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    Wednesday 24 September 2008

    WESTPORT LOCATION FOR MAJOR GERMAN TV FILM.

    Westport Town is one of  the many  beautiful Mayo locations which will feature in  the film "Heart's Desire", currently being shot by the German TV company, FFP New Media GmbH,  according to Cllr Keith Martin, Mayo liaison officer with the Irish Film Board.

    The film will broadcast on TV in Germany in November, to an audience of over eight million people, and will later be shown in many countries throughout the world. The project is supported by Failte Ireland and is being assisted by Westport Town Council and Mayo County Council.

    "This is great news for Mayo as filming for this project stretches from Foxford to Silver Strand and from Delphi to Achill Island and Clew Bay. Also featuring in the film are highlights of Mayo such as Turlough House, Westport House and Westport Town.  This feature film is a huge boost for Mayo's tourism as it will reach an audience of millions and show the real beauty of our county.

    This film is built on the success of the earlier production 'Return to the River' which was also filmed in Mayo.  Like all productions coming to Westport and Mayo there has been huge support from Westport Town Council and Mayo County Council.  These productions would not be possible were it not for the support of the Westport Town Council and the Town Manager and his staff who have worked tirelessly to assist the filmmakers."

    Cllr Martin works with the Irish Film Board, Westport Town Council and Mayo Co Council in promoting Mayo as a film location.  According to Cllr Martin Westport is the most film friendly town in Ireland and the level of support and co-operation supplied by Westport Town Council is second to none.

    Town Manager Peter Hynes welcomed the selection of Westport as a base for filming saying , " This kind of exposure and marketing for both Westport and for the County at large is extremely valuable and will help to promote Mayo as a visitor destination in a way in which formal advertising cannot. It represents a vote of confidence in Westport and in the ongoing investment of time energy and resources by Westport Town Council."

    According to Cllr Martin Keane, Cathaoirleach of Westport Town Council, "The film is a great asset to our town and I welcome it for the employment it will provide in tourism and for the investment which the filming itself makes in Westport and in Mayo.I am proud that Westport will feature greatly in the film as we have a beautiful tidy town and it will be great to see it showcased all over the world. I hope that it will attract many of those people to come and visit us in Westport. They will be most welcome."

    The film is based on a story by Rosamund Pilcher, a British author of romance novels and mainstream women's fiction. Her books are especially popular in Germany due to the fact that the national TV station ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) has filmed more than seventy of her stories for TV. These TV films are some of the most popular programmes on ZDF. Pilcher and ZDF programme director Dr. Claus Beling were jointly awarded the " British Tourism Award "  in 2002 for the positive effect the books and the TV versions had on tourism.

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