The focus of the new Cornwall Film project is much broader. We are taking a more holistic approach - with the ultimate aim of developing a sustainable media industry in Cornwall. The project's focus is on developing Cornwall's businesses.

As in the old project, we might still see a few investments in TV or feature film development at a relatively advanced stage - and very occasionally, a script development award made direct to a writer. We also hope to be able to offer some short film schemes that unlike the rest of our investments, won't require match funding.

Other than this, all is new! We can fund a much wider range of activity. Not just film, but also TV and new media.

The Development Fund is open to a much wider range of activity. There are new funds for Production and Company and Individual Development. We are also supporting the development of Cornwall Media Focus to offer greater networking and specialist training opportunities.

top

Why is Cornwall Film doing this instead?

Because we think it will work. And because the money we have been able to access is tied to clear economic outputs, so we have to deliver those.

Phase 1 of Cornwall Film developed some great projects and individual film talents, and began to raise the profile of film-making in Cornwall very successfully. However, it was able to offer only limited specialist mentoring to support the projects' development, and limited access to market information. As a result, projects developed in the first phase haven't moved forward as fast as we would like.

The new project aims to address these issues and focus on building a sustainable media industry - looking to create links between film, TV and new media, and developing the media industry as a whole.

top

What is a sustainable media industry?

An industry where:

Most companies are individually sustainable - they have regular commissions, pay staff appropriately and are able to train new entrants
Freelance crew and facility providers are able to find regular employment, and there is a clear career ladder of work opportunities available to local talent on productions filming in Cornwall
Creativity, innovation and new talent thrive.
National and International audiences have an appetite for Cornish work

top

How is Cornwall Film trying to achieve a sustainable media industry?

Cornwall Film are aiming to develop the media sector, develop strong projects and products, and encourage inward investment.

Developing the media sector: We'll do this by creating opportunities to share knowledge and to network, supporting the development of work opportunities that stem the talent drain, and encouraging joint ventures that grow capacity and profile. We also need to raise awareness of our strengths and weaknesses and provide support to access specialist training.

Developing strong projects and products: We'll do this by providing investment to develop projects that have a good chance of reaching the market. We will help companies to access support from experienced mentors that will aid the effective delivery of these projects. We will also encourage collaboration between new media, film and TV companies to ensure that we take advantage of all that new technology and new distribution platforms can offer.

Encourage inward investment. We'll do this by incentivising productions to use Cornish crew, create training opportunities and spend money in Cornwall. We will promote Cornwall as an easy and economic base for production, showcasing the wide range of locations available here. Both Cornwall Film and the companies we invest in will be able to use our investment to draw down other funding

top

Who decides how the money is spent?

We have developed the project strands outlined here in order to achieve the aims and ambitions of the successful ERDF bid. We need to meet the needs of Objective One and of our other funding partners.

Broadly speaking, the outputs that we have to deliver in return for the ERDF investment are jobs for media practitioners who are resident in Cornwall, and increased turnover for Cornwall based media companies.

In terms of how decisions about individual investments will be made - the selection process will operate as follows.

Applicants submit a short Expression of Interest
Cornwall Film advises on whether it's eligible - if not, we suggest where else you might go to raise funding. If it is eligible, we can help you through the application process.
You submit a full application to Cornwall Film. Any application for more than £5K will immediately go to an independent assessor.
All applications will be read by the Project Director and will go to be assessed by an independent Selection Panel. This is made up of at least 2 Management Board members and specialists in the fields being assessed.
The Project Director presents applications and any accompanying assessor's reports to the Selection Panel. The Project Director can?t vote. Projects are assessed against a range of criteria including the ability to deliver the required jobs and increased turnover. The Selection Panel decides whether or not to approve the investment.
Cornwall Film advises the applicant on whether or not they have been successful.

Applications for all funds for sums under £5K can now be processed by a smaller Selection Panel every 6-8 weeks - allowing us to respond more efficiently to the immediate needs of freelancers and beneficiaries. The UNDER £5K FAST TRACK Selection Panels are made up of the Project Director and two members of the Management Board with appropriate areas of expertise.

