New fund aims to grow Welsh film industry
Film companies in Wales are to further their innovation, capacity and audience reach through a new fund from the Film Agency for Wales.
The £275,000 Company Support fund will seek to cultivate the Welsh film industry's infrastructure with a focus on nurturing local talent and "fostering creative and financial relationships on an international level".
Through the fund the agency wants to facilitate the bespoke requirements of promising companies and further their growth.
Rather than working on a project-to-project basis, production and distribution companies that are awarded funding will have to develop a "joined-up approach to their operations and a forward-facing business strategy". This should include a clear sense of market awareness, technological innovation and possible opportunities of wider exploitation of their intellectual property.
The funding is also intended to generate more jobs for the Welsh film industry by increasing company capacity and speeding up projects reaching the market.
Companies eligible to apply should be based in Wales and must be able to demonstrate that film production and/or distribution is a key component of the business. However, this does not preclude other related companies that also work in television, games and other media from applying, the agency says.
Film Agency Wales' head of creative sector development, Hannah Thomas - who oversees the fund, said: "We have proven Welsh talent, especially writers, directors and producers, generating home-grown intellectual property, which this fund seeks to harness and build upon. We aim to support Welsh companies to develop their medium to long-term growth strategies; increase international collaboration and broaden revenue streams."
The Company Support fund will be open for applications from 28 October. More information, guidelines and applications can be found on the agency's website.
