It’s a proud day for Ireland as two of its native sons, Hollywood actors Jamie Dornan and Conor MacNeill, launch the feature and television production entity Blackthorn Films.
The new venture will be based in the northern region of the country, where Dornan and MacNeill were born and raised. They met on the 2015 film “The Siege of Jadotville,” and have since co-starred in projects including “The Tourist,” “The Fall” and the Oscar-winning “Belfast.”
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At launch, the pair hired producer Shauna Shivers-McAtamney to oversee Blackthorn’s film and TV slate. The company is a recent recipient of the BBC’s TV Small Indie Fund, which supports the growth of grassroots production shops across the U.K.
“Blackthorn films was born out of a shared desire to create indigenous stories from the island of Ireland that have a true global reach. The company’s aim is to produce work that flips the lens and presents fresh narratives, particularly from the North of the country,” Dornan and MacNeill said.
“We are both most creatively content when working at home and we are excited to collaborate with the wealth of skilled and talented filmmakers there, many of whom we have worked with before. The professionalism, positive mindset and down to earth nature of the key talent and crews in Ireland, North and South, is something we want to harness and embolden.”
Shivers-McAtamney comes from the prestige label Element Pictures (“The Favourite”) where she worked in development. She’s also served as a script editor on the BBC-Hulu adaptation of Sally Rooney’s “Conversations With Friends,” the BAFTA-nominated dramedy “The Dry” and the forthcoming “Trespasses” with Gillian Anderson at Channel 4. Shivers-McAtamney is also an alum of the British Film Institute’s Insight program, highlighting up and coming producers.
Dornan will next be seen with Anthony Mackie in “12 12 12,” a limited series at Apple TV+ which both men executive produced. He’ll also portray twin brothers in the upcoming Netflix crime noir series “The Undertow.” In television, Dornan has gained critical acclaim for performances in “The Fall,” which netted him an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor and a BAFTA TV Award nomination. His supporting turn in Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” earned him Golden Globes, Critics Choice and IFTA nominations.
MacNeill will next star in the Starz “Outlander” prequel “Blood of My Blood” this summer. He’s best known for his breakout performance in HBO’s “Industry,” playing banker Kenny Kilbane. MacNeill’s additional credits include the BBC true crime drama “The Sixth Commandment,” “In the Land of Saints & Sinners,” “Derry Girls” and “Love & Friendship.” He’s also had two highly successful stints on Broadway, opposite Daniel Radcliffe in “The Cripple of Inishmaan” and in Sam Mendes’ “The Ferryman.”
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