A MAJOR drama series about the sinking of the Titanicwritten by Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes has received €380,000 from the Sound and Vision Fund.
Titanic, a four-part television series, will be broadcast on ITV and TV3 to coincide with the centenary of the disaster in April next year.
Fellowes made his name with his first screenplay Gosford Park, which won an an Oscar in 2002. He has since gone to write and direct several more films along with acclaimed ITV period drama Downton Abbey.
The Sound and Vision Fund provides €7 million from the top-slicing of the licence fee and is critical to the survival of independent producers.
The grant will go to Dublin-based Samson Films. Producer David Collins said Fellowes had a “really interesting take” on a well-known story.
Samson has also been awarded €280,000 for its drama The Importance of Being Whatever.
Forty-five projects received funding. They include a documentary about former Irish Timescolumnist Nuala O'Faolain and the Irish of 9/11.
