Excitement as Filming Begins on Achill

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04b785a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Councillor Keith Martin </B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Councillor Keith Martin "><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="news21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News"><U><I><B><U>Back to news page</U></B></I></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="07f89bd0.jpg" border=0 width="137" height="189" ALT="Large photo Councillor Keith Martin" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Excitement as Filming Begins on Achill </I></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="084cf050.jpg" border=0 width="463" height="261" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="3" VSPACE="0">Excitement is building on Achill island as the latest Mayo located production, the feature film "Secret of the Cave" has begun shooting in and around the village of Doogort this week. The crew is comprised of student film-makers from the school of film at the Southern Adventist University in Tennessee under the direction of their course tutors and professional film-makers. The film will star Patrick Bergin, the Irish actor famous for his roles in John B Keane's Durango and alongside Julia Roberts in the thriller "Sleeping with the enemy."</div> <div> The cast and crew are filming a feature length film based on the children's book "Secret of the Cave" by writer Arthur S Maxwell also known to many as 'Uncle Arthur' the well-known American author of children's books. The author would be well known to children in Ireland who grew up reading at home or in school his acclaimed "Bible Stories" which had a distinctive blue cover and were very popular with school and public libraries. So far Arthur S Maxwell has sold of 42 million copies of his books worldwide.</div> <div> "Secret of the Cave" is based around the principles of family, faith and friendships and is a children's adventure and mystery film based on an island in Ireland where a young American boy is left in the care of his extended Irish family when his father Patrick Bergin is called away to a conference in Dublin. The boy who is reluctant to engage with his Irish roots soon learns the importance of family as he uncovers the "Secret of the Cave".</div> <div> The film crew are anxious to be blend in and cause as little disruption as possible to the daily lives of the people of Achill though some scenes from the film will be shot on the roads and public areas around the island but everything possible will be done to minimise the impact of filming and this week adverts advising of the dates of filming were published in local papers.</div> <div> The crew will be including shots of Achill landmarks like the Atlantic Drive, the Deserted Village and Slievemore and these will all be included in the film. The crew has received a warm welcome from the islanders and from the people of Doogort in particular. "Cllr Michael McNamara has been of great assistance in getting to meet people and in helping out anyway he can" says Co Producer Ben Mitzelfelt, "we have received such a warm welcome from the people of Achill, we really like it here."</div> <div> The Garda Siochana and Mayo County Council has also been helping out with assistance from the County Enterprise Board, the Corporate Affairs Section and the local Director of Service Peter Hynes who have all helped out the crew with pre-production. </div> <div> In the meantime the possibility of a Film Commission or Film Office for Mayo is being examined by Mayo County Council as the county is enjoying a resurgence of interest from local, national and international film-makers. A series of meetings with interested parties and stake-holders have been planned as the feasibility and possible benefits of such a commission are ascertained. Keith Martin, who is assisting the crew of "Secret of the Cave" with production on the island has been in touch with the Irish Film Board who have leant their support to the idea. </div> <div> Keith Martin says "Mayo needs a film office to promote itself as a venue for filming be it television, documentary, adverts or feature films. The benefits from filming are employment, direct large-scale investment in local communities and a spin off benefit to tourism through Mayo scenery being portrayed on screen throughout the world."</div> <div> Local Achill based Councillor, Michael McNamara says "the people of Achill are delighted with the shooting of a 'Secret of the Cave' in Achill. The crew have integrated in the local community and are finding the helpful nature of Achill's people is something that would not be found in al parts. I have visited the set on a number of occasions and have found the filming and site layout to be of a very high standard. The extra's (local people) have also found that they are well looked after. I would particularly like to thank the producer Ben Mitzelfelt for keeping me informed and for requesting assistance from Mayo County Council whenever the need has arisen. May I wish the producer and organizers of this film every success when it goes to cinema. I feel that the Irish Film board must now realise that Achill is an ideal venue for filming and I hope to see many films been made her in the future. I would also like to thank Keith Martin for his interest and assistance all times."</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>