Creative Scotland invests £1m to create four Scottish film industry initiatives
Investment of £1m will be provided by Creative Scotland to explore new investment models to develop the country’s film industry.
The investment will see four pilot initiatives launched with the aim of testing new approaches to help increase the distribution and appreciation of cultural content from Scotland, while also aiming to reach new audiences and develop greater value to Scottish companies using film.
The new initiatives are made up of Sigma Releasing – a business model created by the film production company which will allow them to co-release films in the UK. The £250,000 investment will allow the company to contribute to print and advertising costs of future UK releases.
The MacKendrick Fund, a co-venture between the Aegis Fund and Prescience, will offer debt and equity finance to domestic and international feature films with Scottish elements which will be shot or post-produced within the country.
The £500,000 fund will aim to enhance the package Scottish producers can take to the market and provide access to film finance while also attracting commercial international feature films to Scotland.
The Virtuous Circle from SDI Productions is a new model which will test documentary financing through audience engagement and will use a suite of digital tools to enable producers and film makers to reach potential audiences and investors. The £100,000 fund will seek to explore a sustainable international documentary sector within Scotland.
Finally, the La Belle Allée/Savalas Sound Post Equity Fund will be established to offer investment to attract international production to Scotland and discounts for locally produced films. The £125,000 investment will aim to allow the studio to attract large-scale projects with the company aiming to become an equity stakeholder in the project in which they invest.
Creative Scotland has also recently announced an increase in its investment funds within the film sector, having now spent £3 million on supporting the Scottish industry.