Virtual Circle, a new partnership between leading UK producers, virtual production and exhibition, will deliver British movies of scale, empowered by the government’s announcement of a 40% tax credit for independent films.
Award-winning producers Andy Paterson (Girl With A Pearl Earring, The Railway Man) and Annalise Davis (Up There, No Way Up) have teamed up with Dimension Studios and Vue, the largest privately owned cinema operator in Europe, to deliver a slate of ambitious and original British films which will premiere on the big screen.
Virtual Circle is a response to Vue CEO Tim Richards asking “what happened to independent British films of scale?” As part of the Pact/BFI team that delivered the new independent film tax credit, Paterson had promised government that the incentive would enable British film-makers to bring bigger, original films to the screen. Davis’s long-standing collaboration with Dimension’s Steve Jelley and Steve Griffith began when she produced one of the first ever British films to use virtual production, Fireworks, and more recently box office hit, No Way Up (Altitude Films), both of which found new ways for virtual production to bring scale and depth to the story-telling process.
Tim Richards, founder and CEO, Vue commented: “We are delighted to be working with Andy, Annalise and Dimension Studios to enable end-to-end production from script to screen and help ensure that more high-quality British and independent movies are brought to our screens, reaching and entertaining more audiences than ever before.”
Steve Jelley says: “Dimension’s cutting-edge technology allows filmmakers to expand the canvas of their stories, way beyond the usual constraints of independent film. We can bring virtual production to stories and genres we would never have imagined could use the technology in this way.”
Annalise Davis adds: ‘We found that virtual production on the one hand massively broadened the visual scale of the films, whilst retaining, and indeed enhancing, the intimacy and emotional power of the characters and their stories. Script always comes first – but at Virtual Circle, we can explore a new world of story-telling possibilities.”
Andy Paterson says “This partnership empowers us to tell original stories on a grand scale, to take risks, to work with big names but also, crucially, to create new stars on both sides of the camera. We are working with writers and directors who understand the possibilities offered up – and who care about how their films will reach huge cinema audiences.”
The first two films, 2040 and Campbeltown ‘69, are prepping now, to shoot this summer. Details of further films will be announced in due course.
Steve Griffith adds: “British filmmakers are renowned all over the world. At Dimension we’re driven by delivering the highest quality in all areas. This is a great partnership because we’re all bringing our best game.”
