Scottish film industry secures £10m investment

Film and television production in Scotland is to benefit from a £10m injection of government funding – and a new agency to promote and foster the sector.

Screen Scotland is being set up with £20m of funding – £10m of it pre-existing, and £10m new. The new money includes £3m set aside for TV production, a first for Scotland.

Screen Scotland head Isabel Davis says the body will “create opportunities” for the Scottish film industry. “We can develop and grow talent, audiences, infrastructure and skills,” she says. “Scotland can take advantage of the growth opportunities now.”

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Scotland’s previous film-funding agency – Scottish Screen – was wound up and merged with the Scottish Arts Council to form Creative Scotland eight years ago, the Glasgow Herald reports. Now Creative Scotland is to spin off Screen Scotland as a “clear and distinct” brand.

Overseas productions

The Scottish landscape, a perennial draw for film and TV productions, is receiving fresh international attention due to the success of the US-funded Highland fantasy Outlander, which is doing for Scotland what Game of Thrones did for Northern Ireland.

In an editorial sponsored by Screen Scotland, Screen Daily says film and TV producers “spent a projected record-breaking circa $127m (£100m) shooting in Scotland in 2017, an increase of 45% on the previous year”.

Davis says the agency wants “international talent to come and see Scotland as somewhere they can call home”, but also wants “Scottish talent to travel”

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