GLANMIRE STUDENTS MEET LEGENDARY HOLLYWOOD PRODUCER
Five Transition Year students from Coláiste an Phiarsaigh in Glanmire who participated in a course on careers in the film industry got to spend time with legendary Hollywood film producer David Puttnam, at UCC this week.
David Puttnam is a former member of the British House of Lords and is best known for Oscar-winning films like 'Chariots of Fire', 'The Mission', 'The Killing Fields' and 'Midnight Express', as well as his environmental and film education work.
Transition Year students from schools across Cork were meeting with Lord Puttnam at the end of their ‘Screen Careers for Transition Year Students’ course, a programme run by Atticus Education, an online education company chaired by Lord Puttnam and supported by UCC and Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland.
The course is designed to help students explore the opportunities of a career in the film industry, which has continued to grow in Ireland in recent years. In 2022, €361,487million was spent on filmmaking in Ireland by both Irish and international production companies, according to Screen Ireland, who have also predicted that there will be a shortage of skilled graduates to work in the booming industry in the coming years.
A new pilot Leaving Cert course, Drama, Film and Theatre Studies, will be trialled in September 2024.
Coláiste an Phiarsaigh students who attended the event were Liam Ó Caochlaoich Ó Ceallaigh, Oisin Ó hAinle, Sinéad Ní Rinn, Grace Ní Loingsigh and Aoife Nic Mhathuna.
Lord Puttnam stressed that the learning on the course had been a two-way street.
"I’ve found the whole experience to be incredibly valuable: I’ve learned so much from these enthusiastic young people about what they watch, where they watch it and why film remains important to them,” he said.
“I think this programme is increasingly important because the film industry in Ireland desperately needs bright and enthusiastic young people to see it as a viable and attractive career option. In the hope that I’ve convinced the students of this over the last couple of weeks, it’s now a question of convincing their parents and career guidance counsellors."