THE SCOTTISH Film Industry has received a total of £3m of funding to support production and skills development support for the Scottish film, animation and high-end TV industries.
The funding comes in the form of a £2m Tax Credit Loan Fund and £1m Screen Sector Skills Fund.
The £2m will be used to qualify productions in Scotland to fund the use of UK film, animation and high-end TV Tax Credits, which will assist producers in completing the finance of their projects and move them towards production.
The £1m from the Screen Sector Skills Fund help to provide training and skills development opportunities for people already involved in the screen industry, as well as young people considering a career in screen.
Both funds will be run by Creative Scotland and will run over the financial year 2015/16, starting from April this year.
The Scottish Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop announced the funds today. She said: “Scotland is already widely recognised for our world-class talent, crews, facilities and breath-taking locations, and the Scottish Government and its agencies are committed to working together to continue to create the conditions that enable our screen sector to flourish.
“The funds I am announcing today will assist producers in financing their projects, at the same time as investing directly in our workforce to build on its strengths and address the gaps identified by the sector.
“The Scottish Government recognises and values the vision and the ambition of Scotland’s screen sector and we are determined to help it to thrive – and the funds I am announcing today will do this, addressing two pressing needs of the industry.”
She added: “We fully understand that Scotland needs greater studio resources for film and high end TV production, and the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprise are continuing to work together with the sector to make this happen.
Natalie Usher, director of Film & Media at Creative Scotland said: “We very much welcome this new funding support for production and skills development, helping to address some of the priorities as set out in our Film Strategy, published last year.
“We will continue to work closely with the sector and with our public agency partners to create the conditions for a sustainable and thriving screen industry in Scotland.”
