Good
evening, and welcome to the Manchester Evening News. I'm your anchor, Helen
Davy. Today, Manchester became a little more like Hollywood as the city has
just approved a new program focused on attracting filmmakers here to the North
West England. The city hopes the new initiative, which is set to go into effect
at the beginning of the new year, will help resurrect Manchester's once-proud
film heritage.
City
officials made the announcement at a tea-time press conference where they
outlined the new initiative and its timetable. The mayor, Ashley Downing,
enthusiastically described the new plan as having the potential to increase
investment in the city, promote property development by converting vacant
factories into studios and residential spaces for new employees, and provide
8,000 new jobs. Head of the Manchester Department of Culture, Albert Manning,
was also on hand to explain how the new plan fits into the rich history of
Manchester filmmaking.
The first
films shown in Manchester were screened at the municipal auditorium on High
Street, but in 1912, entrepreneur and amateur filmmaker Miles Cavendish opened
the High Street Electric Theatre. Cavendish, who was a successful banker,
intended the Electric Theatre to be a showcase for his movies and he is
credited with being the father of the Manchester film industry.
Many
important early English films were shot in Manchester, and the city soon
rivaled London as the most important movie city in England. In the 1920s, more
films began to be shot on sound stages, and Manchester benefited from this
shift due to its numerous empty factories. Unfortunately, World War Two ended
the golden age of Manchester film, and many of the studios were destroyed by
Nazi bombing. After the war, the film industry became highly concentrated in
the capital of London.
In 1954,
there was a brief attempt to revitalize the industry in Manchester, but few
filmmakers or studios could be lured from the capital. Only one new studio,
Northern Lights, was established, but it closed in 1957, only two years after
opening. This signaled the end of Manchester film, coinciding with the demise
of many other traditional industries in the city, like cotton and shipping.
However,
a rise in Manchester's fortunes since 2000 led to renewed interest in making
Manchester one of England's premier movie cities. Five major films were shot in
the city between 2002 and 2006, and each resulted in a noticeable bump in
employment numbers as well as increased local revenue.
In 2007,
the Task Force on Film in Manchester was assembled to determine the feasibility
of luring more filmmakers to the city. Their report, completed in 2009,
concluded that filmmaking in London was becoming prohibitively expensive for
all but the largest productions. They recommended that by providing tax breaks
and rebates on labor costs more filmmakers would turn to Manchester as a place
to get small- and medium-budget movies made. The report also indicated that
more films in Manchester would mean more employment opportunities and increased
tourism and service industry revenue.
Citing
the city's financial stability and its rich film history, the task force
recommended that the city council draw up a concrete strategy for attracting
more films based on the recommendations outlined in the report. The city
drafted plans in 2010 for a measure that would provide rebates of 12 per cent
on labor for English films and 18 percent for foreign productions. They also proposed
a 20 per cent tax break on all digital effects and computer animated movies
made locally. The council eventually approved the measure by a vote of 18 to 3.
Some
local residents have voiced concerns about such large tax breaks for companies.
But the city council argued that there would be minimal risk for taxpayers.
Another concern people voiced was the view that movies do not generate as much
money as they used to. However, at the press conference council members
stressed that the plan addresses this issue by providing animation and digital
effects studios added incentives, including building subsidies and tax breaks
for hiring local workers.
At the press conference, the mayor also announced that
the initiative has already attracted two new digital effects studios. He also
indicated that there are requests from several Canadian and French production
companies to begin shooting feature-length films beginning next spring.