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by Caroline_Norbury on 08-May-09 16:38

No dental tools were required in the end for the meeting with Claire Evans and Ben Stephenson of the BBC (see Chris Moll’s earlier blog!).

It was an interesting meeting. Ben’s committed to finding quality drama for the BBC and his passion for strong writing clearly shone through.

It’s now up to us to make sure we build up strong drama production in Bristol, utilising some of our indigenous talent, such as Catherine Johnson, Ashley Pharoah, Barbara Machin and Philippa Lowthorpe.

Outlook for International Trade

by jbolhoven on 08-May-09 13:52

I attended 3 international trade policy forums within the British Chambers of Commerce 'road to recovery' conference and exhibition on Monday 27 April. Over 500 delegates attended from across the UK and the speakers included Lord Davies Of Abersoch CBE, Minister for Trade and Investment, Nicholas Armour, Director International Group 1, UK Trade and Investment, Francoise le Bail, SME Envoy European Commission and Claire Durkin, Director Europe, International Trade and Development, Dept for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

The overall feeling of the event was optimistic but there’s still a lot of work to do. But the key messages to take away were as follows:

International Trade presents the greatest growth opportunities for SMEs/UK businesses, in particular the opportunities presented by high growth market such as Brazil, China & India, and beyond the BRIC countries, Latin America (currently untapped by UK companies and growing).

A number of EU measures are being put in place to improve better international access:

• Small business act for Europe
• Cutting red tape 
• Access to finance (EIB / EIF)
• Enterprise Europe Network (600 partners, 44 countries)
• European Business Centres (India + China)
• Market access strategy
• Strengthening SME policy angle within trade policies
• Improved market access conditions
• Control of state aids

Challenges:

• Out of date perception of UK businesses by international partners.
• There is a need for greater consistency between UK public bodies (businesses current receiving fragmented help).
• There is a need to maximise links between SMEs and large corporations, taking advantage of existing supply chains.
• There is a need (and a desire following the budget) to showcase UK excellence. There is a general understanding that we don't value our industries as much as the rest of the world. The minister for Trade & Investment announced that they will be actively looking at how they can do this using broadcast and new media.

It proved to be useful insight and UK SMEs are very much seen as key to our ‘road to recovery’.

View from the top

by Caroline_Norbury on 07-May-09 14:04

Last night I was a guest of the Norwegian ambassador who was hosting a reception to launch a new company, Green Film Practices.  The company is the brainchild of Ann Kristin Glenster, who previously ran a film fund & studio facility in Norway and has extensive experience of film finance & production .

The Green Film Label is a pioneering initiative to measure & reduce the carbon footprint made by film.  Ann Kristin also intends to advise productions on environmentally-friendly goods & services.  See the links for more info.

Ann Kristin was one of the guests at our events to launch the Green Filmmaking Guidelines. Following the work South West Screen undertook with Working Title on their latest feature The Boat That Rocked, we're committed to promoting best green practice wherever possible in the creative sector.  We’ve got the Guidelines up on our website for production managers to download and are also reviewing our own carbon footprint with a view to making cuts where possible.

Our Executive Producer, Chris Moll, is to meet with Ann Kristin again in Cannes in a couple of weeks’ time. Watch this space for further updates.

Chris Moll catch up.

by chrismoll on 06-May-09 16:58

Spent much of today putting together a long list of "asks" for our meeting tomorrow with BBC Drama supremo Ben Stephenson, BBC Wales Drama Head Piers Wenger and BBC In-House Head of Production Nick Brown.

With the 'Casualty' nerve still very raw, I suddenly have a Reggie Perrin moment and a strong temptation to follow Laurence Olivier's lead in Marathon Man by probing the cavity left behind by that show while asking Mr Stephenson "Is it safe ? Is BBC Drama in Bristol safe?". Caroline (CEO), being more squeamish, counsels a softer, more conciliatory approach but I think I might take the dentist's instruments.....  just in case.

Helen at the Watershed

by Emma_Chappel on 06-May-09 10:13

Having read recent glowing reviews of Christine Molloy's new thriller, Helen, I was intrigued to see the film and hear from its co-director.

Described as a 'psychological thriller', Helen is the story of what happens to a girl who takes part in a police tv reconstruction of events of the day her college classmate, Joy, goes missing. It's a slow-burning, thoughtful film, which follows 18-year old Helen as she is selected by the police to take part and then slowly builds up a relationship with the missing girl's parents and boyfriend. Annie Townsend plays the eponymous character sparingly, her solitary life and upbringing in care having created a withdrawn character. But as she immerses herself in Joy's life, the story veers away from the anticipated exploration of identity theft and delivers a far more poignant conclusion.

This is the feature debut for Christine Molloy and her co-director (and husband), Joe Lawlor. They have previously been involved in making community group-based short films and describe Helen as the natural culmination of this 'Civic Life' series. The guiding principles were the same: the films consisted of long takes, were shot on 35mm cinemascope on relatively low budgets, and featured non-professionals from the local community. Christine Molloy also revealed that Helen was also shot in four locations: Dublin, Newcastle, Birmingham and Liverpool - the funding having come from four separate city agencies - and it's a testament to her filmmaking skills that the four locations knitted seamlessly together to form the backdrop of the story.

The story, Christine explained, evolved from discussions with the communities involved about what interested them. Identity is a common theme, both the identify of the community and that of the individual. And she was keen to stress that, whilst the press may have described the film as a thriller, she was more interested in exploring the theme of identity rather than the fate of the missing girl, hence the film's title.

Helen has played in 40 festivals around the world since it was made last year. It's received widespread acclaim and prompted comparison's with Steve McQueen's Hunger and Duane Hopkins' Better Things, but Christine Molloy describes the similarities as coincidence. Rather than consciously espousing a new trend in British filmmaking, she and Lawlor, she says, are still 'in the bear pit with everyone else' struggling to find new funding and new projects. However, this film is sure to give them a foot on the ladder out of it.

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