City of Bristol shortlisted for Global Production Award to be presented at Cannes Film Festival

Bristol has been shortlisted in the City of Film category of the 2024 Global Production Awards, which will take place during Cannes Film Festival later this month.

Now in their second year, the prestigious awards presented by Screen International and KFTV celebrate outstanding and sustainable work in the world of film and TV production, locations and studios. Bristol is shortlisted alongside Limerick (Ireland), Sofia (Bulgaria), Tulsa (US) and Zagreb (Croatia) in the City of Film category.

The City of Film category will recognise a city that “shows a clear vision of the role film and TV production plays in the economic and cultural health of the City” and “in recent years has helped deliver for TV and filmmakers and at the same time helped develop local skills and expertise whilst boosting the local economy.” According to Awards organisers, “the winning entry will demonstrate a record of creative and commercial success, helping deliver great productions in their city efficiently and effectively… also showing evidence of the benefit to the local economy through skills development and investment.”

Laura Aviles, Head of Film, Bristol City Council says: “It’s fantastic to see Bristol nominated for this prestigious international film industry award, especially considering Bristol was on the map during last year’s ceremony too, when The Bottle Yard Studios won the Sustainable Initiative Award for the 1MW rooftop solar array at its new TBY2 facility. Bristol has been a leading force in film, TV and digital production for decades, even more so in recent years with the expansion and growth in filming at The Bottle Yard Studios and on location thanks to the work of the Film Office. Since receiving Creative City of Film status from UNESCO in 2017, we have been able to embed film further into our city’s development.”

Natalie Moore, Bristol UNESCO City of Film Manager, says: “We are absolutely delighted to be nominated for this international award. Working with our many film and creative sector partners across the city, we continue to identify opportunities and overcome challenges to grow the local film sector, focusing on areas including skills and workforce development, regional storytelling and on-screen representation, environmental action and climate content and international engagement and collaboration. To be included in this shortlist is a huge achievement.”

Recent film and TV productions filmed in Bristol include the upcoming third series of Stephen Merchants’ comedy-thriller The Outlaws (beginning on BBC One on 30th May and Amazon Prime Video on 31st May), upcoming Jilly Cooper adaptation Rivals (Disney+), Alex Rider (Amazon Freevee), Boarders (BBC Three), Truelove (Channel 4) and Rain Dogs (BBC One/HBO Max).

Examples of Bristol industry initiatives that will be considered by Judges include:

• The West of England Film & High-End TV Workforce Development Programme, a new training pathway to employment for underrepresented local talent from the region, backed by £300K investment from the West of England Combined Authority’s Mayoral Priority Skills Fund, delivered by The Bottle Yard Studios, Bristol UNESCO City of Film and Bristol Film Office.
• Channel 4’s New Writers Scheme, produced by Channel 4’s Bristol hub in collaboration with Bristol UNESCO City of Film, BFI NETWORK (delivered regionally in the South West by Watershed), UWE Bristol and The Bottle Yard Studios. First piloted in Bristol, the scheme supports regional voices to develop scripts for screen and has proved so successful that Channel 4 has expanded it to Glasgow & Leeds.
• The Bottle Yard Studios’ award-winning 1MW TBY2 solar array, the largest community-owned rooftop solar array in the UK and one of the largest PV installations on UK studio. Funded by Bristol Energy Cooperative, the array creates clean energy for the studios whilst surplus energy benefits other Council-owned buildings via Bristol’s City Leap network.
• Bristol’s 2023 Summer Film Takeover: A programme of nine free events for the public held in city centre spaces needing a boost in footfall post-Covid. In addition to celebrating film culture and content, the programme also supported employment for film sector freelancers. Delivered by Bristol UNESCO City of Film and partners as one of the activities under the City Centre and High Streets Recovery and Renewal programme, funded by Bristol City Council and the West of England Combined Authority’s Love our High Streets project.

Winners will be announced at The Global Production Awards on 20^th May 2024 at Cannes Film Festival.