Earlier in May, UK Screen Alliance was kindly invited by the British Film Commission to attend the Cannes Film Festival to speak about the UK’s new visual effects tax credit in two special panel sessions.
On Friday, 16 May, UK Screen Alliance’s CEO Neil Hatton MBE participated on the panel “Crossing Channels: Production and VFX in the UK and France”, which was presented by the British Film Commission (BFC) in partnership with Film France-CNC. Neil was joined by Laurens Ehrmann (Founder & Senior VFX Supervisor, The Yard), Michael Illingworth (Founder & Creative Director, Vine FX), and Daphné Lora (Head of Film France – CNC) in a session moderated by Adrian Wootton OBE (CEO of the British Film Commission), which looked at the production, post-production and VFX strengths of the UK and France, and the many benefits of cross-border collaboration.
Speaking on the UK’s appeal, Neil highlighted recent reforms to the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) and the new VFX tax credit uplift. With the UK now offering a 29.25% net rate for VFX, enhanced by an exemption from the 80% cap, and the new independent film tax credit of 39.75% for projects under £15 million, these offerings have strengthened the UK’s position as a global destination for VFX work.
My members in the VFX community are starting to see more enquiries and more people booking in. There are many reasons why you would want to use the UK, we’ve got the depth of talent and the track record of excellence.
Neil Hatton MBE, CEO of UK Screen Alliance
Apart from tax incentives, the discussion also covered topics such as continued decentralisation, and also looked at two case studies of cross-Channel collaboration in action.
Watch the full session below.
On Saturday, 17 May, the BFC and UK Screen Alliance presented “Working with the UK: A New Opportunity with Post-Production and VFX” panel at the UK Pavilion. The session included presentations from Neil and the BFC’s Adrian Wootton OBE and Gareth Kirkman (UK Business and Industry Development Manager), to introduce independent producers and filmmakers to the UK’s VFX and post-production infrastructure and highlighted how to access our tax incentives via the post and VFX spend.
Screen Scotland’s Isabel Davis (Executive Director, Screen) and Cheryl Conway (Head of Screen Commission) then followed up with a presentation on their recently launched Project Post Fund, designed to encourage large-scale film and TV productions to undertake their post-production and VFX work in Scotland. The competitive fund will support live-action and animated features, and live-action and animated high-end television drama or factual returnable series that demonstrate the ability to boost Scotland’s economy by bringing in high-value post-production and/or VFX work to Scotland; create inclusive employment opportunities for Scotland based crew and technicians; use Scotland’s post-production facilities for services such as editing, sound, VFX, and music scoring; support diversified skills development and career progression in Scottish post-production sector; and align with Screen Scotland’s broader strategic goals.
Watch the full session below.
Following the presentations, international producers, and representatives from award-winning UK post and VFX companies – including many UK Screen Alliance members – mingled over a networking breakfast in the Cannes sunshine.
