New 'star-studded' Tees Valley movie is a success for the North East Production Fund

Stars are set to shine in Tees Valley after the first feature film to benefit from a major regional funding initiative has been picked up for a nationwide cinema release with the UK premiere set to take place in the region.

JACKDAW is the feature-length writing and directorial debut of local filmmaker Jamie Childs. His previous credits include a host of well-loved TV shows such as Doctor Who, Vera, His Dark Materials as well as Willow for Disney+ and The Sandman for Netflix.

His new feature has been filmed entirely in the region including sites like Seal Sands, Nunthorpe and using Northern Studios, the North East’s only large-scale film and TV production facility.

It has seen a £300,000 investment from the North East Production Fund, delivered by regional screen agency North East Screen on behalf of the North East Screen Industries Partnership (NESIP), as part of their ambitious plans to make the region one of the UK’s leading film and TV production hubs.

The film stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Invisible Man, The Haunting of Hill House) as the title character, with other household names including Jenna Coleman – also known for her work in Doctor Who, The Sandman and Victoria – This is England star Thomas Turgoose and Game of Thrones’ Rory McCann.

To mark the film’s release in UK cinemas by Vertigo Releasing, a glittering star-studded premiere will take place in Tees Valley, before a series of local screenings ahead of its release.

The Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority contributed £4.5m to a North-East-wide programme of development for the screen industries, delivered by the region’s screen agency, North East Screen, in partnership with all 12 of the North East’s local and combined authorities.

Its newly launched multi-million pound North East Production Fund, which saw JACKDAW being one of the pilots to test the criteria and approach used to back productions, will support this and continue to drive inward investment in the region, attracting more productions to film in the North East.

The film has also been front-and-centre of an industry event held in London to highlight the North East Production Fund to industry movers and shakers.

JACKDAW producer Callum Grant said: “The North East has a unique creative potential which has been systemically overlooked by the British film industry. There is an energy and ambition here which deserves to be taken seriously, so it’s exciting to see such a fiercely supportive team launch the NESIP.”

Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen said: “JACKDAW is a fantastic chance to have industry eyes on us as a filming and production location, as our investment into NESIP has already paid dividends to fund even more exciting projects.”

Gayle Woodruffe, operations director for North East Screen, who manages the North East Production Fund, said: “Piloting JACKDAW through the North East Production Fund was an easy decision, it allowed us to not only support exceptional North East home grown talent, but also showcase the North East in a different light for the big screen.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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