Wednesday 29th December 2010
Lottery fund will inject £1m into Scottish movie industry
The Herald
Film production in Scotland is to be boosted by a new £1 million lottery fund to be launched by the arts body Creative Scotland in January.
Scottish companies will be invited to apply for the fund – the first in a series of moves by the body that is a merger of Scottish Screen and the old Scottish Arts Council to invest in film and television production.
Andrew Dixon, chief executive of the new body, said National Lottery money to be spent on movies next year would be raised to £3m, with perhaps more in the future, while the film fund investment is the first move in a wider bid to keep movie talent in Scotland.
In the past, Scottish Screen had around £2.5m to spend on film production in Scotland; considered a small amount by experts. The industry in Scotland has feared it was being sidelined in the merger, but Mr Dixon has outlined a series of moves to boost the film economy.