About Tile Film and our Documentary and Television Productions

» Cé A Chónaigh I Mo Theachsa? (Series 1)- (2010) - (Series 1) This series tells the extraordinary stories of our houses and who lived in them before us. Who was murdered in our basement, who made love in the back bedroom and who hid under the stairs during the Civil War? Veteran traveller and broadcaster, Manchán Magan takes us on ... » visit production page
» Paintball In A Warzone- (2011) - Rich Tompkinson plans to design and build Iraq's first ever paintball park. He has a vision - and some people think his vision is crazy. Rich, is a paintball fanatic. Paintball is both his passion and his livelihood. For the last 6 years he has run one of the most ... » visit production page
» The Ghost Of Duffy's Cut- (2006) - It is the autumn of 2002 and in a dusty Pennsylvanian attic, William Watson, professor of history, and his brother Frank, Lutheran minister and historian, sift through their grandfather’s papers, chancing upon a remarkable file titled “DUFFY’S CUT”. Fascinated by the astonishing contents of the file, the brothers embark upon ... » visit production page
» Cé A Chónaigh I Mo Theachsa? (Series 2)- (2012) - In the second Series of ‘Cé a Chónaigh i mo Theachsa?’ presenter Manchán Magan, sets out to unlock the extraordinary stories hidden in the walls of our houses and who lived in them before us. » visit production page
» Waterways- (1993) - Poet and naturalist Dick Warner travels the inland waterways of Ireland. » visit production page
» Coming Home- (2011) - Coming home, a short film, is an uplifting and enlightening story of one woman’s journey to recovery from breast cancer. » visit production page
» Decoding Christianity - (2008) - So you think you know Christianity? You know its symbols, its shapes, its art and its rituals – but do you know what lies beneath them? How did they come into being, what do they represent, and why? This ground-breaking 6-part documentary series, unlocks the ‘codes’ of Christianity » visit production page
» The End Of Ageing- (2010) - In this pioneering documentary, Professor Rose Anne Kenny takes us through the science and the consequences of living longer lives. We find out how we can slow down the ageing process, how science can help us live longer and questions whether science can help us to cheat death? » visit production page
» A Terrible Beauty....- (2013) - A Terrible Beauty....the docudrama centers on two linked events during the Irish Rebellion of 1916, the battles of Mount Street and North King Street culminating in the massacre of fifteen innocent young men and boys.Our story is largely told from the perspective of the foot soldier on both sides and ... » visit production page
» The Rookes Of Vicar’S Hill- (2007) - In 2007 Rev. Patrick Rooke was appointed Dean of St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh, Northern Ireland.This four part observational documentary series followed Patrick and his family over a 12 month period as he settled into his new role as Dean of Armagh. » visit production page

Tile Films are an established HD factual documentary production company, specialising in innovative, Irish and international documentaries and series about people, history, religion, art, culture and travel. The company was founded in 1989 by Stephen Rooke, one of Ireland's leading documentary filmmakers. The focus is on programmes which entertain and educate and have universal appeal.

Tile Films Staff

Stephen Rooke

Manging Director

Stephen Rooke founded Tile Films Ltd. in 1989, after obtaining an Advanced Diploma in Media Production from Bournemouth Film School in the U.K. Stephen is Managing Director of the company and the leader of a vibrant production team that brings a mix of creative and production skills to the film-making process. Over the last seventeen years, Stephen has gained a reputation as one of Ireland's leading documentary/factual programme-makers. He has directed/produced over 100 television documentaries, including two documentary/drama series, fifteen documentary/factual series, six one-off documentaries and a television drama series. Stephen's television work has been seen on over 40 channels throughout the world, including RTE, TG4, BBC, Channel 4, Discovery, National Geographic, PBS, The History Channel, France 5 and SBS Australia click here for a full list.

Stephen produced and directed the critically acclaimed international HD documentary series, The Lost Gods , exploring the spectacular art, architecture and forgotten gods of six ancient world religions, Heaven on Earth , which looked at six major world religions through their art and architecture. He was also the producer and director of a 6 x 52 minute HD series Decoding Christianity series for TG4 Ireland, S4C Wales, Vision TV Canada and Smithsonian Networks USA.. He was executive producer of Cromwell in Ireland the 2009 IFTA award winning documentary. He is now busy at work directing the series “Waterways - The Final Journey.
As Managing Director Stephen has overall responsibility for the future development of the company.

» see full profile

stephen@tilefilms.ie

Dave Farrell

Producer/Development Director

Dave has worked as development director and producer for Tile Films since 2002. Prior to joining Tile he founded and developed a number of successful business ventures in Ireland, North and South, England, Scotland and Wales. Over the years he has written extensively for various non-Television publications and spoken at many business seminars in Ireland, the UK and North America. He remains a non-executive Director of a number of unrelated companies in Dublin and London.

IFTA nominated productions he has produced or co-produced include Ireland’s Nazis, The Ghosts of Duffy’s Cut and Death or Canada/Fleeing the Famine. The latter was a co-production with Ballinran Productions and was nominated for four Gemini awards in Canada.

