As part of a major short films scheme
created in August last year, the Film Council's New Cinema Fund and FilmFour
Lab announced today that Shine, Elisabeth Murdoch's film and television
company will produce the Comedy Shorts Scheme. Kenton Allen, Creative
Director of Comedy and Entertainment at Shine, whose credits include THE
ROYLE FAMILY and MRS MERTON will executive produce along with Alex Usborne
for the New Cinema Fund and Robin Gutch for FilmFour Lab.
In a highly competitive environment, the Comedy Shorts scheme has been
developed to form a link between the television and cinema industries by
locating and supporting film talent. This new programme is inviting
established comedy writers as well as directors, commercials directors and
stand-up comedians to produce a selection of comedy shorts. The scheme
will result in the production, through Shine, of four to five comedy shorts
with budgets of up to £30,000 each.
Shine Entertainment is the film and television production company set up by
Elisabeth Murdoch in association with Lord Waheed Alli, whose activities
cover film and television production, brand marketing and venture
programming and rights exploitation. The company's focus is on the
creation, production and distribution of valuable media properties spanning
film, international reality and entertainment formats, along with
long-running UK drama and comedy series.
Kenton Allen says, "This is a fantastic opportunity to find and develop the
next generation of comedy filmmakers. There's almost no training in this
area in the UK and both FilmFour and the Film Council should be applauded
for taking this initiative."
Robin Gutch, Head of FilmFour Lab agrees, "This scheme is a great chance for
proven comedy talent from other disciplines to spread their wings into
cinema, and in the process hopefully take the comedy genre in Britain onto
new terrain in the future."
Paul Trijbits, Head of the New Cinema Fund says, "The UK is world-renowned
for its comedy writing, directing and acting talent. The Comedy Shorts
Scheme will help to encourage this important transition of talent from small
to big screen ambition."
The Comedy Shorts are part of an ambitious programme of four schemes set up
by the New Cinema Fund and FilmFour Lab, encouraging directors, producers
and creative talent to push their creative boundaries. They are investing
£250,000 a year between the four schemes: Cinema Extreme, Comedy,
Internet/Viral and a completion fund for shorts.
W: www.filmcouncil.org.uk
The FILM COUNCIL is the strategic body for film in the UK and receives £55
million a year from government through the Department for Culture, Media &
Sport.
The Film Council's New Cinema Fund has £5 million a year to invest in films
that illustrate unique ideas and innovative approaches. It has an
especially strong commitment to supporting work from the nations and regions
and from black, Asian and other ethnic minorities. The fund is investing
£500,000 a year into the production of digital short films and intends to
capitalise on the benefits offered by new technology in the production,
distribution and exhibition of films.
To date the New Cinema Fund has funded Alex Cox's REVENGER'S TRAGEDY, Peter
Mullan's MAGDALENE, Paul Greengrass's BLOODY SUNDAY, Meera Syal's ANITA &
ME, Bille Eltringham's digital feature THIS IS NOT A LOVE SONG, written by
Simon Beaufoy (THE FULL MONTY), Francesca Joseph's SWEENEY, Shane Meadows'
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS and Rory Bresnihan's comedy animation APE.
Its short film schemes include one in partnership with FilmFour investing
£250,000 a year into four major schemes encouraging directors, producers and
other creative talent, as well as with 11 appointed regional partners
investing £1.5 million into digital short films and most recently created a
joint venture with France's CNC to fund The Short Channel.
FilmFour Ltd is Channel 4 Television's wholly owned film company and
operates in the areas of film development, production, sales, and
distribution. FILMFOUR LAB was launched in 1999 to be at the heart of
FilmFour's commitment to new and emergent talent. The Lab aims to find,
nurture and support the newest and most striking creative visions of
tomorrow's cinema, launching the careers of filmmakers who want to make
distinctive films that enhance the choice offered to British and
international cinema audiences.
Feature productions to date include Joel Hopkins' JUMP TOMORROW, Dom
Rotheroe's MY BROTHER TOM and Andrew Kötting's THIS FILTHY EARTH. Currently
in production are THE PRINCIPLES OF LUST, debut feature of cutting-edge
writer and director Penny Woolcock, and Simon Pummell's BODYSONG, a
groundbreaking cross-media project, which celebrates the story of the human
life cycle though an orchestration of images cut to a powerful music track
created by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead. The Lab also provides funding for
short films and is a partner in the Orange/FilmFour Short Film prize.
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