Launching Screen Cornwall: an agency to develop Cornwall as a hub for film, TV & Digital Creativity

A new screen agency, designed to develop Cornwall as a leading rural hub for film, TV and digital technologies, is being set up to build on its reputation for creative talent.

Cornwall Council along with the Cornwall and Isle of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership are proud to be two of the founding partners of the new screen agency. Cornwall  is already well represented in TV and film, with hit shows including Poldark and Doc Martin being filmed in the region as well as Cornish director Mark Jenkin’s feature BAIT premiering at Berlin Film Festival earlier this year and being released in the UK by the BFI

A diverse range of films have also been filmed here, including The Kid Who Would be King, Make Up  and Film London short NAPTHA which recently screened at Semaine de la Critiques at Cannes Film Festival.

Now Screen Cornwall is being launched to promote all screen industries including TV and film, digital media, video games and immersive technology.  The agency will initially be hosted by Creative Kernow as part of its creative sector support portfolio and in its first year will be building key relationships with the wider creative sector in Cornwall to ensure it embeds huge added value to this exciting growing sector

Screen Cornwall ’s objectives include:

• positioning Cornwall as an easy-to-deal-with location option for national and international projects
• connecting production companies to local crew and support service
• helping emerging talent establish themselves after education and build their experience on high quality      productions
• offering support for existing screen businesses to scale up and showcase their work nationally and internationally
• increasing the number of filming days in the region
• driving screen tourism, which is currently estimated by Visit Cornwall to be worth around £60m to the Cornish economy, with 50% visitors from the USA citing TV shows as an influential factor in their decision

Councillor Bob Egerton, the Council’s Cabinet Member responsible for Culture, Economy and Planning, said:  “Cornwall is already well placed in the screen industry. The diversity of productions filmed with our stunning landscape as a backdrop and the talent emerging through the skills and education offer provided by Falmouth University and our colleges, makes it one of the fastest growing sectors in our creative economy. Screen Cornwall will help develop the sector further, and is another step towards creating the dynamic, self-sustaining economy Cornwall needs to be to face the challenges of the 21st Century.”

Glenn Caplin, Chief Executive of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP, added:  “It is vital that we recognise and support the importance of the creative industries in Cornwall. They contribute nearly £90 billion to the UK’s economy annually, and have seen employment growth almost four times higher than average in the past few years. Here in Cornwall we already have growing tech and content production sectors, and Screen Cornwall will enable us to grow this further, creating a self-sustaining organisation which will make a positive contribution to Cornwall’s growing creative economy.”

Phillippa Giles, Chair of Screen Cornwall, and high end TV producer of Sky One’s ‘Delicious’ with Dawn French, adds: “Cornwall’s got soul! It is a unique and staggeringly beautiful place to base a production, as we have discovered through three series of Delicious. Now, as Chair of the new screen agency, I am delighted we will be able to provide focused support for a whole range of projects considering shooting in the region. Screen Cornwall will also provide training, skills development and business support to further develop the sector and to enhance Cornwall’s already strong reputation for both creative and production talent.”

If you want to find out more, please contact the team today.