David currently resides in Dublin

His recent work includes A Terrible Beauty ... a 90 minute feature docdrama which featured in the Jameson International Film Festival 2013 which he produced and researched with the Director Keith Farrell. In the Name of the Republic is a two part series for TV3 which he co wrote with Director Martin Dwan and Professor EunanO'Halpin. He has also just finished producing Death on the Railroad a one hour documentary for WNET 13 their PBS affiliates in the US which will be shown on RTE late in 2013.

» see full profile

dave@tilefilms.ie

» See All The People Associated With Tile Films

Press - The following are some snippets & comments from the press regarding our productions

"This excavation, employing poignant archive and contributions from historians and survivors across three continents, also looked at the lives established by ‘Ireland’s Nazis’ while sorjourning in our nascent State"
- Ireland's Nazis (20th Jan 2007)
"He [Magan] is genuinely delighted to chat to every interviewee and truly impress by everything he sees and learns."
- Cé A Chónaigh I Mo Theachsa? (Series 1) (10th Nov 2010) - [link]
"(Christy) Kenneally’s poetic script, combined with startlingly beautiful and fluid photography, delicately excavates the stories behind the Greeks and Romans, the Maya, the Inca and the Celts. ... in a world of tyrants and theocracies the series provides a timely reminder of our past."
- The Lost Gods (4th Feb 2006)

"If you only planned to watch one more programme on the subject, Saving the Titanic was the one that stood above all others this week"
» by The Evening Hearld about Saving The Titanic (14th Apr 2012) - [link]

"He [Magan] is genuinely delighted to chat to every interviewee and truly impress by everything he sees and learns."
» by The Sunday Times about Cé A Chónaigh I Mo Theachsa? (Series 1) (10th Nov 2010) - [link]

"This was smart and well researched, and rattled along at a fair old clip"
» by The Sunday Times about Cé A Chónaigh I Mo Theachsa? (Series 1) (10th Nov 2010) - [link]

"This powerful docudrama from the makers of Cromwell in Ireland is a tale of extreme heroism and courage"
» by Tv Now about Death Or Canada (30th Nov 2008)

"With dramatic reconstructions of the family's plight, this touching documentary is a brilliant and accurate account."
» by The Sun about Death Or Canada (24th Nov 2008)

". . lavish re-enactments, CGI and excellent direction by Maurice Sweeney."
» by The Sunday Business Post about Cromwell In Ireland (14th Sep 2008)

"This determined, feisty and invigorating programme outlined Cromwell's short and brutal military campaign in Ireland in the mid-17th century, a nine-month orgy of violence during which an estimated 500,000 people were shot, piked, starved or sliced by a God-fearing Puritan army or left homeless and feverish to die by the bloodied roadside."
» by The Irish Times about Cromwell In Ireland (13th Sep 2008)

"Cromwell in Ireland . . takes an in-depth look at the man and his deeds. Combining interviews with a range of historians, dramatic re-enactments and cutting edge effects, the programme portrays an obsessive, brutal, fanatic who cut a violent swathe through Ireland with a bible in one hand and bloodied sword in another."
» by The Irish Independent about Cromwell In Ireland (6th Sep 2008)

"These events, at a time when Canada was still a fledgling colony, and the population of Toronto a mere 20,000 people, certainly deserve a high-profile treatment"
» by The Irish Times about Death Or Canada (29th Jan 2008)

"This excavation, employing poignant archive and contributions from historians and survivors across three continents, also looked at the lives established by ‘Ireland’s Nazis’ while sorjourning in our nascent State"
» by The Irish Times about Ireland's Nazis (20th Jan 2007)

"Directed by Keith Farrell, Ireland’s Nazis looked, sounded and moved more like a pacy espionage thriller."
» by The Sunday Times about Ireland's Nazis (7th Jan 2007)

"By dextrously blending academic instruction with the conventions of fantasy television, the series succeeded in imbuing old stories with new life… In the current global climate, the series provides a useful eye-opener to those who believe that religious doctrines are carved in stone."
» by The Sunday Times about The Lost Gods (19th Feb 2006)

"(Christy) Kenneally’s poetic script, combined with startlingly beautiful and fluid photography, delicately excavates the stories behind the Greeks and Romans, the Maya, the Inca and the Celts. ... in a world of tyrants and theocracies the series provides a timely reminder of our past."
» by The Irish Times about The Lost Gods (4th Feb 2006)

"Fast moving, however, does not even begin to describe the pace of the highly ambitious and well-made Na Déithe Caillte: The Lost Gods…with its blend of computer graphics and speeded cameras – a nice counterbalance to the conversational intimacy of narrator and scriptwriter Christy Kenneally"
» by The Village Magazine about The Lost Gods (12th Jan 2006)

Broadcasters - Below you can see some of the broadcaster we have worked with

BBC Network (Britain)
Channel 4 (Britain)
Discovery America (North America)
Discovery Europe (Europe)
History Channel (North America)
PBS America (North America)
RTÉ (Ireland)
Smithsonian Networks (North America)