AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

U.K. funds online film initiative - Variety

UKFC, Nesta contribute $1 million

The U.K. Film Council is working with the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts to launch a $1 million (£500,000) project to help indie Brit film companies explore new business models centered around online sales, distribution and marketing.
Dubbed Digital Innovation in Film, the initiative will team up indie film companies with specialist “innovation partners,” such as Arts Alliance Media, to explore ways to reach new audiences.

Project was launched Wednesday at a London confab, including a keynote address from Margaret Hodge, minister for culture, creative industries and tourism. Speakers also included UKFC CEO John Woodward, Arts Alliance Media CEO Howard Kiedaisch and BBC Worldwide’s director of digital media Simon Danker.

The U.K.’s creative industries were “growing at twice the rate of the U.K. economy,” said Hodge, with half that growth accounted for by newly formed businesses. “We want to get small to medium enterprises beyond worrying about cash flows,” she added.

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