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Movie industry brings £22m to NI

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Actor Sean Bean films American series in Belfast
The movie industry has returned £22m to the Northern Ireland economy in the past 12 months, according to figures from Northern Ireland Screen.

The agency published its latest annual report for the year 2009-2010 at the same time as cameras start to roll in Belfast and Tollymore Forest Park on HBO's Game of Thrones, a television series which is said to be one of the largest ever to shoot in Europe.

A string of Northern Ireland actors have been cast in the multimillion-pound US production.

Coleraine actress Michelle Fairley has landed a lead role opposite Sean Bean, with Conleth Hill, Ian McElhinney and Derek Halligan also joining the cast of the fantasy epic based on George R.R. Martin's best-selling novels.

In 2009, Your Highness, a major feature film from Universal Pictures, which shot in the Paint Hall and various other locations around Northern Ireland returned over £11m.

"Our highlight successes in attracting Universal Pictures and HBO to Northern Ireland strongly illustrate that, with vision and focus, the screen industries and the creative industries generally can play a pivotal role in the reimagining of our local economy," Richard Williams, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Screen said.

Last year, Northern Ireland Screen also secured two major network television commissions - Mo and Christopher and His Kind.

Mo, which aired in January, was Channel 4's highest rating single drama for eight years, landing Julie Walters her sixth BAFTA TV Award and three BAFTA TV Craft Awards for members of its production team.

Audience figures from QFT and Belfast Film Festival are also on the rise, Northern Ireland Screen said.

© UTV News

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