Essentially Irish?

Compare and contrast the following press regarding the new Jerzy Skolimowski film Essential Killing which picked up three important awards at the recent Venice Film Festival.

I think I saw one Irish commentator remark in passing that it was 'largely filmed in Ireland'. I believe the film was actually shot in Israel, Norway and Poland, but I'm open to correction.

The film did employ a couple of Irish crew members and sound post-production took place in Ireland. It wasn't on the list of films using the Section 481 tax break that I listed back in May, but it may have been certified subsequently.

The film (as Essence Of Killing) received either €250,000 or €250,000 x 2 (€500,000) from the Irish Film Board. The confusion being that loan offers of €250,000 seem to have been made twice, once in August 2009 and again in early 2010.

from FNE:
Essential Killing to compete for Oscar
15 September 2010 By FNE Staff
WARSAW: Following Essential Killing winning the special jury prize this year in Venice, Agnieszka Odorowicz has announced that the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl ) will try to enter Jerzy Skolimowski's film into regular distribution in the United States so it can compete for the Academy Awards in all the feature film categories.
The Polish candidate for best foreign language film is All That I Love, directed by Jacek Borcuch and produced by Prasa & Film (www.prasaifilm.pl ) but because Essential Killing has no dialogue it can compete outside this category.
"Essential Killing is a masterpiece," Odorowicz said, "a film from a director who creates cinema that is artistic and formally tasteful. It is worth pointing out that Vincent Gallo was awarded for best actor even though the movie has no dialogue. It is a universal story about a man who is terrified and fights for his life."
The film was financed by the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl), produced by Skopia Film of Poland (www.skopiafilm.com), Hungary's Mythberg Films (www.mythbergfilms.hu), Ireland's Element Pictures and Norwegian Cylinger (sic) Productions. Hanway Films (www.hanwayfilms.com) is handling international sales.

Hanway Films PR
VENICE, Sept 12 - "Essential Killing", a Jeremy Thomas presentation directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, has won an unprecedented three awards at last night's ceremony in Venice, taking home the Special Jury Prize, Best Actor (Vincent Gallo), and the Cinemavveniere Award for Best Film in Competition (youth jury).
In a rare coup, "Essential Killing" received both the Best Actor and Special Jury Prizes. Traditionally at Venice, Best Actor is not twinned with any other major awards for the same film. This year's jury, headed by Quentin Tarantino, was forced to ask Festival head Marco Mueller to break the rules. It is said that Tarantino particularly argued to recognize the film, and he led a standing ovation from the jury as Skolimowski accepted the Special Jury Prize.
Centring on an Afghani political prisoner (Gallo) who escapes from a secret detention centre into a vast snowy woodland in Eastern Europe, "Essential Killing" achieved an uncanny prescience earlier this week when the existence of CIA black sites in Poland were acknowledged by the Polish government.
Gallo, an enigmatic presence throughout the Festival, did not attend to accept his Best Actor award. Taking the stage on his behalf, Skolimowski entreated Gallo to take courage and reveal himself in the audience, leading a chant of "Vin-cent".
HanWay films is handling international sales and marketing.
"Essential Killing", a Jeremy Thomas presentation, directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. Written and produced by Ewa Piaskowska and Jerzy Skolimowski, and Executive-produced by Jeremy Thomas.
Thomas has had a long history with Venice, premiering many titles at the Festival such as Takashi Miike's "13 Assassins" this year, and recently Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers", Takeshi Kitano's "Brother" and Claire Peploe's "Triumph of Love".
Under his Recorded Picture Company banner, Thomas has produced or executive-produced over fifty films, including the nine-time Oscar winner "The Last Emperor". RPC is known for its strong relationships with leading directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Takeshi Kitano, David Cronenberg and Stephen Frears, and has films with Phillip Noyce, Terry Gilliam and Vincenzo Natali upcoming.
RPC is currently in post-production on David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" starring Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender and Vincent Cassel.
HanWay Films' current slate includes Andrea Arnold's "Wuthering Heights", "13 Assassins" by Takashi Miike, "Made In Dagenham" by Nigel Cole starring Sally Hawkins, "Super" starring Rainn Wilson, Ellen Paige and Liv Tyler, and the animated feature "Chico and Rita" by director Fernando Trueba and the artist Mariscal.

From the Irish Film Board
Irish Feature ESSENTIAL KILLING Wins Three Awards at Venice Festival
13/09/2010
ESSENTIAL KILLING, directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, picked up both the Special Jury Prize and the CinemAvvenire Award while lead actor in the film Vincent Gallo scooped the Best Actor award at the 67th Venice International Film Festival which ran from 1st - 11th September.
ESSENTIAL KILLING tells the story of Mohammed (Vincent Gallo), a Taliban fighter who is captured by the US military in Afghanistan, and is transported to a secret military black site somewhere in the Eastern Europe. When the armed convoy he is riding in plummets off a steep hill, Mohammed finds himself suddenly free and on the run behind the enemy lines, among a hostile, snow blanketed forest. Relentlessly pursued by an army that officially does not exist, Mohammed must constantly confront the need to kill in order to survive.
The war thriller is an Irish/Polish/Norwegian/Hungarian co-production between Element Pictures (Garage, The Wind That Shakes The Barley), Skopia Film Production, Cylinder Productions and Mythberg Films with Andrew Lowe the executive producer for Element. The film has recently been selected for screening at both the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival next month.