The Screen Cornwall Equity Production Investment (SCEPI), a new £2.5 million initiative jointly backed by Cornwall Council and private investors, has launched to boost film and high-end television production in the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (CIOS) region.
The investment aims to “stimulate further growth of the area’s burgeoning screen industry”, said a press release, “creating jobs and opportunities for local crew and creative talent, screen businesses and related services”.
Announced by the regional screen agency Screen Cornwall, the scheme is backed by £1.25m from Cornwall Council’s Good Growth Fund (Shared Prosperity Fund) and match-funded by private investors.
Projects will be required to contribute significant production spend to the local economy and have strong creative links to Cornwall.
The scheme is open to UK production companies with narrative feature film projects and high-end scripted drama or comedy projects intended for television or streaming.
Screen Cornwall, which was set up in 2019 to support the development of the sector in the region, reported a record production spend of £16.2 million in its Impact Report for 2023/24.
The screen agency is also supporting the development of a range of schemes for new entrants and experienced crew to address skills gaps and catalyse the development of the local workforce.
The region is being supported by the new BFI Places Fund, too, which invests National Lottery funds in areas that have evidence of a growing screen production industry.
Film and high-end television productions made there include Mark Jenkin’s feature films Rose of Nevada, Bait and Enys Men, Chris Foggin’s Fisherman’s Friends along with the recent TV series Playing Nice and Down Cemetery Road, and the long-running series Doc Martin and Beyond Paradise.
Nada Cirjanic has been appointed investment manager, joining Screen Cornwall with immediate effect and bringing “extensive experience” from across UK film and television.
Amanda Pyne, chair of Screen Cornwall Equity, and production finance specialist for AP Media, said: “As an equity investor in the right projects, the region has a real opportunity to further grow its success as a destination for high-end television and film production. We can provide producers with vital access to capital and at the same time increase the number and scale of projects being made in the region.
“I am delighted that Nada Cirjanic has come on board, bringing years of commercial experience in financing, developing and getting films into the international marketplace.”
Cirjanic added: “I am delighted to be joining the team and excited by all the opportunities SCEPI investment brings to the industry and to the region.
“SCEPI will offer experienced producers a source of equity for high-end audience-facing projects which shoot in Cornwall, answering a need for new finance in the market, but also drawing on the resources and experience in the region after many years of high-profile film and TV shoots here.”
Full details on how projects can apply for investment can be downloaded on the Screen Cornwall website.
