Councillors say more TV and film crews should be lured to city on back of ‘Derry Girls’ success

At a Full Council Meeting on Wednesday, October 23, Independent councillor Gary Donnelly noted that ‘Derry Girls’ writer Lisa Magee’s new series, 'How to Get to Heaven from Belfast', had recently filmed in Derry City.

“This was a fantastic opportunity for the area, its residents and local businesses, ” Councillor Donnelly said. “And it represents a huge amount of money being pumped into the economy.”

“Hundreds of crew were involved in this operation providing skills and experience for many, including extras, crew, make-up, costumes, logistics and security.

“This is a hugely positive development and ideal opportunity to portray a profile of the town and district locally and internationally, as we have seen as a result of 'Derry Girls'.

“Given that 'Derry Girls' was set in our city it’s a shame that it and other huge enterprises like 'Game of Thrones' were predominantly filmed in Belfast.

“Unfortunately there's a perception within this industry that it's more time-consuming to carry out logistics within our council area than in other areas in the North, and I would welcome any opportunities to address this.”

UUP Alderman Derek Hussey noted that there were purpose-built studios for filming in Belfast, which would 'need to be looked at' for Derry.

Alderman Hussey added: “My own son has just qualified in Media Production and looking for work in that area in the western part of the province is needle and haystacks stuff, so he’ll be forced to move east.”

“Councillor Donnelly mentioned areas around the city [for filming], but there is also a vast rural area south of the city that could be used very well within the film industry.”

SDLP councillor John Boyle agreed that dedicated studios in the west were somethings that 'should be explored', and argued that council should consider hiring a dedicated council officer to facilitate film and TV production in the district.

Independent councillor Shauna Cusack said she had previously proposed renaming the council’s Business and Culture Department to the 'Business, Culture and Film Department', with a direct emphasis on the film industry and attracting film and broadcast to the city and district.

“To my knowledge nothing has happened regarding that,” she said. “And the last time I chased it up I was told there were no funds.”

“So there was no proactive development of that idea at a time when we should be highlighting everything that this district has to offer, in order to make it a desired, cheap, and easy location for people to work in compared to Belfast.”

Chief Executive, John Kelpie, concurred that there was a 'massive and growing opportunity' to bring production to the district, and said officers were working with industry representatives 'to avail further of opportunities'.

He assured members that a report would be brought back to a future Business and Culture Committee meeting around the 'challenges of filming in this council area'.