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Ireland’s film industry celebrates a milestone achievement as acclaimed actor Jamie Dornan and fellow Northern Irish talent Conor MacNeill announce the launch of their new production company, Blackthorn Films. The venture represents a homecoming for both performers who have risen to international prominence while maintaining deep connections to their native soil. Having first collaborated on the 2015 film THE SIEGE OF JADOTVILLE, the duo’s creative partnership has flourished through projects including THE TOURIST, THE FALL, and Kenneth Branagh’s Oscar-winning BELFAST.

Dornan, whose career has seen remarkable evolution since his breakthrough role in THE FALL—which earned him an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor and a BAFTA TV Award nomination—has established himself as one of Ireland’s most versatile performers. His supporting performance in BELFAST garnered Golden Globes, Critics Choice, and IFTA nominations, solidifying his reputation beyond his earlier work. Fans can anticipate his upcoming dual role portraying twin brothers in Netflix’s crime noir series THE UNDERTOW, as well as his collaboration with Anthony Mackie in the limited series 12 12 12 for Apple TV+, where Dornan also serves as executive producer.

Blackthorn Films will be headquartered in Northern Ireland, where both founders were born and raised, with a mission to spotlight indigenous stories with global appeal. “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 partners explained. “The company’s aim is to produce work that flips the lens and presents fresh narratives, particularly from the North of the country.” This commitment to authentic storytelling has already earned the company recognition as a recipient of the BBC’s TV Small Indie Fund, which supports emerging production companies across the United Kingdom.

To shepherd their creative vision, Dornan and MacNeill have brought aboard producer Shauna Shivers-McAtamney, whose impressive credentials include work with Element Pictures on acclaimed productions like THE FAVOURITE. Her experience as script editor for the BBC-Hulu adaptation of Sally Rooney’s CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS, the BAFTA-nominated THE DRY, and the forthcoming TRESPASSES starring Gillian Anderson positions her perfectly to advance Blackthorn’s ambitions.

“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,” said Dornan and MacNeill. “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.” Through Blackthorn Films, these two accomplished performers aim to channel their international success back into the communities that shaped them, creating a new chapter in Ireland’s rich storytelling tradition while opening doors for emerging voices from a region often overlooked in mainstream cinema.