Creative England Opens for Business

Creative England has announced it is 'open for business', announcing its first seven Board members and three key Senior Management appointments, and outlining details of new funding available for filmmakers in the English regions outside London.

The new agency will, for the first time, provide joined-up support for England’s creative industries outside of London, supporting Film, Television, Games, and Digital and Creative Services.

Creative England now receives DCMS Grant-in-Aid from the BFI to support the strategic development of film in the English Regions, and is a BFI delegated body for the distribution of National Lottery funds for film.

FILM FUNDING

The Film Culture Fund will be the first scheme to open for applications on 17 October 2011. The Fund will aim to ensure audiences have access to a wide and diverse range of film content, to deepen and enrich audiences’ experience through education opportunities, and to integrate the unique resources of regional screen heritage into wider film provision.

Funding will be aimed at organisations such as cinemas, film archives, film festivals and the non-theatrical exhibition sector (mobile cinema and film societies), for project activity including:

- Audience development within the film exhibition sector
- Film education activities which are linked to and support film exhibition infrastructure (e.g. cinemas, film festivals, film societies and other platforms)
- The acquisition, preservation and conservation of and access to regional screen heritage

TALENT DEVELOPMENT

Talent Development funding will open for applications from November 2011. There will be support for organisations and networks working with talent on a local/regional level, and for individuals, such as writers, directors and producers. Preparations are also underway for an English regions-wide digital feature film initiative, which will provide an integrated development, production and training offer to writer/director/producer teams who have already demonstrated exceptional ability and vision in relation to their work in shorts, television, theatre and other related fields. This is planned to launch in late 2011/early 2012. Full Talent Development funding guidelines will be made available on the Creative England website in November.

For more information about Creative England's film support please see the link to the Creative England website below, where you can also download FAQs about the transfer of Lottery responsibilities from the regional screen agencies to Creative England.

For more information visit http://www.creativeengland.co.uk/film-support