Screen Yorkshire Launch Film Friendly Partnership

Screen Yorkshire brought council officials together with film and television production executives in Bradford to celebrate the launch of a 'Film Friendly Partnership' initiative, aimed at making the region the number one destination for film and television production in the UK.
A successful feature film or television programme can reap long term tourism benefits for the area in which it was filmed, as well as create jobs, bring inward investment and nurture new and emerging local talent. Screen Yorkshire aims to get all 21 regional local authorities signed up to the partnership initiative in 2008, which will set out a code of best practice to ensure that the locality and the region get the maximum benefit from the publicity, press and tourism opportunities that filming can bring.
The initiative also aims to ensure that filming in the region happens as easily and effectively as possible, so that production companies have a positive experience of filming here and return for their next project.
The region has a long standing reputation for television production, home to ITV Yorkshire and home grown dramas such as Heartbeat, The Royal and Emmerdale, but recent years have witnessed an increase in film and television production coming to Yorkshire from across the UK.
Last month shoppers watched as Leeds City Markets was transformed to double for London’s Hammersmith City underground station for the filming of the latest ITV drama to shoot here, Lost In Austen.
Castle Howard was recruited over the summer as the location for Ecosse Films’ upcoming feature film Brideshead Revisited and Grimsby Dock was chosen as the backdrop for a scene in recent box office smash Atonement.
Screen Yorkshire believes that production executives are attracted by the strong infrastructure, diversity of locations, comparatively low production costs and the positive filming experience that they have here.
Steve Harvey, Unit Manager on Working Title's upcoming feature film Wild Child, which shot in Haworth, West Yorkshire earlier this year said: "Yorkshire offers filmmakers beautiful, untouched rural locations that you just couldn't find elsewhere, which is why it was chosen as the location for Wild Child.
"The support that we received from Screen Yorkshire was second to none - they offer a fantastic service, providing local expertise, advice and liasing with public services on behalf of the production. Road closures have been achieved with ease and the police and council have been brilliant."
Jim Farmery, Head of Innovation at Yorkshire Forward – who support Screen Yorkshire as part of their commitment to growing the creative industries in Yorkshire and Humber added:
"TV and film production has the capacity to generate huge economic benefits for our region. Not only do productions directly employ talented individuals from within our region’s strong creative sector, they can also attract new visitors to the region and raise the profile of our region’s tourism and investment opportunities. This toolkit will help local authorities to make the most of such opportunities – allowing them to achieve maximum economic impact for their area."
(DS)