Yorkshire's production profile boosted by film office

Screen Yorkshire has revealed stats illustrating the film-friendly profile of the region, boosted by the presence of its year-old dedicated film office.  

Since Screen Yorkshire’s Film Office opened for business in November 2018, the team has handled more than 360 film and TV  production enquiries, resulting in more than 1500 days of work for regional crew.

Over the last 12 months, 27 high-end TV (HETV) projects and 14 features have been filmed in Yorkshire, with budgets averaging between, £10m and £20m per project.

Screen Yorkshire CEO Sally Joynson says: “Just do the maths and you’ll understand the scale of the business and the economic clout that comes with it. The Film Office is a critical, expert, component in driving this business to Yorkshire and in its first year alone has demonstrated just how valuable a resource it is.”

HETV dramas that have filmed in the region with the support of Screen Yorkshire’s Film Office include; Gentleman Jack (BBC), Zero Chill (Netflix), All Creatures Great and Small (Channel 5) and The English Game (Netflix).

Feature films supported by the film office in its first year include box office hits Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Downton Abbey and highly anticipated cinematic releases Ali and Ava and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.

The film office also supports other content genres including factual, entertainment, comedy, corporate and advertising campaigns.

The re-opening of the dedicated film office just over a year ago followed a hiatus of nearly ten years with no such facility and there is little doubt that the new set-up has contributed significantly to raising the film-friendly profile of the county.

Noelette Buckley, head of production on All Creatures Great and Small, said: ‘Local knowledge and experience was vital when we were making decisions about where to base ourselves and who we might consider to be part of the team.”

Chris Hordley, the film office’s production liaison and development manager added: ‘’Despite the success of the first year, there’s absolutely no complacency. We need to grow our market share and the Film Office target for 2020-2021 is to achieve a further 10 % growth, especially in high-end TV production.

“The local indie sector is thriving – producing over 300 hours of television in the last 12 months alone. City centre studios open in Leeds later this year, and with Channel 4’s arrival and new commissions coming in, the outlook for the future is really promising.’’

Jonathan Butterell, director of Everybody's Talking About Jamie, summed up his feelings about filming in the region: "Yorkshire is home. Like its people, Yorkshire is robust, straightforward, rugged, diverse, and downright bloody gorgeous. Everyone should film here.  

Key productions and locations supported by Screen Yorkshire’s Film Office include:

●            Downton Abbey – The Movie (Carnival Film & Television and Focus Features for Universal Pictures) Leeds, Bradford, Pickering, Rotherham

●            Ali and Ava (Moonspun Films for BBC Films, BFI and Screen Yorkshire) in Bradford

●            Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (Chris Morgan Productions and Seven Bucks Productions for Paramount Pictures) at Eggborough Power Station

●            Censor (BFI, Film4, Creative England, Ffilm Cymru Wales) in Leeds

●            Pagalpanti - Bollywood: Madness (Panorama Studios, T-Series Films) in Skipton, Knaresborough

●            Gentleman Jack (HBO/Lookout Point for BBC) in Halifax, York, Leeds, Huddersfield, Bradford, Skipton and Rotherham

●            The English Game (42 for Netflix) in Bradford, Saltaire, Skipton, Sowerby Bridge, Keighley Railway Station

●            Everybody's Talking About Jamie (Warp Films, Film 4 and New Regency for 20th Century Fox) in Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham

●            All Creatures Great and Small (Playground Television UK for Channel 5) in Craven, Harrogate, Bradford, Richmondshire

●            Last Tango in Halifax Series 4 (Lookout Point for BBC) in Calderdale, Leeds, Bradford, Bridlington, Kirklees, Doncaster and Craven.

●            Zero Chill (Lime Pictures for Netflix) in Sheffield

●            Victoria Series 3 (Mammoth Screen for ITV) Leeds, York, Harrogate, Leeds, Selby, Craven, Hull, Flamborough

●            Emmerdale (ITV Studios) Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale, Harrogate

●            Still Open All Hours Series 6 (BBC Studios) in Doncaster 

●            Meet the Richardson’s (2nd Act) in Hebden Bridge

●            Ackley Bridge Series 3 (The Forge Entertainment) in Calderdale, Bradford

●            Cobra (New Pictures for Sky) in Huddersfield, Eggborough Power Station, Knottingley 

●            Dracula (Hartswood Films for BBC) in Whitby, Flamborough

●            The Feed (Liberty Global for Amazon Studios) in Whitby, Harrogate, Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster

●            Bridgerton (Shondaland for Netflix) at Castle Howard

 

Screen Yorkshire offers production financing through its Yorkshire Content Fund.

Downton Abbey photo: Universal Pictures. 

Gentleman Jack photo: Lookout Point for BBC