Film: Northern Ireland

(asked on 21st March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with Northern Ireland Screen and other producers on support for the film industry in the devolved Administrations.


Answered by
Julia Lopez Portrait
Julia Lopez
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This question was answered on 24th March 2022

My department continues to work closely with its Arm’s Length Body, the British Film Institute (BFI), and the Devolved Administrations to ensure a wide range of funding and initiatives are available to support the film industry in all UK Nations. This includes the UK-wide screen sector tax reliefs, and the UK Global Screen Fund which will invest nearly £30 million in the international growth of independent screen companies across the UK. In addition, the government’s £500 million Film and TV Production Restart Scheme has supported over 1,100 productions around the UK, representing over £2.9 billion of production budgets with over 95,000 jobs supported.

Examples of government support that have been provided to the Northern Irish film industry include the National Lottery-supported talent development programme BFI NETWORK. Northern Ireland Screen also receives Lottery funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, which it has used to prioritise script development and short films, and receives funding for the Irish Language Broadcast Fund and Ulster Scots Broadcast Fund via the BFI. Furthermore, the BFI will continue to consult colleagues from Northern Ireland Screen as part of the UK Film Skills Review, alongside those from other key bodies in the Devolved Administrations.

The British Film Commission (BFC), a national body predominantly funded by DCMS, also supports and promotes UK-wide film and high-end television production, including in all Devolved Administrations, and works in close partnership with the national and regional screen agencies.

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