EM Media is the Regional Screen Agency for the East

Midlands. In 2006 EM Media secured a £6 million ERDF investment

fund which has to date financed over 50 projects and companies

in the film, games, TV and interactive sectors. The agency's

film projects include Shane Meadows' BAFTA winning This Is

England and Anton Corbijn's Control. Six film projects

co-financed by EM Media were this year selected to appear at

the UK's biggest and most prestigious film festival, Edinburgh

International Film Festival. The six films were Better Things

(director Duane Hopkins), A Complete History of My Sexual

Failures (director Chris Waitt), Crack Willow (director Martin

Radich), Donkey Punch (director Olly Blackburn), Mum & Dad

(director Steven Sheil), and Summer (director Kenny

Glenaan).

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Here EM Media tell us exclusively about the highlights of

their time in Edinburgh and how talent from the East Midlands

came to dominate the festival.

Thursday 19 June began with the press and industry

screenings of two EM Media co-financed films: Better Things,

the debut feature from acclaimed short film director Duane

Hopkins which was produced by Nottingham-based Wellington

Films, and Mum & Dad, Nottingham-based Steven Sheil's

intense and chilling debut feature about a murderous family

living in the shadow of a major airport. These industry

screenings allow journalists and those working in the film

industry to see films for the first time in a private setting,

enabling them to write reviews and check out potential

collaborators for future projects.

Both screenings were well attended and we're pleased to

report that both films were very well received. Steven Sheil,

the director of Mum & Dad, as well as the film's producer

Lisa Trnovski and Steven's partner Jeanie Finlay (herself a

director of documentaries) attended EM Media's press

'elevenses' straight after the screenings. The event was

intended to support East Midlands filmmakers in Edinburgh and

raise the profile of the region as the UK's most exciting place

to make and be involved with film. For filmmakers such as

Steven the event also provided an opportunity to raise the

profile of their individual projects, thereby helping to secure

distribution and sales for their films.

At the event Steven, Lisa and Jeanie handed out a unique Mum

& Dad marketing tool to the assembled journalists: blood

spattered cup cakes bearing the film's logo. Not only were the

cakes delicious, the novel idea also insured a healthy dose of

press coverage for Steven's film, which has since received rave

reviews. See the opinion of Empire magazine's Damon Wise here:

"http://www.empireonline.com/features/edinburgh2008/Post.asp?id=170">

http://www.empireonline.com/features/edinburgh2008/Post.asp?id=170

We also used the event as an opportunity to announce the

next tranche of projects to join EM Media's growing slate. As

well as development investment in the next projects from Shane

Meadows (King of the Gypsies), Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur)

and Derbyshire writer Hugh Ellis (Red Sail), we also announced

production investment into a film called A Boy Called Dad which

will be directed by Brian Percival and will shoot in the region

in the autumn, and the next project from digital studio Warp X,

Bunny and the Bull, which is to be directed by Paul King (The

Mighty Boosh) and will shoot on location in Nottingham

throughout July and August.

Thursday evening saw the UK premiere of the EM Media

co-financed and Warp X produced A Complete History of My Sexual

Failures to a packed out cinema. The film is a documentary

following hapless independent filmmaker Chris Waitt on his

journey to discover why every girl he's been out with has

dumped him. He tries to do this by tracking down each of his

exes and quizzing them on camera about what was wrong with him

(sometimes unsuccessfully – one ex won't allow him to show her

face and insists he disguises her voice). As you can imagine,

the replies are often very blunt, the emotions are very raw,

and the exchanges between Waitt and his exes are at times very

awkward…and absolutely hilarious. Once the film finished Waitt

made his way to the front of the stage for the Q&A session,

where it emerged that most of his exes were also in the

audience – cue more uncomfortable exchanges and a lot of belly

laughs for the rest of us!

Friday 20 June started with the press and industry screening

of Kenny Glenaan's Summer, ahead of its world premiere on

Sunday. EM Media co-financed the film which stars Robert

Carlyle and was directed by Kenny Glenaan. Summer is very

firmly rooted in Derbyshire: it was written by Hugh Ellis who

is based in the county and shot on location in Bramley Vale and

Bolsover in the summer of 2007. This was the first time anyone

outside of the production team had seen the completed film so

the air was heavy with anticipation. As soon as the film began

it was clear that this journey would be an emotional one and

the audience was not disappointed: the performances in the film

are brilliant – with many critics citing Robert Carlyle's

portrayal of the character Shaun as his best role for years –

and Derbyshire looks absolutely fantastic on screen.

