Nations and regions indies have bigger stories to tell

Last month, Glasgow was named host of the 2020 Creative Cities Convention. Pact has launched a regional office in Leeds, joining Channel 4’s new HQ in the city. 

With inspiring swagger, Bad Wolf continues to lead the charge for drama indies in Wales, and the phenomenal success of Derry Girls has provided a wonderful challenge to commissioning concerns about ‘accent and intelligibility’.

The BBC and Screen Scotland now have a memorandum of understanding, committing to more network production from Scotland, and nations and regions commissioning targets are bigger and taken more seriously.

Ofcom’s forthcoming revised regulatory N&R framework could further level the playing field for out-of- London producers. N&R, it seems, is finally almost sexy – almost.

But beware the classic banana skin of N&R production: an unconscious assumption that being based in a nation or region defines the extent and ambition of a development slate. With the international market more buoyant and accepting than ever, it’s vital to embrace the unique advantage that a regional base and identity brings to creative perspective.

“We might speak with a strong regional accent, but our interests lie in telling universal stories”

Being regional means a greater chance of securing those commissions that redress representation issues on screen across the UK. That’s a huge step forward and good news for audiences who want to see the broadest range of stories and characters.

At Synchronicity Films, we are driven by a passion to showcase Scottish talent. But equally, our slate features international stories with zero Scottish connection. We’ve also had Scottish-international co-productions such as The Cry, which plays out between Glasgow and Melbourne.

We might speak with a strong regional accent, but our interests lie in telling universal, internationally appealing stories, from wherever they originate.

A well-intentioned, unconscious bias towards representationally minded N&R programming cannot be the only criteria on which regional indies grow. Reframe expectations of, and assumptions about, N&R indies and watch a thousand flowers bloom.

➤ Claire Mundell is founder and creative director of Synchronicity Films