21/01/2014 - Monies from European Regional Development Fund available to invest in Yorkshire-based film, television and digital content

Screen Yorkshire has secured a further £7.5 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), in addition to a similar amount received in 2012, to invest in Yorkshire-based film, television and digital content through the Yorkshire Content Fund. The additional funds are available with immediate effect and will be invested in projects that start by the end of 2015. Private investment to match fund the ERDF money is secured on a project-by-project basis. 

In a bid to attract bigger projects to the region, Screen Yorkshire will also consider applications seeking higher production investments than previously, in excess of £1 million on a single film or television series. Since the launch of its Yorkshire Content Fund two years ago, Screen Yorkshire has invested nearly £7 million in 18 projects, including several critically acclaimed television dramas and feature films Yann Demange’s ’71 [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Yann Demange
film profile], Daniel Wolfe’s Catch Me Daddy, Morgan Matthews’ X Plus Y, Christopher Smith’s Get Santa, Richard Bracewell’s Bill and Alex Garcia Lopez’s Residue.

Sally Joynson, Chief Executive of Screen Yorkshire, said, “This additional investment of £7.5 million, effectively doubling the capacity of the Yorkshire Content Fund, is a vote of confidence in Yorkshire, in Screen Yorkshire and the effectiveness of the Yorkshire Content Fund in putting Yorkshire at the heart of production across the UK screen industries. By increasing the level we’re prepared to invest in key projects, we are also now aiming to work with bigger productions, which can further grow and create opportunities for Yorkshire.”