At 6pm a panel discussion about 'the new horror' began,

chaired by the wonderfully entertaining Muriel Gray and

featuring, amongst others, Nottingham-based horror director

Steven Sheil and EM Media's former Executive Producer Lizzie

Francke. It was a fascinating insight into where the horror

genre is currently at and provided some interesting speculation

about where it's likely to go next. The panel concluded that no

subject could be off limits in a horror film as surely that's

the whole point of the genre, but any potentially controversial

topics should always be treated in a unique, witty and

ultimately intelligent way to maintain the relevance of the

genre and keep it fresh for modern audiences.

That evening saw the UK premiere of another EM Media-backed

and Warp X produced film, Olly Blackburn's Donkey Punch. The

film begins gently enough: three beautiful English girls hook

up with three English guys in Mallorca and head out to sea on a

millionaire's yacht; however the Mediterranean dream quickly

turns into a bloody nightmare and a desperate fight for

survival. It's nail-biting stuff and the audience is suitably

terrified by its experience of this high-octane thriller. Once

everyone has managed to calm down a bit, the film's sizable

cast and crew head up on stage to answer the audience's many

questions. People were keen to know how such a slick-looking

film had been made on a relatively low budget and within a very

tight timeframe, and Olly Blackburn was happy to answer all

questions relating to what seems to have been quite an intense

shoot. The film's young cast were all very excited to reveal

the film to a British audience and many of their friends and

family were there to celebrate the day with them.

Saturday 21 June began with a breakfast event aimed at

makers of short films. EM Media hosted a table at the event, as

did national and regional agencies from across the UK, where we

answered questions about the best ways for short filmmakers to

get their films made and then go on to exploit them in the

marketplace.

Saturday was also the day on which EM Media hosted its

celebration of the six EM Media co-financed films in

Edinburgh's official selection. The turn out for the event was

fantastic and in a strange way it really did feel like the East

Midlands' filmmaking community was embarking on a takeover of

the Scottish capital, or at least the Scottish capital's film

festival!

Representing the region was Shane Meadows, who arrived

immediately following his triumphant 'In Conversation With'

event during which he spoke candidly about his life and

filmmaking to a packed out audience. Shane was accompanied by

star of his latest film Somers Town (and central actor in his

seminal This Is England), Thomas Turgoose. Somers Town received

its UK premiere a day earlier on Friday to a rapturous response

from audiences, critics and industry alike, proving again what

a unique talent Meadows is and what a fantastic ambassador for

the East Midlands he continues to be.

Back to the event: as well as Shane Meadows and Thomas

Turgoose we welcomed Mum & Dad director Steven Sheil along

with his film's cast and crew; Wellington Films, the

Nottingham-based producers of Better Things, were accompanied

to the event by director Duane Hopkins and fellow producer Samm

Haillay; director of Donkey Punch Olly Blackburn, came along

with his film's cast and crew; director Chris Waitt was

accompanied by girlfriend Alex (and fortunately, unlike at

Friday's premiere of his film A Complete History of My Sexual

Failures, this time there are no exes around!); and finally

Crack Willow producer Jane Hooks came along ahead of that

film's world premiere later that evening.

As well as a good show from the region's talent we also

welcomed a number of figures from the film industry and trade

press. Everyone was really excited about the unprecedented

presence of East Midlands' talent at this year's festival, and

seeing all these talented regional filmmakers in one space

really brought home what a massive achievement it is for

everybody involved.

At 10pm that evening the world premiere of Crack Willow took

place. Crack Willow is an affectionate portrait of one man's

struggle with death and loneliness; his journey is an

exploration of emotions captured through the use of vivid,

powerful and imaginative imagery. The premiere was incredibly

popular having sold out at least a week beforehand, and the

audience's response to the film was enthusiastic. During the

Q&A director Martin Radich was incredibly generous in

acknowledging the support he'd received from everyone involved

in the film and expressed his thanks that a project so firmly

rooted in the leftfield had been supported from the outset.

