English regions get £18m windfall
The UK Film Council (UKFC) will invest £18m over the coming two years in the English regions to provide a fillip to their local film industries and increase public access to UK screen heritage.
Of this, £15.4m (£7.7 million per annum) will be disbursed to the nine Regional Screen Agencies (RSAs) under the Regional Investment Fund for England scheme. The money will allow RSAs to continue to deliver on their objectives of developing film economies and culture in their region including education initiatives, exhibition, locations support, production and development, as well as training and vocational education.
The RSAs are EM Media, Film London, Northern Film and Media, Northwest Vision and Media, Screen East, Screen South, Screen West Midlands, Screen Yorkshire and South West Screen. The RSAs, which have received more than £50m in funding from the UKFC, have been a financial success story, generating £3 from other organisations for every £1.
A further £2.7m under the Digital Archive Fund scheme, equivalent to £150,000 to each region per year, will enable access to screen heritage to as many people as possible through a variety of platforms like screenings, festivals, online, and public spaces.
UKFC CEO John Woodward said, “The UK Film Council invests money into the regions because they are a key asset for the British film industry. The agencies bring together all the different parts of the film agenda at a local level, from locations support to film production and they have been a new and vital catalyst for bringing different and fresh stories to the big screen and showcasing regional talent with films like Control [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and This Is England [+see also:
trailer
film profile].”
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
