West of England Mayor Helen Godwin with (front row) next generation crew talent from All Set West and Bristol Film School and (back row L-R) Philippa Lowthorpe (3x BAFTA-winning director), Rebecca Dawson (Bristol Old Vic), Ben Greenacre (Freelance Producer), Lynn Barlow (UWE Bristol). Credit: West of England Combined Mayoral Authority
Bristol’s film sector has welcomed the news that Greenlight West, a £4.5 million production fund designed to increase the quantity, range and scale of film and TV productions made in Bristol and the West of England region, is now open for applications.
The new grant funding, announced by the Mayor of the West of England at Bristol Old Vic on 17th September, represents the biggest boost in more than a decade for production in the region, which is already home to the third largest hub of its kind in the UK.
Investments made by Greenlight West are forecast to generate £20.7 million in production spend in the region, supporting more than 230 jobs, while supporting freelancers, local suppliers, and the wider screen supply chain.
Awards of between £50,000 to £500,000 (varying by production routes) will be available for ambitious, commercially viable screen productions that can demonstrate the meaningful impact they will bring to the region in terms of local spend, employment, skills development and other benefits.
Eligible applicants include incoming productions filming in the region, productions made or led by regionally based companies, and productions carrying out significant post-production work locally. Unlike many other incentives offered in different geographical areas of the UK, funding is non-recoupable, a factor expected to significantly enhance the West of England’s competitive edge as a filming region.
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said: “The West of England is already one of the most popular places in the UK to make TV and film. Whether that’s blockbuster drama, homegrown storytelling, globally renowned natural history, expertly crafted animation or cutting-edge factual production, this is the place to be. We’re serious about ramping up our region’s credentials as a filming hub even further, to grow this important sector and stimulate more spending, create more jobs and skills opportunities for local people.
“With this new incentive we’re sending a clear message to the sector. We want you to make more magic here in the West Country, tell more stories from our region, and show off more of our places on screen – with all the tourism benefits that brings. We’re here to help you invest, recruit, and train locally and we look forward to harnessing the power that your film and TV production can bring to the country’s fastest-growing regional economy.”
Three-time BAFTA-winning director Philippa Lowthorpe, whose credits include H is for Hawk (Film4/Lionsgate), Prisoner 951 (BBC), Three Girls (BBC), The Crown (Netflix), and Call The Midwife (BBC), said: “Bristol is a brilliant city to base any drama production. Its wealth of talent, its fabulous and versatile location opportunities both in the city and the region, the Bottle Yard Studios, and also its excellent post companies like Films@59 have made the West of England first choice for me over the years. I try and base my shoots here whenever I can, from ‘Three Girls’ to my more recent series ‘Prisoner 951’. I’m excited that the new fund will encourage more drama into the region.”
Rachel Drummond-Hay, Chair of the Royal Television Society West of England, said: “The news of the regional production fund is a fantastic boost to the region’s television sector. At a time when the commissioning landscape is undergoing significant change, becoming increasingly competitive and hard to navigate, an investment programme of this scale will have huge benefits for production companies, suppliers and freelancers alike. Not only will the fund give companies based in the region an edge when it comes to pitching, tendering and financing new projects of scale, it will also help ensure talent stays in the region and new talent continues to be developed.”
A spokesperson from Bristol Screen Producers, an alliance of producers working across different genres in the region, said: “This is excellent and welcome news for the region’s production companies and freelancers living and working in Bristol and the South West. We particularly welcome the recognition of an indigenous element in the funding provision that will help build businesses, grow skills development and retain key talent. It’s fantastic that there’s a specific motivation to retain post production work that often misses out to London. The funds provide a necessary boost to the screen sector’s entrepreneurial spirit and finally gives us the opportunity to be equitable with other regions.”
Locally-based freelance producer Ben Greenacre‘s credits filmed in the region include The Forsytes (5/Masterpiece), The Outlaws (BBC/Amazon Studios), and new feature film Bad Apples starring Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan, which opened in UK cinemas on 18th September. He said: “Congratulations to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority for delivering this much-needed and long-awaited production fund. Bristol and the South West are already among the best places in the country to film, but incentivising more TV production will help ensure the region builds on its remarkable success in what is an increasingly competitive market.
“Film and TV production is already one of the South West’s most important industries in terms of inward investment, and this Fund will help it grow further and faster. I think we’ll see the dividends almost immediately. And the benefits go well beyond television, this Fund should also encourage more independent films to base themselves in Bristol and the wider region. Bad Apples, set and shot in Bristol, Bath and North Somerset, is released this weekend to critical acclaim and is already creating a real buzz around the region as a filming destination. This Fund has the potential to make Bristol and the South West a national leader not just in TV drama and documentaries, but in independent filmmaking too.”
