Channel 4 is giving financial help to independent production companies outside of London through a new fund.
The Emerging Indie Fund is designed to help small, new or emerging independents to break through key stages of growth, according to the broadcaster.
As well as financial assistance, businesses receive mentoring and advice from Channel 4’s commercial affairs, programming and legal teams.
The broadcaster has selected 16 companies from across the UK, including two from Scotland, four from the north of England, two from Northern Ireland, one from Wales, four from Bristol and three from Brighton.
The channel said it initially chose 11 production companies to be part of the fund, but selected five more after it attracted nearly 150 applications.
Bristol-based independent production company Indefinite Films is among the companies to receive funding.
The business is headed up by award-winning director-producer team Bruce Goodison and Kate Cook. The company’s first title was the 2014’s coming-of-age feature Leave to Remain starring Toby Jones, about the lives of a group of refugee teenagers seeking asylum in the UK.
The duo went on to partner on Channel 4’s critically acclaimed 2019 drama The Cure starring Siân Brooke and Sue Johnston - a true story of a woman from Stafford who blew the whistle on one of the worst scandals in the history of the NHS.
“It’s a real boost for Indefinite Films to be named as one of Channel 4’s Emerging Indies Fund recipients," said Bruce. “What a treat to work with some of the brightest heads in TV at Channel 4 who are renowned for championing unheard voices and taking risks.”
Channel 4’s head of commissioning management, Emma Hardy, said the fund would provide "practical guidance and support" so the companies could grow into the next stage of their development.
She said: “Our ambition was to select an indie from each genre which would benefit from being part of the fund and our commissioning editors have played a vital role in identifying companies where we feel we can make most impact.”
The indies selected to be part of the fund include: Button Down (York); Channel X Hopscotch (Glasgow); Chatterbox (Brighton); Chwarel (Criccieth, North Wales); Drummer (Bristol); Fired Up Films (County Down, Northern Ireland); Hello Mary (Brighton); Indefinite Films (Bristol); Salamanda (Stockport); Screendog (Brighton); and Strident (Belfast).
Discretionary awards are also being made to Blak Wave Productions (Bristol); Create Anything (Glasgow); Factual Fiction (North Yorkshire); Fran Baker (Manchester); and Proper Job (Bristol).
