CORNWALL FILM AND TV PRODUCTION BOASTS MORE THAN GBP 5 MILLION CONTRIBUTION TO LOCAL ECONOMY
Screen Cornwall released their first economic impact figures reporting the local film and television industry GBP 5 million worth to the economy last year. In addition, the screen agency received a funding boost of almost GBP 400,000 driving growth for the local screen sector and extending to its outreach and talent development programme.
“For the first time, we have a reliable estimate of what film and TV production is worth financially to Cornwall’s economy. £5million is a significant contribution for our rurally dispersed sector,” commented Screen Cornwall’s Managing Director Laura Giles. “Momentum continues to grow for both location filming and independent production, so this funding boost comes at an important time. A diverse and robust talent pipeline is vital to developing a healthy screen ecosystem, so people are at the heart of our vision for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to become the UK’s most vibrant rurally dispersed content production region.”
Calculated by Olsberg∙SPI using Creative England’s Local Economic Impact Toolkit, the report saw that over 22 filming days and 101 for pre-production, the estimated Gross Value Added of film and TV production in the region was 8% higher than the previous year. Titles contributing to this include Beyond Paradise (Red Planet Pictures/BBC One), Strike: Troubled Blood (Bronte Film & TV/BBC One), Malory Towers series 4 (King Bert/CBBC), Doc Martin (Buffalo Pictures/ITV), Fred & Pete’s Treasure Tales (Screen Glue/CBeebies) and feature film Edge of Summer (Dorothy Street Pictures/BBC Films/BFI).
"We know from Screen Cornwall's research that there are more than 270 companies active across film, television, video production, equipment hire and digital games in Cornwall, and we want to foster the growth of those businesses and the screen sector as a whole,” added Cllr Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council portfolio holder for economy. “At the same time, we want to celebrate our unique cultural heritage by encouraging more indigenous Cornish language filmmaking and this project will help achieve all those aims."
In other celebratory news for the Cornish screen community, Screen Cornwall received GBP 395,650 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Championing Cornish media, the annual Cornish language FylmK commission will be expanded for a short film in Kernewek, greater engagement with the wider Celtic screen industry will be established through the Celtic Media Festival, and funding companies to contribute to longer form content development.
Images courtesy of BBC