Greenlight West is the first investment from the £25 million secured by the West of England from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport’s Creative Places Growth Fund. The West is one of just six regions to unlock the funding from government.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “Through the Creative Places Growth Fund, we’re putting funding in the hands of local leaders, giving them the freedom to invest in what works for their communities and creative sectors. Greenlight West is a great example of that approach in action: backing local jobs, skills and businesses, while helping the region compete for more major productions. I can’t wait to see the fantastic productions that come out of the West of England off the back of this.”
Councillor Tony Dyer, Leader of Bristol City Council and Deputy Mayor of the West of England, said: “In Bristol, we are proud to hold UNESCO City of Film status, run one of the UK’s busiest and most established Film Offices, and be the home of The Bottle Yard Studios, the South West’s largest filming facility. We are also proud to support this growing sector to help bring world-class content to screen. This investment is a big boost for local jobs, skills and the future growth of film and TV production in Bristol and across the wider region.”
All Set West alumni Patricia Natividad and Zubair Niwaz with West of England Mayor Helen Godwin (credit: West of England Combined Mayoral Authority)
The Mayor was joined on stage for the announcement at Bristol Old Vic by some of the next generation of talent working behind the camera. Bolstering screen sector workforce development is one of the core objectives of the new investment, and successful applicants will need to demonstrate how they will engage with local skills and talent development initiatives. Many stars of stage and screen began their professional careers after training at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, including Olivia Colman, Sir Daniel Day-Lewis, Erin Doherty, Naomie Harris, Jeremy Irons, Theo James, Cyril Nri and Sir Patrick Stewart.
Patricia Natividad, an alumni of All Set West, a combined-authority funded skills programme for the sector, said: “This funding is great news. There’s already a busy film and TV scene here in Bristol and the West, and hopefully this will take it to the next level. It’s great that productions receiving funding will be required to connect with local crew, trainees and talent development schemes. For someone like me, getting started in my film and TV career, it makes me feel optimistic for what the future holds.”
Holly Parfitt, Producer and Additional Camera of Soil Survivors, a documentary by Bristol Film School Boomsatsuma students, one of several locally-made productions which won national Royal Television Society awards this summer, said: “We are excited to hear that Greenlight West plans to create even more opportunities for young people looking to get into the industry here in the West of England. It’s a brilliant time to be a film student in the region.”
Rebecca Dawson, Executive Director of Bristol Old Vic, added: “We welcome the West of England’s investment in a new film and television production fund. The close relationship between theatre and film and television production is well documented – with talent, ideas and skills constantly moving between stage and screen. Our region has extraordinary creative talent, and the sector already makes a substantial contribution to the region’s economy, bringing significant income, supporting jobs and driving tourism.
“This initiative will boost those opportunities further benefiting artists and creatives to take risks, develop their craft, build their careers and ultimately reach audiences around the world. It’s about keeping the creative engine of the West of England alive, connected and flourishing and ensuring that the extraordinary creativity of the region can continue to generate cultural and economic value for years to come.”
The West of England is the UK’s third largest screen production hub, home to major media institutions including the globally renowned BBC Studios Natural History Unit and Oscar® and BAFTA-winning animation studio Aardman, alongside a thriving community of independent production companies, freelancers, crew, studios, facilities and creative workforce talent. Generating an estimated turnover of £325 million, the region’s film and TV industries support around 3,000 FTE jobs and thousands more freelancer and contract roles.* More widely, the creative industries are one of five key growth sectors for the region, and the fastest-growing anywhere in the country over the last decade. In the West, they comprise more than 5,500 businesses and employ over 40,000 people: generating £1.6 billion for the economy each year.
With deeply rooted strengths in natural history, animation, factual unscripted, VFX and post-production, the region has also long proven itself highly popular for incoming film and High-End TV drama production. The area benefits from its close proximity to London; network of local authority-run Film Offices and studio infrastructure including Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios, the largest dedicated filming facility in the South West and the most sustainable of its kind in the world, thanks to £11.8 million investment from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.
Through the WECA-backed West of England Clean Power Pilot, screen productions such as Mavis Ecclestone (ITV), Young Sherlock series 2 (Prime Video) and Can You Keep a Secret? series 2 (BBC) have made use of bespoke facilities to power their work on location this Summer, including a guaranteed fleet of batteries and a newly built dedicated renewable energy charging hub at The Bottle Yard Studios. Scripted production has risen across the region significantly in the past decade, driving an increase in screen tourism, recently illustrated by Visit West’s Starring Bristol campaign.
Recent productions made, filmed or produced in the region include Rivals (Disney+), Down Cemetery Road (Apple TV+), Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials (Netflix), Bridgerton (Netflix), Wonka (Warner Bros. Pictures), Boarders (BBC), A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (BBC), The Outlaws (BBC/Amazon Prime Video), Planet Earth III (BBC), The Americas (BBC), Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (Netflix), and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (BBC and Netflix).
Guidance and application details for Greenlight West, the West of England’s production fund, are available now at www.greenlightwest.co.uk.