Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland has announced that Steven Davenport, the agency’s lead on inward international production, will relocate to Los Angeles to establish Screen Ireland’s US office. Plans for the US office were originally announced, as part of the then Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s trade mission to Los Angeles to open a new Irish consulate in L.A. as part of the “Global Ireland” strategy and where he met with leading executives in the US entertainment industry.
Davenport will work to support the Irish creative screen sector and strengthen US-Ireland relationships between the Irish screen industry and the US entertainment industry as Screen Ireland’s Head of US Production & Partnerships.
With over 25 years of experience as a line producer and location manager, Davenport headed up the Inward Production department at Screen Ireland since 2016 and has extensive experience within the agency’s senior management team. Mr. Davenport has built strong relationships with the US studios and other US production partners during his time at Screen Ireland with Ireland currently experiencing high levels of production activity.
Based in Los Angeles, Davenport will continue his role overseeing all inward international production, with the Dubin based Inward Production team. The position will also focus on growing Ireland’s relationships within the US entertainment industry, building connections for Irish production companies and creative talent. Davenport will also provide support to Screen Skills Ireland in building LA based relationships for skills development opportunities and will help to create opportunities for Irish creative talent across live action film, TV drama and animation.
Screen Ireland’s priority is to support the expression of Irish culture on screen and to continue building on Ireland’s strong tradition of creative storytelling for a global audience. We are delighted that Steven will be relocating to Los Angeles to build our US presence and further strengthen the US-Ireland creative screen industry relationships, working closely with the new Consulate General of Ireland.
Desiree Finnegan, Chief Executive, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland
I’m looking forward to promoting Irish creative talent and the Irish film and television sector in Los Angeles, further expanding Ireland’s international reputation for creativity and storytelling. I am confident that we can capitalise on the global demand for content and I look forward to bringing my experience of Ireland’s screen Industry to further develop the sector in Los Angeles.
Commenting on the appointment said “I’m looking forward to promoting Irish creative talent and the Irish film and television sector in Los Angeles, further expanding Ireland’s international reputation for creativity and storytelling. I am confident that we can capitalise on the global demand for content and I look forward to bringing my experience of Ireland’s screen Industry to further develop the sector in Los Angeles.”
The Irish trade mission to the US in 2019, emphasised the Irish Government’s continued commitment to supporting the growth of the Irish creative screen industries, with the goal of making Ireland a global centre of excellence for the audio-visual industry and a key EU production hub. Since that time, the industry has managed to recover from the global pandemic and is currently experiencing high levels of production activity with a wide number of major US feature films and TV dramas filming on location in Ireland.
Irish production companies, with support from Screen Ireland, have built strong working relationships with the world’s leading studios and production companies creating award winning film, television and animation content. Recent award-winning projects produced in Ireland include Element Pictures’ BAFTA-winning Normal People, a partnership with BBC and Hulu, and Cartoon Saloon’s Academy Award-nominated Wolfwalkers, made with Apple TV+. These successes have gone hand in hand with increased production activity for international studios shooting in Ireland, including Apple and Skydance’s TV series Foundation, Ridley Scott’s upcoming epic The Last Duel and Netflix series spinoff Vikings: Valhalla.