Unleashing Our Potential: Screen Sector Growth in the Nations and Regions

On Tuesday 4 July, British Screen Forum hosted a half day conference for Members and invited guests that explored the extant and potential policy levers which are most effective in harnessing the growth potential of the screen sectors outside London and Southeast England. This conference sought to answer the question: what does London need to know about building sustainable, long-term growth in the audiovisual sectors beyond the southeast corner of England? Attendees had the opportunity to hear Andy Street (Mayor of the West Midlands) in conversation with Isabel Davis (Deputy Chair, British Screen Forum); Leon Forde (Managing Director, Olsberg•SPI) provide an economic overview of the screen sectors’ regional impact around the UK; Isabel Davis (in her capacity as Executive Director of Screen Scotland) discuss the role of infrastructure in the growth of Scotland’s screen sector; Rhodri Talfan Davies (Director of Nations, BBC) on the role of the PSBs in regional development; and Dr Tarek Virani (Associate Professor, Creative Economies Lab, UWE Bristol) chair a panel on the varying policies and their impacts affecting regional screen sector development featuring Gerwyn Evans (Deputy Director, Creative Wales), Alison Gwynn (Chief Executive, North East Screen), Prof Jonathan Sapsed (Newcastle University Business School/Co-Investigator, PEC), and Richard Williams (Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Screen).

A copy of the agenda alongside speaker biographies can be found here.