Member Article

North East set for filming after Charter signing

Following the successful filming and premiere of Atonement, more film and TV production could be brought to the North East with the signing of a new charter between Northern Film & Media and the region’s councils this week.

Newcastle City Council was the first of the region’s 25 local authorities to sign up to Northern Film & Media’s Filming Friendly Partnership Charter - the Regional Screen Agency’s strategy for bringing more film and TV to the North East of England - at a special event in the Castle Keep of Newcastle upon Tyne on Wednesday.

Tom Harvey, Chief Executive, Northern Film & Media, said: “The North East already has the world class locations, but we need to make it quicker, easier and cheaper - more attractive - for production companies to shoot here. The Filming Friendly Partnership aims to do just this. The signature of Newcastle City Council could be a great step towards more film and TV production here.

“£7m is brought into the region every year by production companies shooting in the region. This translates to around £20,000 a day spent in our restaurants, hotels, and shops; on crew, facilities and services. This is a good start, but through this charter and this partnership we aim to encourage more films, TV programmes and advertisement to shoot here.”

Newcastle City Council’s Director of Policy and Assistant Chief Executive Paul Rubinstein said: “We’re delighted to support this important and innovative charter that we hope will result in even more television and film companies coming to Newcastle, boosting our local economy and getting city landmarks on screens across the world.”

The Filming Friendly Partnership was launched on the set of Atonement in the summer of 2006. The charter, along with the guides and support seminars hosted by Northern Film & Media, equips local authorities with the knowledge to deal with production effectively when filming takes place in their region and also benefit from the experience.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .