireland working together to get results.' 'The Cork-Kerry region has been marketed extensively by Tourism Ireland in Germany this year as part of their adopt-a-region initiative,' the Minister added, 'and developments in direct air access such as the three times weekly service from Munich to Cork by Aer Lingus and the proposed increase in flights from Frankfurt to Farranfore by Ryanair mean that the region is now even more accessible to visitors from this important market.' The movie is based on a novel by Robin Pilcher, son of the novelist Rosamund and is a follow-on film to one of Germany's most successful and popular series, the 'Rosamunde Pilcher' films, which regularly attract between 6 - 8 million viewers at initial screening time and again when repeated for up to 3-4 years later. The producers are confident of replicating the success of the initial series. The choice of Ireland as a location is something of a coup as until now the Pilcher stories always took place in Cornwall or Scotland, according to Judith von Rauchhaupt of Tourism Ireland's German office and Naoise Barry, Film Commissioner with the Irish Film Board, both of whom played a key role in persuading the production company to film here. 'The previous Rosamund Pilcher movies were credited with raising the image of Britain tremendously as a tourist destination. The producers wanted to locate Robin's movie in a different but similarly beautiful place. For a lot of Germans these films were actually the reason to visit Great Britain and we are hopeful that 'An Ocean Apart' will have a similarly positive effect on tourism business from Germany to the Cork-Kerry region and beyond,' said von Rauchhaupt. 'If this film is successful, we hope at least three more in the series will shoot in Ireland. This is good news for the Irish film industry and will undoubtedly impact positively on Irish tourism', added Barry.
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For further information: Tourism Ireland: Fiona Scott, 01 476 3429