- Liverpool Film Office's new Impact Report reveals record
growth since 2019
- 1,607 productions in five years, including The
Batman and BAFTA-winning
dramas Time and The Responder
- Combined Authority's £2.8m LCR Production Fund, delivered by
Liverpool Film Office, has ‘transformational impact'
- Liverpool is now a production hub as well as UK's most filmed
city outside London
Liverpool City Region's booming film and TV industry enjoyed
record growth since 2019 with more than 1,600 productions adding
£150m the local economy and creating more than 5,000 jobs.
With its diverse architecture and film friendly environment,
Liverpool City Region is the UK's most filmed area outside
London, attracting high-profile productions such as The
Batman, Clayface and House of Guinness.
Since 2019, high-end production facilities have been added to the
offer - helping to retain TV and movie makers after filming and
fuelling its ambitions to become the Hollywood of the North.
Published today, Liverpool Film Office's Impact Report 2019-2025
reveals the film and TV industry's transformational impact on the
city region, creating 5,408 full-time equivalent jobs and
supporting local businesses, while nurturing the next generation
of talent.
Introduced in 2019, the Combined Authority's £2.8m LCR Production
Fund has played a pivotal role in driving growth - increasing the
number, range and scale of feature films and scripted television
made in the city region.
This City is Ours, The
Responder and Time are among 10
supported productions which have received 19 industry awards
including four BAFTAs and two International Emmys and added
£24.5m to the city region economy, creating 861 indirect full
time equivalent jobs and 56 trainee roles.
And what began as a fund to attract productions, has developed to
become an engine for screen sector development, stimulating the
growth of production hubs in all six of the city region's
boroughs: Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and
Wirral.
, Mayor of the Liverpool City
Region said:
“The LCR Production Fund isn't just bringing millions into our
local economy - it's opening doors for local people, giving them
lifechanging opportunities and helping them get a foot in the
door of industry. This is why we've backed projects like This
City Is Ours - alongside the world class talent and
infrastructure we've got here, we're making sure our region is
always in the conversation when it comes to making high-quality
productions.”
Managed by Liverpool Film Office with funding from Liverpool City
Region Combined Authority, development of The Depot - two
purpose-built 20,000 ft² sound stages off Liverpool's Edge Lane -
has massively enhanced Liverpool's production capacity.
Since its launch in 2021, The Depot has generated £29.1m in GVA*
for the Liverpool City Region economy whilst encouraging broader
industry development. The report highlights 15 new businesses
which have either started up or expanded into the city region as
a direct result of The Depot.
The next chapter includes the creation of the adjacent
Littlewoods Studio Campus featuring six world-class sound stages,
ScreenLab Liverpool and post-production facilities. The project
is expected to create 3,200 new jobs and generate £170m GVA,
while providing education and training for young people in one of
the UK's most deprived areas.
The scale of filming across the Liverpool City Region has also
created a need for skills development and community engagement to
support productions.
With National Lottery funding from the British Film Institute
(BFI), LFO's Action! skills programme offers free training and
career development for people outside of further and higher
education wanting to get into the screen industry. It has
delivered 183 training opportunities and created 271 paid work
opportunities with three-quarters finding employment on
completion in departments across the industry such as camera,
make up and locations.
It joins Screen Alliance North, a British Film Institute skills
cluster made up of Liverpool Film Office, North East Screen,
Screen Manchester and Screen Yorkshire which is engaging with
thousands of people to create a skilled production workforce
across the North of England.
, Leader of Liverpool City
Council said:
“The last few years have marked a transformative chapter in
Liverpool Film Office's history, but this is just the beginning.
“Not only has it put us on the map as the go-to filming location
outside the capital, but it has also delivered significant
opportunity for, and investment in, our people and our
communities.
“Looking to the future, the screen industry will continue be a
powerful tool for economic regeneration, skills development, and
community engagement throughout our city.”
Lynn Saunders, Head of the Liverpool Film Office
said:
“We have a commitment to economic regeneration, skills
development, community engagement, and sustainable growth, with
plans to further elevate Liverpool's role in the UK's screen
industry.
We have shown remarkable adaptability and growth, particularly
given the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic. We rose
to those challenges. The Batman was the first UK production to
resume filming in a city setting during Covid and our work
established comprehensive Covid safety protocols that became
industry standard.”
Please find the full Liverpool Film Office 2019-2025 Impact
Report here - https://liverpoolfilmoffice.tv/impact-report/