Cornwall Film adheres to a Conflicts of Interest Policy.

For more information on the application process please visit How to Apply.
top

Where can I find more detail on the individual funds?

More details on current funds can be found on the website. You can download application forms and full guidelines for each fund here.

What were the aims of the Production Fund?

In order to develop a sustainable industry, we need to create opportunities for freelance crew as much as the core creative teams.

There are excellent experienced crew based in Cornwall who often have to travel away to work. We also have a fantastic resource of talented trainees, graduates and new entrants who are keen to find work in Cornwall. However, productions other than no-low budget films shooting in Cornwall aren't crewing up enough locally.

The Production Fund was aimed primarily at film and TV drama - as this level of production creates a lot of jobs and spends significant amounts in the region on crew and associated services.

Our ambitions were to generate local jobs and training opportunities by using the Production Fund to encourage productions to film in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and promoting our locations and crew. We hope that professional CV credits gained on projects we incentivise will lead to other production work on projects that we aren't able to fund. We want to ensure that there is a talent pool of experienced freelancers here all year round - a resource for everyone working in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

We also want to see indirect spend from productions in Cornwall helping to create an environment where film-making in the region is encouraged and supported.

We have encouraged projects to employ Cornwall-resident crew at all levels, and request that any productions we invest in offer positions for trainees.

The perfect project to be funded by the Production Fund would be one delivered by a Cornish company with a Cornish writer and director, that has attracted significant investment from elsewhere, and which will crew up entirely with local crew.

top

Is Cornwall Film developing any other strands or schemes?

We are always evolving the funding strands we offer in response to Cornwall's eneds.

top

What can't Cornwall Film fund?

Generally, projects or companies without cash match funding

Activity that won't directly safeguard or create jobs

Projects or companies that don't have a real chance of succeeding in the marketplace

Activity that would take place without our investment

Companies that don't meet the State Aids criteria.

Companies that are not based in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly (please see notes on the Production Fund below)

Other than mentoring (and potentially a short film scheme), we generally can't fund projects without cash match. We will offer advice on where you can find match funding. Business mentoring may also help you to identify other investment sources.

We can't fund projects that won't directly safeguard or create jobs; or that would take place regardless of whether we invest or not. This forms part of our agreement with Objective One.

Our aims are to develop a sustainable industry. Consequently, we need to invest in companies and projects that have a good chance of reaching their market and making money. We can't invest in projects that don't have a real chance of succeeding in the marketplace. While no-one can second-guess what will be a hit, we can assess the viability of a company's ambitions, market knowledge and distribution strategy.

Given the focus on developing business, this isn't a fund that's going to get your experimental arts film made. Which is not to deride that type of activity in any way, it simply isn't something we can fund. We'll try and advise where else to go for support if your project falls into this category. The new Cornwall Film project is essentially about understanding the needs of a commercial industry - and making money.

Cornwall Film generally can't fund companies that are not based in Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly. In the case of the Production Fund, we can consider applications from companies that are not based in Cornwall. We would encourage these companies to work with a local company or co-producer. Please see the Production Fund guidelines for more information.

Please see the question below for more information on the State Aids criteria. We explain this to you in more detail.

top

What's happening with Cornwall Media Focus?

Cornwall Film is running Cornwall Media Focus as a membership organisation for anyone working in film TV or new/digital media in any capacity in Cornwall.

Cornwall Media Focus will provide networking events and will gather and share information about commissioning and the marketplace. We would encourage all media practitioners in Cornwall to join so that we can generate events that people want and need.

We hope to hold at least eight events a year, hopefully more - please visit the Cornwall Media Focus website for more information.

The Cornwall Media Focus website has been developed with the support of Creative Kernow and FlicKerNOW, and holds information and news on other funding sources, reports on recent events, 'How To' guides and other useful information. It will feature a monthly showcase of a local individual working in media in Cornwall.

Cornwall Media Focus also provides regular e-bulletins.

When you join Cornwall Media Focus, we will request some basic data about you and your company. This will not be made public, but will help to guide the activities of Cornwall Film and allow us to make a stronger argument for more funding. We will also ask you to register on the South West Screen database.

