Ten independent production companies from across the UK are set to receive support from Channel 4’s 2022 Emerging Indie Fund to help boost their growth, and an additional seven will receive special awards from the broadcaster.
Indies to have secured main awards as part of the 2022 Emerging Indie Fund are HopSkip Studios (Belfast), Hill 5.14 (Bedfordshire), Kailash Films Ltd (Cardiff), Cloud Break Pictures (Edinburgh), Motif Pictures (Gateshead), Common Story (Leamington Spa), ClockWork (Leeds), Arkid (Manchester), Triforce (Nottingham) and Hey Sonny Films (Sheffield).
The indies will receive a range of support and guidance to help supercharge their businesses.
Channel 4’s director of Commissioning Operations Emma Hardy said: “The Emerging Indie Fund continues to make a real difference, providing practical support and helping small N&R-based production companies grow and become more established. We look forward to working with our new cohort and helping them to nurture their businesses and build stronger foundations in the nations and regions.”
Companies in the Emerging Indie Fund benefit from a range of support which includes: financial assistance for slate development; regular access to a Channel 4 commissioning editor; regular contact with Channel 4’s head of Indie Relations Rebecca Thompson; development workshops; expert advice from a variety of departments within Channel 4 – commercial affairs, legal department and advertising funded programming teams; and advice from a business development consultancy.
Thompson said: “We were impressed by the overall standard of applications and are excited to be working with this talented and diverse cohort of indies. Previous iterations of the Emerging Indie Fund have been transformative for indies, and we look forward to supporting this year’s indies with their company growth and helping them to expand their networks and establish working relationships with the channel.”
Each award is focused on a specific genre and includes drama, specialist factual, news & current affairs, entertainment, factual entertainment, daytime and features, digital, documentaries and comedy.
Seven independent production companies to receive discretionary awards are from Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Maidenhead, Sheffield, Shotton in Wales and Stroud. These companies will also gain access to 4Producers’ networking events, development workshops and funds to help towards development of programme ideas. They will also benefit from regular access to Head of Indie Relations, Rebecca Thompson.
Launched in 2020, the Emerging Indie Fund was specifically developed to help nurture up and coming indies, widen their networks and relationships and help them move on to the next level of their development. The fund’s focus is to support indies based in the Nations & Regions.
Companies from the 2021 Emerging Indie Fund secured a number of developments and commissions which included Mist’Driven (Crash Productions), Love My Face (Flabbergast), Made in Dubai (Angel Eye), the second series of Living Wild (Full Fat) and the second series of Secret Services (Zandland).
Indies to have secured main awards as part of the 2022 Emerging Indie Fund are:
Digital – HopSkip Studios (Belfast)
Drama – Hill 5.14 (Bedfordshire)
Documentaries – Kailash Films Ltd (Cardiff)
Digital – Cloud Break Pictures (Edinburgh)
Comedy – Motif Pictures (Gateshead)
Daytime & Features – Common Story (Leamington Spa)
Specialist Factual – ClockWork (Leeds)
Entertainment – ARKID (Manchester)
Factual Entertainment – Triforce (Nottingham)
News & Current Affairs – Hey Sonny Films (Sheffield)
Production companies which secured discretionary awards are:
Enderley Pictures (Stroud)
ENON Films (Sheffield)
feral Inc (Edinburgh)
Osprey TV (Shotton, Wales)
Particle Productions (Maidenhead)
Slate Works (Somerset and Devon)
Specky Productions Ltd (Glasgow)
Pippa Considine
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