25/05/2010

BBC Films and Film London have extended their partnership on the micro-budget feature filmmaking scheme, Microwave. The scheme will run for another three years from 2011 and has the funding to make three more feature films, bringing the slate to 13 films.

Two new features – Ben Drew’s Ill Manors and Jules Bishop’s Borrowed Time – have been greenlit and will get up to £60,000 cash funding from Microwave. The scheme’s completed features – Mum & Dad, Shifty [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Freestyle – have achieved UK theatrical releases, British Guide to Showing Off is currently in post, while Strawberry Fields is currently shooting and Foxglove will shoot later this year.

Film London CEO Adrian Wootton said, “The great strength of Microwave is that allows us to find and support, fantastic new creative talent that can flourish under the Microwave banner; while we as funders get the absolute best value for public investment, putting in modest but critical funding to make these films.

Microwave isn’t just about providing production funding; it is the training, mentoring and guidance, which make it so much more. Microwave offers these new talented filmmakers the right tools to make a feature film and while it may be on a limited budget, we aim to ensure every Microwave film has the potential to reach audiences and be commercially successful.”

Rory Aitken, producer of Microwave film Shifty, said, “Microwave was a fantastic opportunity for us to make our first feature film – with excellent mentors and support available when we needed it. Shifty’s success opened many doors for us in the industry, and the experience has equipped us well for our next steps.”