With feature films such as ‘Love & Friendship’, ‘Moscow Never Sleeps’ and ‘Queen of Ireland’ under her belt, and RTÉ legal drama ‘Striking Out’, Holly availed of a bursary award from Screen Training Ireland to upskill in the area.
The Los Angeles based training was hosted by media consultancy outfit MediaXchange. Screen Training Ireland offer support to Irish industry professionals aiming to enhance their career through international training opportunities, when the training is not available in Ireland.
Katie Holly, Producer:
“The Showrunner programme is designed to introduce the key components in the development and production of US-scripted series and its leading professionals. Following the Irish premiere of Blinder Films’ original legal drama ‘Striking Out’ earlier this year, it was perfect timing for me to undertake an introductory but very focused overview of the US TV drama landscape and build relationships over there and with fellow participants of the programme who were international TV execs, writers and producers.
“The course was extremely interesting, it consisted of meetings and panels, and we were put into smaller groups so the meetings were often very focussed and relevant. The meetings ranged from traditional broadcast, to cable and the new platforms and I feel I got a really clear insight into how the industry works and what the opportunities and issues are. I particularly enjoyed having lunch with Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin, the only female showrunners I met on the course, who talked through their experience of developing and showrunning the Christina Ricci starring series Z: The Beginning of Everything for Amazon.
“I would really recommend the course to anyone interested in the international TV drama market.”
Learn More about the Bursary Award Scheme