04/03/2005

The UK Film Council’s Development Fund, the largest public script support in Europe with a £4m annual budget, has just announced a series of new feature film projects that have received over £435,000 in script development.

The beneficiaries range from top scriptwriters such as Braulio Mantovani, Oscar-nominated writer of City of God and Thunderbirds writer William Osborne, who both received the biggest lottery cash support (over £100,000) to emerging filmmakers like Christopher Smith (Creep [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). All projects have been selected for their quality as well as their commercial potential as explained by Jenny Borgars, Head of the Development Fund: "When British films work well, it’s more than likely to have a lot to do with a great story told well. The Development Fund is investing Lottery money in a large range of film scripts, from horror to comedy, romance to spy stories all with a fixed stare on commercial success".

Here under is the list of all the new projects recipients of Development support.
1/ Severance co-written by Christopher Smith and James Moran, is being developed by Qwerty Films and Dan Films. The project which was awarded £27,750 is the second horror film by Smith whose debut film Creep made over £1.5m at the UK box office.
2/ Bushido is the second feature film by talented UK filmmaker Asif Kapadia (The Warrior [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). Co-written by Kapadia with Sofian James, the story is set in feudal Japan and focuses on a group of outcasts and peasants who band together to avenge the death of their lord. The project which was awarded £27,500 is produced by Jeremy Bolt and Paul Anderson (Resident Evil) and Clare Hartley.
3/ Nanny written by Braulio Mantovani (City of God) is produced by Fiesta Productions. The contemporary drama follows three women from across the globe whose lives collide when they are forced to leave their children in the care of other women.
4/ The Night Country written by Niall Johnson will be directed by Bille Eltringham (The Long Firm). The teen chiller which was awarded £67,310 is produced by Nick Wechler and Jeff Sommerville.
5/ The Endless Steppe is written by Kevin Hood based on Esther Hautzig’s famous children classic novel. The project which was awarded £73,500 will be directed by Sarah Gavron (This Little Life) for Steward McKinnon and Mark Shivas’ Headline Pictures.
6/ A Complicated Kindness is another feature film to be directed by Sarah Gavron, based on Miriam Toews’ famous coming of age novel. The project is produced by Company Pictures which received funding as part of its development fund slate deal with the UK Film Council.
7/ Le docteur chinois will be written and directed by Simon Shore and produced by Glynis Murray. The comic thriller about sex and hypocrisy in a small French town received £39,250 in development money.
8/ Knight And Bishop is the new project written by William Osborne (Thunderbirds). It will be an international action adventure story with a twist.