40 Irish films and TV shows set for international release in 2020

Screen Ireland has revealed over 40 new productions set to come to the international market in 2020. 

Screen Ireland, the agency responsible for the development of film, television, and animation in Ireland, has announced dozens of new productions that are set to be released this year at its 2020 Slate of Film, TV, and Animation Production during an event at the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin on January 31.

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Included in the new releases for this year are the highly-anticipated television adaptation of Sally Rooney's critically-acclaimed 2018 novel "Normal People," as well as "Herself," the screenwriting debut from Clare Dunne about homelessness in Ireland which received a standing ovation at Sundance Film Festival in Los Angeles last week.

Oscar-nominated director Lenny Abrahamson is directing "Normal People" in what is his first time directing in Ireland in seven years. The series, which has been bought by BBC and Hulu, follows two teenagers as they make their way through school and college all the while balancing an unlikely relationship. 

Funded by Screen Ireland, "Normal People" was a "natural fit for television," according to Abrahamson, who rose to fame directing movies.

"Songs From When I'm Away," a feature-length documentary about the life and career of Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, is also set to hit Irish screens in 2020. Directed by Emer Reynolds, the new film explores how a young, black child from a working-class area of 1950s Dublin would go on to become one of the country's most famous rockstars. 

"Wolfwalkers," a new animated feature film from Academy Award-winning studio Cartoon Saloon, is also set to hit screens later this year. 

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Screen Ireland will hope that the new productions can emulate the success of previous years which have resulted in unprecedented growth in the Irish screen industry. 

The Irish screen industry's contribution to the economy more than doubled during the last decade, growing from €164 million in 2010 to €357 million in 2019. 

The animation sector has seen the biggest growth in the last 10 years, and annual production activity increased fourfold in the last decade.

Chair of Screen Ireland Dr. Annie Doona said; “Ireland’s screen production sector has more than doubled in the last decade and it continues to be a critical component of both our economy and our social fabric.

"Our indigenous industry is growing, and we are active participants in the global growth story with all the major streaming giants now amongst our production partners."

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What Irish productions are you looking forward to in 2020? Let us know in the comments!