Broadcast Magazine – 22 August 2019

20 | Broadcast | 23 August 2019 broadcastnow.co.uk

‘made outside London’ (MOL) guidelines

that are going to have a big impact,” says

Davis. “We have new companies, like Alan

Clements’ venture Two Rivers, that have

come to prominence this year. That’s all

really exciting.”

Then there is the international interest.

“For the UK overall, the inward investment

picture continues to be incredibly healthy,”

says Davis. “That’s before you even get into

the content boom in the streaming space,

which doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime

soon. However, if it wasn’t for our wonderful

crews, talent, gorgeous locations and can-do

spirit, none of that would be enough, and

we’ve got all of that in spades.”

Productions shooting in Scotland are well

supported. “We have our fantastic Screen

The Cry: series put Synchronicity

Films’ Claire Mundell on the map

For the UK overall, the inward

investment picture continues to

be incredibly healthy. That’s even

before you get into the content

boom in the streaming space

ISABEL DAVIS

CASE STUDY: Firecrest Films

Nicole Kleeman

Managing director

What processes are you putting in

place to grow the next generation of

top talent in Scotland?

Firecrest’s rapid growth has only been achiev-

able through our investment in the next cohort

of talent; we have a reputation for spotting and

investing in new talent and promoting rapidly

internally. We have a paid internship with

Stirling University – a relationship that has

given us four of our current team members –

and we’ve been part of Channel 4’s Production

Training Scheme and Investigative Journalism

Training Scheme for six years, providing year-

long traineeships for newcomers to the industry

from diverse backgrounds. Many of these

trainees have stayed with us and risen rapidly

through the ranks.

This year, we also have a trainee from the

Pact Scotland scheme, again supporting

talented people from backgrounds poorly

represented in our industry. With broadcaster

support, we have frequently been the place

where people make a big career jump – directing

their fi rst fi lm, series producing their fi rst

series or exec producing for the fi rst time. It’s

been hugely rewarding to develop new talent

in this way and to give them great breaks.

This summer alone, our new talent won

awards for Young Journalist of the Year and

Presenter of the Year, while others were

selected to be showcased as Broadcast Hot

Shots and Edinburgh TV Festival Ones to

Watch. We’re always keen to hear from ambi-

tious, bright and creative people looking to

move on their career, and our reputation as a

company with output of the highest quality

means we have a raft of great programmes

and opportunities.

How have you expanded your creative

team and diversifi ed since Channel 4

acquired a minority stake in the busi-

ness through the Indie Growth Fund?

In the two and a half years since the C

investment, Firecrest has grown 500%. We

have attracted top-level exec, director and

production talent, allowing us to broaden the

range of genres we produce, and have gone

from a specialist current-affairs producer to

be making docs, specialist

factual, popular factual

formats, features and even

shiny-fl oor entertainment.

The Growth Fund has been

the catalyst.

We continue to make high-

profi le investigations that take

on the biggest companies

and most signifi cant issues

• for example, Dispatches:
  Inside Facebook – but we
  also deliver ground breaking
  access and extra ordinary
  quality in series such as the
  BBC’s Murder Case.

Continued from page 19

Murder Case: BBC doc series

secured groundbreaking access

Firecrest Films: Kleeman

(centre) with creative directors

Iain Scollay and Mark Roberts