Midnight saw the world premiere of Steven Sheil's horror Mum

& Dad to an excited crowd, who seemed both amused and

horrified by what they saw, which no doubt was Steven's

intention. The film closed to more enthusiastic applause and

Steven continued to field questions from dozens of people in

the foyer of the cinema long after the screening.

Sunday 22 June saw us involved in a panel event exploring

what's next for Warp X, the pioneering digital film studio

based in Sheffield, Nottingham and London. Warp X, in Edinburgh

to celebrate the UK premieres of its first two films A Complete

History of My Sexual Failures and Donkey Punch, wants to build

on Warp Films' reputation for combining creative originality

with commercial success, and make high value movies that can

reach cinema audiences across the world and revitalise the

low-budget sector of the British film industry. EM Media

invested £750,000 of ERDF into the digital studio Warp X,

enabling it to produce a slate of features. The studio's other

key financial backers are Film4, the UK Film Council, Screen

Yorkshire and Optimum Releasing who will distribute the films

theatrically and on DVD in the UK.

The event went well and interest in the studio is at an all

time high as its first two films go on UK theatrical release.

With another four films to follow, the profile of Warp X looks

set to soar still higher in the coming months.

Sunday also saw the UK premiere of Duane Hopkins' Better

Things, which had its world premiere during May's Cannes Film

Festival. Director Hopkins presents a painterly view of

existence against a rarely seen rural backdrop in Better

Things, and the film explores separate generations' approaches

to life, love, loss and intoxication. Hannah McGill, artistic

director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival,

describes Better Things as “the most eagerly-awaited British

debut of the year” and there was a palpable buzz as Hopkins'

unveiled his feature debut to the crowded cinema. The audience

was clearly affected by the moving film and Hopkins answered

many questions once the curtain closed.

On Sunday evening the world premiere of Kenny Glenaan's

Summer took place, before which EM Media hosted a reception for

the film along with co-investors the UK Film Council and

Scottish Screen. The reception gave the film's cast and crew -

many of whom have travelled to Edinburgh especially for this

special day - their first chance to see each other since the

shoot in Derbyshire a year ago, and there were plenty of

emotional greetings as people arrived.

We had to field calls all day from people desperate to get

tickets for the premiere, which sold out weeks ago - a Scottish

director and one of Scotland's most successful actors

guaranteed that this would be a popular choice in the festival

line up. The ticket shortage seemed to add to the very real

sense of excitement felt by all before the screening. Summer

has a very Derbyshire feel – the county's lush landscapes and

unique accents are represented well – but it was a massive hit

with the Scottish audience, who couldn't wait to ask the cast

and crew questions at the end of the film.

And on Monday morning, on our last day at the festival, EM

Media was involved in a panel event called 'Meet the Funders',

which gave producers the opportunity to find out more about

production finance available from the UK's national and

regional screen agencies. Again the event was well attended

with lots of intelligent questions from producers at every

stage of their careers.

It's been a fantastic year for the region's film industry

and Edinburgh has been the icing on the cake. The profile of

the East Midlands has been raised and the region's filmmakers

have achieved so much throughout the festival. We want to thank

them all for their support and congratulate their immense

talent and achievements. Here's to next year!

NEWS JUST IN…

Last night we were delighted to learn that Shane Meadows'

film Somers Town has scooped Edinburgh's top prize, the Michael

Powell Award for Best British Feature. This is fantastic news

and further cements the East Midlands' reputation as the home

of the UK's cutting edge film talent – congratulations

Shane!

We were also thrilled to find out that Robert Carlyle has

been awarded the Award for Best Performance in a British

Feature Film for his performance as Shaun in Summer. Again this

is fantastic news and we extend our congratulations to

Robert!

Find out more about Edinburgh International Film Festival

via its website:

"http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk">http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk

Find out more about EM Media via its website:

"http://www.em-media.org.uk/pages/home">http://www.em-media.org.uk/pages/home

A Complete History of My Sexual Failures will be in cinemas

from Friday 27th June.

Official website:

"http://www.completehistorymovie.co.uk">http://www.completehistorymovie.co.uk

Donkey Punch can be seen in cinemas from Friday 18th

July.

Official website:

"http://www.donkeypunchmovie.co.uk/">http://www.donkeypunchmovie.co.uk

Release dates for Summer, Somers Town, Better Things, Mum

& Dad and Crack Willow are to be confirmed but will be

towards the end of the year.