When you have registered, your details will appear in the South West Screen Production Guide online and the Cornwall Film Production Guide online. We hope that you will be able to use this resource to network within Cornwall, and to advertise your services to production companies looking to film in the region.

top

What if I don't have any match funding? Can Cornwall Film's investment be 'first in' money?

The parameters of our funding mean that we will have to favour applicants who have match funding in place at the point of application.

However, we appreciate the value of being able to offer a 'mark of faith' to possible investors. Therefore in some circumstances, we will consider providing beneficiaries with a letter outlining our investment within a particular window of opportunity (i.e. for two months) to allow them to access match funding on this basis.

If after this time, the applicant is unsuccessful at raising further finance, our offer will be withdrawn and the funds reinvested elsewhere.

We can only make our payments retrospectively. This means that you will have to have the match funding in place before we can pay out. We also need to see evidence of all spend before we can pay out our proportion of the costs. For example, for a Development Fund investment of £450 (45%), you would need to provide us with evidence of having spent £1000 (100%).

top

Can I apply if I want to co-produce with a company from outside Cornwall?

Yes. We would actively encourage joint ventures that grow your company's capacity. We would therefore look to support co-productions - both with other companies based in Cornwall and with companies from outside the region.

The Cornwall-resident company should make the application to Cornwall Film. We can only count Cornwall-based jobs and the Cornish company's turnover as outputs generated by our investment, but we are keen to see these connections being made.

top

Can I apply if my annual turnover is lower than £15K?

Any company, joint venture or individual we invest in will need a minimum annual turnover of at least £15K and a desire to grow significantly over the next five years.

In the case of joint ventures, you can present us with a combined turnover figure - this might present a way to meet or exceed the £15K baseline.

But please note that we are only able to count the turnover of the Cornwall-resident companies.

top

How can I fund my short film?

We understand the benefit of short films - both as a showcase for Cornwall's new talent and an invaluable opportunity to learn new skills that will help all involved to progress in their careers.

Cornwall Film has worked with South West Screen and UK Film Council on the Digital Shorts scheme in 2005/6 and 2006/7. The 2007/8 scheme will be delivered solely by South West Screen, and is open to Cornish companies. If you want to find out more, sign up for the Cornwall Media Focus e-bulletins.

top

I have a great possible film location, how do I register it on the locations database?

Call the Cornwall Film office - we would be delighted to take your details and advise you on how to showcase your location on the site. We will need you to provide us with at least one photo of the location. We can also arrange to make images of your location available to users of South West Locations Online on the South West Screen website.

top

How do I register for the Production Guide?

You can register by joining Cornwall Media Focus. When you do so, you will be directed to enter your details in the South West Screen Production Guide, thus ensuring that your details are available in the South West database, and in Cornwall Film's Cornwall-filtered Production Guide.

top

What are the state aids and de minimus criteria?

The European Union requires that applicants fall within the de minimis exemption criteria and also meet the EU's definition of 'SME' (?small to medium size enterprise?).

Applicants must therefore be able to answer 'YES' to each of the questions in this section (and be able to demonstrate their compliance if required). We will not be able to make any investment if you cannot fulfil all of the listed criteria as they are Objective One requirements.

Are you a sole trader, or if a company, do you have fewer than 250 employees?
Do you have an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million or an annual balance-sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million?
Can you prove that no enterprise or enterprises which themselves do not meet the definition of an SME owns more than 24% of your share capital or voting rights? There are exceptions to this rule and we can supply more detail on request.
Have you received less that EUR 200,000 in grant aid in the past 3 years and will you undertake not to exceed this figure during any three-year period in which the Fund?s award (if made) falls?

In some cases, grant aid may be deemed to be the notional interest on a repayable loan rather than the entire sum of the loan itself - we will advise you.

The de minimus exemption criteria state that a company receiving support from Cornwall Film must not benefit from more than 200,000 Euro in grant aid over a period of three years. We can advise you on whether aid you have received in the past three years is counted as grant aid.

top

This article is from Cornwall Film
http://www.cornwallfilm.com/