Channel 4 and Welsh Govt announce funding partnership

27 September 2012

Channel 4 and the Welsh Government today announced investment in a 12 month funding partnership to bolster Channel 4's Alpha Fund, specifically supporting the development of creative output from Welsh based producers and suppliers.

Both Channel 4 and the Welsh Government have each pledged a £100k investment to the broadcaster's Alpha Fund, which supports the best creative ideas from new starts-ups, new creative talent, new companies and grass roots innovation, enhancing creativity and innovation within the creative industries across the UK - and in this case specifically in Wales.

Welcoming the strategic partnership with Channel 4, Welsh Government Business Minister Edwina Hart said:

"The commercial media environment is extremely competitive which is why I welcome this partnership with Channel 4 which will provide a great opportunity to support the creative industry sector in Wales and encourage and promote Welsh creative talent.

"The funding agreement will bolster the amount of support available to Welsh creative companies applying to the Alpha Fund with the overarching aim of directly increasing the number of Channel 4 commissions secured by Welsh independent production companies and digital agencies."

Media Project Manager Ian Mackenzie heads up talent spotting and development in Wales and leads on commissioning content and ideas through the Alpha Fund.  In 2012 to date, Ian has commissioned 10 creative projects via the Alpha Fund in Wales, three of which have gone to full commission with Channel 4.

Ian said: "It's great to be able to increase our commitment to exciting new creative companies and ideas here in Wales, in partnership with Welsh Government and I look forward to working towards many more exciting commissions in the months ahead."

Stuart Cosgrove, Director of Creative Diversity at Channel 4, heads up a team of Media Project Managers who are hard-wired into creative communities across the UK, often in advance of commissioning editors.

Stuart said: "Channel 4 is always looking for imaginative partnerships that can bring talent to the network. This initiative reflects our belief that new and existing talent is emerging in Wales that we wish to work with on a regular basis."

Channel 4 also announced today its latest commission to come via The Alpha Fund, Tattooed Britain (w/t) from Welsh producer, Rondo Media. This one hour film explores the world of tattoos - the artists, the reasons why people have them and what happens when they regret them. From a drunken dare to tattoo addictions, this film seeks to discover what people's tattoos say about their lives.

Other recent Welsh projects commissioned through the Alpha Fund include:

Plant Detectives (w/t), a new six x 30min produced by Cwmni Da based in North Wales - the executive producer is Neville Hughes and the series producer is Arwyn Evans. The series, commissioned by Jill Fullerton-Smith, aims to discover how plants can offer understanding of Britain's changing landscape and other forms of wildlife. With increasing interest in what the outdoors has to offer, this series offers an exciting and engaging window into our own ‘green and pleasant land', and a crucial snapshot of Britain's biodiversity from the ground up.

The series is presented by new talent: Royal Horticultural Society gold medallist and landscape gardener, Chris Myers and his labrador, Lottie; one of Britain's top botanists Dr Trevor Dines; and Lichenologist Sally Eaton.

Welsh indie Boom Pictures also contributed hugely to one of Channel 4's biggest on screen successes in recent years with their production of 40 episodes of That Paralympic Show broadcast in the build-up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games - a weekly magazine show that achieved in its aims of informing, demystifying and popularising the sports and athletes of Paralympic sport. The shows were fronted by Channel 4 Paralympics anchors, Ade Adepitan and Rick Edwards. Boomerang also produced the seven primetime episodes of Jon Snow's Paralympic Show fronted by the Channel 4 News anchor, setting the scene for the beginning of Channel 4's coverage.

Gareth Rees, MD Boomerang said: "Boomerang is proud to have played such a big part in Channel 4's build-up to the Paralympic games and welcomes the continued focus and investment by Channel 4 in the Welsh creative industry."

Ends

 

Notes to Editors:

• Channel 4's first commission from Welsh producer, Rondo Media, Tattooed Britain (w/t) tells some of the compelling stories that lie beneath the surface of body art. It is estimated that there are over 20 million tattoos in Britain and full arm, leg, chest, back and even head tattoos are now more popular than ever - but having a large tattoo is both a huge statement and a financial commitment, in what remains a predominantly blue collar world. For many, what starts as a novelty becomes a compulsion. This documentary also follows the tattoos that people have lived to regret, as when it all goes wrong, it's the professional tattooist's job to try to cover them. Tattooists in parlours across Britain explain that a substantial amount of their business - one estimates as much as 40% - is fixing badly inked or self-administered tattoos.

This uplifting, warm, and often eye-watering documentary discovers through candid interviews, what leads people to the go under the needle, and how fixing a bad tattoo can mean facing more than just the physical reminder of your past.

The executive producer in Tom Ware and the director is Yonni Usiskin.