L2B and Technological innovations

Sturges says it's worth attending courses such as Inside Pictures, run by Qwerty Films and Skillset. "I took it the first year it ran. It gives you a great insight into how to get films made and distributed both here and in the US."



Angels helped me spread my wings



The budget: £265,000



The producers: Rachel Robey and Al Clark



The film: London to Brighton



London to Brighton (LT was described by the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw as "the best British film of the year". It's a tense urban thriller, written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams, which follows a group of troubled characters between London and Brighton over 24 hours.



The initial funding for LTB was provided by what Robey refers to as a "group of business angels" who previously funded their short film Royalty (2001), the precursor to LTB.



The team received £80,000 from these investors. Robey says that although finding private finance under the radar, quickly and quietly, "was very much a deliberate strategy", they were also keen to attract industry money because "[it] gives a film credibility in the market place."



To Robey and Clark's delight, the UK Film Council invested £185,000 from their New Cinema Fund, enough to allow them to complete the film.


Robey's main advice for newer producers looking for funding is to immerse themselves in the business: "Make short films, read the trades, get to film festivals, learn what everyone does and start building key relationships with financiers, facilities companies and sales agents/distributors.


Robey, who produced more than 20 short films before making LTB, admits that she has not always been successful in finding funding for her projects, but says: "We never take on a project without the strong belief that we can raise the money and we never take a project to a financier before we think it is ready."

Since LTB, Robey and Clark have produced Duane Hopkins' feature film Better Things, which is now in post production. They will begin shooting their third feature this November.

So has the recent success of the British film industry been mirrored by an increase in money available to new producers? Yes and no. Robey thinks there is no more money available to producers applying for funding in "the established way" (ie a combination of public and private money), but she cites a number of low-budget film schemes which are harnessing the possibility of making films more cheaply, using digital technology.