The BFI announced today the awarding of GBP 15.2 million in National lottery funding to 11 UK based strategic partners, spread over three years. Getting ready to implement the BFI’s 10 year National Lottery Funding Scheme, this investment will aid the growth of cinema audiences, seek to engage more 16-25 year olds in film, and support talent development across the UK.
As a well-known centre of arts and culture, as well as being Britain’s second most filmed-in city, Liverpool is a buzzing creative hub. From Ryan Coogler’s Creed to Barbara Streisand’s 1983 directorial debut Yentl, the northern city is full of endless filmic possibilities and home to a long-standing history of cinema creations.
Two decades ago, countries began to compete for the hosting of international filming by creating a scheme whereby foreign producers are partially refunded for their monies spent in the country. Government appointed economists calculated the “multiplier effect’ of the monies brought in by foreign productions, how they stimulated economies and how much taxation would be created down the line to render such schemes sustainable.
General sale for tickets to the honouring of writer, actor, producer, author and NYU Grad Film Tenured professor Spike Lee will go on sale today at 4pm GMT. Lee will be honoured with the BFI Fellowship, the highest honour to be bestowed by the BFI. The filmmaker’s work includes his Academy Award-winning BlacKkKlansman and classics such as She’s Gotta Have It, later adapted for the Netflix series of the same title, and Do The Right Thing. The ceremony will take place at the BFI Southbank on 13 February, hosted by BFI Chair Tim Richards and BFI Chief Executive Ben Roberts.
Following a new lottery-funded report by Screen Cornwall and BFI, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly shows an increasing potential in the screen sector. On it’s way to becoming a “screen cluster of national significance”, the region’s impending success is credited to the recent successes in domestic independent filmmaking rooted in Cornish heritage and a skilled and growing regional crewbase. Recent projects to film in Cornwall include HBO's House of the Dragon and Hallmark's The Presence of Love.
RENDR, the new creative industries festival set to take place next month in Belfast revealed its lineup of speakers on 25 January. Those in attendance include professionals whose credits span The Mandalorian, The Batman, Top Gun: Maverick, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and more. Taking place from 23-24 February, the event will be held at Portview Trade Centre in Belfast.
Aria Studios launched today in North Wales, expanding the production energy even further in the region. Established by Rondo Media and S4C Digital Media Limited, The Location Guide had the opportunity to speak with Rondo Media's Chief Executive Officer Gareth Williams on the launch of the new studio facility, what filmmakers can look forward to and why North Wales was the perfect choice.
From leadership changes, the welcoming of their new ad-tier and the display of their impressive slate of features set to grace the streaming veteran, Netflix has a lot going on. Adding almost 7.7 million subscribers last quarter, many are evidently still gravitating to the platform, which welcomed it’s new ad-based subscription package in November 2022. Saying goodbye to its impressive performance of last year, Netflix is only focussed on bigger and better things to come.