The highly prestigious Palme d’Or has been awarded to British Director Ken Loach (Kes, The Wind That Shakes the Barley) for his film I, Daniel Blake which was shot on location in London and Newcastle. The film depicts a middle-aged man who is forced to seek out government benefits after suffering an injury at work, meanwhile befriending a young mother who is on the brink of homelessness.
The upcoming BBC drama series, To Walk Invisible: The Brontë Sisters will film on location in Yorkshire from the beginning of May. To Walk Invisible will depict the lives of the world renowned Brontë sisters, who between them have written some of the most influential pieces of English literature in history including Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and Agnes Grey.
Film production in the UK is booming after having taken in over GBP1 billion for two consecutive years, with television productions attracting major investors from around the world. This news can largely be accredited to the success of both the UK Film and High-end TV tax relief systems.
Screen Yorkshire have launched a new programme to appeal to those who are interested in working in the film industry. The company are offering a four day intensive course to educate people and provide them with on-set experience, allowing them to make the transition into the professional industry.
Twenty-one international films dominated UK production spending in the first half of this year, according to a report from the British Film Institute (BFI). Between them the 21 movies spent just under GBP 520 million of a total figure of GBP 594 million.
A week-long familiarisation (fam) trip organised by the British Film Commission has taken a North American delegation across the whole of the UK for the first time. The trip was designed to showcase the UK’s TV filming potential after recent enhancements to the TV tax credit.
The UK’s new TV tax credit drove a huge increase in television location filming in its first full year, according to figures published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Designed to bring more high-end TV shoots to the UK, the tax credit attracted Veep, Elementary and 24: Live Another Day.
Thirty-six international films shot on location in the UK in 2014, according to the British Film Institute. The shoots helped drive a 35% rise in overall production spending in the UK compared to the previous year. The new Star Wars movie was among the biggest films.
Israeli production company Rabel Films shot in Thailand for a new commercial for Spring Tea, doubling the country for a series of international locations. Spring Tea Journey shows a young man recalling the highlights of an event-filled round-the-world backpacking trip.
Filmmaker Terence Davies is shooting period feature Sunset Song in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. The film is based on the 1932 novel by Lewis Grassic Gibbon and tells the story of a young woman coming of age in Scotland as social turmoil ripples from the First World War.