Page 6 - 21_Bafta ACADEMY_Alistair McGowan_ok

first person
capital promise
Adrian Wootton outlines his vision for the future of film-making in London
Iam very proud and pleased to have been appointed the first Chief Executive of Film London, and it is nice to have been invited by BAFTA to outline a few, very ini- tial, thoughts about some of the things that we plan to work on.
Film London is the new strate- gic agency for film and media in the capital and is the ninth and final Regional Screen Agency to be established under the auspices of the UK Film Council’s Regional Investment Fund Strategy.
This means the agency is fund- ed by the UK Film Council, includ- ing benefiting from some Lottery funds but also has financial back- ing from the London Development Agency and the support of both the Greater London Authority and SkillSet.
Film London absorbs the activ- ities of both the London Film Commission and the London Film & Video Development Agency and I am only too well aware that there are plenty of sceptics out there, questioning the need for another publicly funded organisation to be set up when there are already numerous other bodies already operating.
Nevertheless, Film London has been established precisely because of the financial and strategic limitations of both of the organisations it has replaced and there is a clear recognition from all our stakeholders that there is a significant gap in provision and promotion that our new compa- ny can fill.
Over the next few months, we will be talking to everyone and everybody we can to hammer out a clear and distinctive strate- gy for Film London, that is appro- priately prioritised and has some distinctive projects attached to it.
“I am... 100% dedicated to achieving a significant improvement in what is possible for film-makers shooting in London.”
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