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£18 million funding boost for film in the regions from UK Film Council

More than £15 million to boost local film industries and help build a vibrant film culture throughout Britain, £2.7m Lottery funding to increase access for as many people as possible to the nation's rich film heritage.

London – 9 April 2008: The UK Film Council will be investing a total of £18 million over the next two years in the English regions to help them boost their local film industries and open up access for the public to our screen heritage.

This support will come from two pots of funding:

  • £15.4 million will be allocated to the regions over the next two years (£7.7 million per year to the nine Regional Screen Agencies).  Known as the Regional Investment Fund for England (RIFE), the money is a mixture of National Lottery and grant-in-aid funding.
  • £2.7 million Digital Archive Fund from Lottery cash to help unlock the nation's rich screen heritage.  Each region will receive £300,000 over the next two years.

Regional Investment Fund for England (RIFE)

The £15.4 million RIFE money will enable the nine English Regional Screen Agencies 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 Regional Screen Agencies (RSAs) were set up between 2002 and 2004 and to date have received more than £50m in Lottery and grant-in-aid funding from the UK Film Council.

The agencies 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. 

They are a strong asset and important partners for the UK Film Council in helping to deliver a number of key initiatives in areas such as education, exhibition, production, screen heritage and training. The RSAs are also strongly positioned to drive and promote diversity and access with very high levels of support going to projects and individuals from diverse backgrounds.

The agencies have been very successful at leveraging in money from other organisations generating on average another £3 for every £1 of Lottery money invested. 

The network of screen agencies has achieved some notable successes.  These include:

  • A dynamic location filming service in London, the Eastern region and the South;
  • Flagship capital projects for cinema exhibition in Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and Newcastle;
  • Production investment for incoming and regional production in Yorkshire, the North West and East and West Midlands – including the Warp Films initiative;
  • Innovative support for film education networks in the South West, East and East Midlands;
  • Support for talented individuals from diverse backgrounds which has enabled them to build careers across England and in particular in the South East, East and West Midlands and in London.

Digital Archive Fund

The Digital Archive Fund has been set up to increase public access to regional screen heritage with £2.7 million over two years - equivalent to £150,000 to each region per year.

The money will ensure that access to screen heritage is provided to as many people as possible through a variety of platforms (i.e. through screenings, festivals, online, and public spaces).

Screen heritage is held in many different places including film archives, universities, record offices, museums and libraries. The fund is about making content accessible in the digital age, regardless of where it is held.

Almost all of the archive collections held in the regions are non-fiction and vary in size from one individual film to a collection of hundreds of titles.  The films are often acquired because of their local interest but in many instances these collections are much more significant – and of national and international importance.

For example: one single reel of nitrate film was deposited with the Yorkshire Film Archive by a member of the public who had been to an archive screening.  The film shows unique moving images of Queen Victoria when she visited Sheffield to open the new Sheffield Town Hall on 21st May, 1897.  A film found and made accessible through regional activity, but of national importance.

John Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council 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 and This is England ."

For further information please contact:

Caroline Nagle / Rachel Grant
UK Film Council Press Office
T: 44 (0)20 7861 7508 /7505

Notes to Editors

  1. The UK Film Council is the Government backed lead agency for film in the UK. We aim tomake sure that the UK has a dynamic film industry fit for the digital age and to help UK audiences enjoy the best of British and world cinema.
  2. The nine Regional Screen Agencies (RSAs) are:
    · EM Media
    · Film London
    · Northern Film and Media
    · Northwest Vision and Media
    · Screen East
    · Screen South
    · Screen West Midlands
    · Screen Yorkshire
    · South West Screen

    You can visit their websites via www.ukfilmcouncil.org/fundedpartners
  3. The £3m Digital Film Archive Fund will be delegated as £150,000 in 2008/09 and £150,000 in 2009/10 to each regional screen agency. For detailed information see the document Strategy for UK Screen Heritage www.bfi.org.uk/about/policy/screen-heritage.html  UKFC will be reserving 10% of the Fund (£300,000) to respond to other opportunities in the screen heritage sector such as skills support.
  4. Screen Heritage- encompasses moving image media, from traditional film and television to artist's film & video; animation (both traditional and digital) and digital material distributed via the Web together with contextual material including scripts, designs, marketing and publicity material and documents relating to production, distribution and consumption.
  5. This £3 million funding is in addition to the £25 million for regional and national archives announced by the Secretary of State for Culture in October last year.  Further announcements about how this money will be spent will be made in due course.