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Newcastle film company release Iranian feature before tackling projects in France and Kurdistan

An independent film company from Newcastle are launching their latest film set in Iran and the UK, as they also plan projects in Kurdistan and France.

Carliol Square-based Bridge and Tunnel Productions has released I Am Nasrine, the story of a young Iranian woman who comes to the UK, which cost £200k to make.

The company worked with schemes in the North East, regionally-based venture capitalists Northstar Ventures and a US investor to fund and produce the film.

The film’s producer, James Baillie, said: “We received around £50k from Northstar which really helped.

“To get that it meant we had to put together a comprehensive business case for the film. That included how many DVDs we expected sell, sales through itunes and theatrical assets - the number of times it will be screened in cinemas and so on.

“We needed match funding for that which came from a private US investor.”

The firm used a host of training schemes helped to provide the necessary skills and expertise to make I Am Nasrine, meaning the film acted as a training ground for a number of film industry hopefuls.

The film has now been nominated for a BAFTA and a British Independent Film Award and now Bridge and Tunnel are expected to grow next year as they tackle a Parisian gangster film and a project in Kurdistan.

James added: “It’s normally the case that production companies grow and shrink according to the films they are working on - even very established firms work that way.

“You tend to have a small core team and then grow considerably when you work on a project.”

James said that while big TV series such as Inspector George Gently and Vera were filmed in the North East, many were made by national or London-based production companies, and he is pround of the firm’s work in the region.

Bridge and Tunnel was set up by US-Iranian filmmaker and screenwriter Tina Gharavi in 1999 and currently employs five people.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .