Ten independent production companies, including producers from Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds and Sheffield, will receive support from Channel 4’s 2022 Emerging Indie Fund to help boost their growth.
The indies – including Manchester’s ARKID, Leeds’s Specialist Factual, Gateshead’s Motif Pictures and Sheffield’s Hey Sonny Films – have secured main awards from the fund and as a result will receive a range of support and guidance to help supercharge their businesses.
Channel 4’s director of commissioning operations Emma Hardy said: “The Emerging Indie Fund continues to make a real difference, providing practical support and helping small [regional] production companies grow and become more established. We look forward to working with our new cohort and helping them to nurture their businesses and build stronger foundations in the nations and regions.”
Companies in the Emerging Indie Fund benefit from a range of support which includes financial assistance for slate development, regular access to a Channel 4’s commissioning editors, regular contact with Channel 4’s head of indie relations Rebecca Thompson, development workshops, expert advice from a variety of departments within Channel 4s uch as commercial affairs, legal department and advertising-funded programming teams and advice from a business development consultancy.
Thompson said: “We were impressed by the overall standard of applications and are excited to be working with this talented and diverse cohort of indies. Previous iterations of the Emerging Indie Fund have been transformative for indies, and we look forward to supporting this year’s indies with their company growth and helping them to expand their networks and establish working relationships with the channel.”
A further seven companies, including Sheffield’s ENON Films, have also received discretionary awards from the fund.
Companies from the 2021 Emerging Indie Fund have secured a number of developments and commissions including Mist’Driven (Crash Productions), Love My Face (Flabbergast), Made in Dubai (Angel Eye), the second series of Living Wild(Full Fat) and the second series of Secret Services (Zandland).
