Lights, Camera, Action! New production fund makes Wales star of the screen

More support will be available for Welsh film thanks to a new and simplified Welsh Government funding package which will help create quality jobs in the sector and generate at least £12m for the Welsh economy over the next two years, Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden, announced today.

The Deputy Minister made the announcement during an address to Wales’ first Screen Summit, being held in Cardiff today.

The new fund, a collaboration between the Welsh Government’s creative agency Creative Wales and Ffilm Cymru Wales, is available for films intended for theatrical release – with talent development and skills at its heart.

The £1m per annum fund will be open for applications in July and will run for an initial period of two years.

The new agreement will see a streamlined approach to funding, with an application process via Ffilm Cymru Wales, who will administer the fund on behalf of Creative Wales.

Up to £600,000 will be available per project for eligible films, with up to £400,000 grant funding from Creative Wales and up to £200,000 via Ffilm Cymru lottery funds – which they administer on behalf of the Arts Council of Wales.

At least £12m will be generated for the Welsh economy across the initial two years of the arrangement between Creative Wales and Ffilm Cymru, providing a post-Covid pandemic boost for Wales’ world-class community of creatives, cast, crew, services and facilities.

Under Ffilm Cymru’s management, there will continue to be a focus on films featuring Wales-born or Wales-based writers, directors and producers at their helm.

Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden, said: “Since its inception, Creative Wales has been reviewing its approach to improving and enhancing its support for TV and film production, with a new production funding offer for TV and games also now available. This new and improved investment package for film is next in a suite of improved investments for the sector.

“This new approach to film will boost film production in Wales, stimulating growth in the number and variety of productions made in Wales, whilst also maximising the economic impact on the local economy, improve employment opportunities, further support the development of a skilled workforce, and further demonstrate the excellence of Wales on screen through our world-class talent, crews, facilities and unique locations.

“This unique partnership between Creative Wales and Ffilm Cymru Wales, following on from the recent Memorandums of Understanding with the BBC and S4C, is a further example of how our partnership approach is driving growth and talent development in the creative industries in Wales.”

Pauline Burt, Chief Executive of Ffilm Cymru welcomed this latest development saying: “Having long worked directly with Welsh independent filmmakers to help bring their feature film projects to fruition, we are delighted to be collaborating with Creative Wales on our shared objectives. The production fund will continue to centre Welsh talent, whilst streamlining access to funding and tailoring the offer to producers’ and the wider sector’s needs.”

This new partnership between Ffilm Cymru and Creative Wales builds on a foundation of creative and economic collaboration that has already seen the co-funding of homegrown storytelling such as Euros Lyn’s Dream Horse and Mad as Birds Films’ forthcoming drama The Almond and the Seahorse, which was written by Kaite O’Reilly and co-directed by Celyn Jones.

(Lead image: RAW / Warner Bros UK)