Published: 27 Jun 2018
Creative Scotland today opens a new £600,000 Film Festivals Fund, the latest in a series of new funds developed with increased investment in Scotland’s new Screen Unit from the Scottish Government.
This follows on from the launch earlier this year of the expanded and refreshed Production Growth Fund and Film Development and Production Fund.
This new fund will further increase access to film in communities across Scotland and encourage film festivals to grow.- Iain Munro, Deputy CEO
The Film Festivals Fund, which can be applied to at any time, aims to increase the range and diversity of films available to audiences in Scotland. Projects supported through this fund will help to promote cinema-going in Scotland, and to raise the profile of film, especially independent and specialised film.
Awards are likely to be in the range of £5,000 - £70,000 per year, for up to two years, depending on the scale and reach of the applicant. The fund is open to new and existing film festivals, not currently supported through Regular Funding, based in Scotland and presenting programmes to audiences in Scotland.
Iain Munro, Deputy CEO at Creative Scotland said: “Scotland has a broad range of film festivals from the internationally renowned to the locally significant, all of which are important not only for the calibre of productions in their programmes but also for the impact they make on audiences across the country. We are pleased to announce this new fund, as a part of the Screen Unit roll-out, and it will further increase access to film in communities across Scotland and encourage other film festivals to grow.”
In terms of further progress with delivery of the Screen Unit, Creative Scotland is also pleased to announce the appointment of Agnieszka Moody as Interim Director of Screen, on secondment from Creative Europe desk at the BFI until December 2018.
As Interim Director of Screen Agnieszka will focus primarily on supporting the delivery of the Screen Unit project working closely with Screen Unit partner organisations, Creative Scotland’s Screen Team, Scottish Government, the Screen sector and other partners. The experience that Agnieszka brings to the role will be invaluable in helping to continue to build and deliver the partnership working that is such an integral part of the Screen Unit project and its successful delivery.
Agnieszka Moody, Interim Director of Screen, said: “I am very excited to be joining Creative Scotland at this pivotal time when the new Screen Unit represents such an incredible opportunity. I’m looking forward to working with colleagues across Scotland’s Screen sector, building on everything that has been achieved to date, to deliver this ambitious initiative and help to establish Scotland as a powerful and prosperous global player in the Screen industry.”
Agnieszka’s arrival at Creative Scotland follows the announcement last week of the appointment of Isabel Davis as Executive Director, to lead the ongoing delivery of Scotland’s new Screen Unit. Isabel will take up her permanent post in September, joining from the BFI where she is currently Head of International.
Full application guidance for the Festivals Fund can be found at www.creativescotland.com/screenfunding
The Screen Unit is a partnership between Creative Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Funding Council. The Scottish Government is providing an additional £10m to support Scotland’s Screen sector, bringing the total funding for screen to £20m in 2018/19. Since the publication of the Screen Unit Proposal in December 2017 Creative Scotland has been working with partners on implementation, including developing guidance for new, increased and refreshed funding streams alongside the development of a dedicated brand identity and website. For further information please visit: www.creativescotland.com/what-we-do/latest-news/archive/2018/05/progress-update-on-screen-unit-may-2018
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com. Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland
Eilidh Walker, Media Relations & PR Assistant
Creative Scotland
Email: eilidh.walker@creativescotland.com
Tel: +44 (0) 131 523 0019
Switchboard: +44 (0) 330 333 2000
