PEAKY Blinders writer Steven Knight has spoken on the launch of a new body aiming to ‘turbo charge’ the West Midlands region’s TV, screen and games industries.
He joined Coventry’s Nativity film franchise founder Debbie Isitt and other leading lights from the industries to officially launch Create Central – Home of Original Story Telling.
Mr Knight said: “The West Midlands will be the big new everything in European film and television production.
“It will be bigger and better and the people who make the region what it is will be nurtured and inspired to make great moving image content. Watch this creative space.”
Create Central has been developed with national bodies including the BFI, ScreenSkills, UKie, Creative England, the Creative Industries Federation and PACT to take the region’s creative and cultural talent to the next level.
It is hoped it will help drive investment, growth and thousands of new jobs.
Unveiling the name, branding and website (www.createcentraluk.com) during an event at The Bond Company in Digbeth, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: “There has never been a better time to invest and support our creative sector in the West Midlands.
“This is a boom time for production in the industry with the likes of Amazon, Apple, Disney, and Netflix all investing hundreds of millions of pounds in original UK content. As the home of original story telling, our region has the tradition and talent to capitalise on this in a big way.
“The tales of Shakespeare and Tolkien still generate enormous value and interest to this day, and our modern-day storytellers are continuing this success with hits like Peaky Blinders, the Nativity franchise, and Citizen Khan.
“Create Central will harness the talent of the brightest and best people within the industry so we can turbo charge our creative sector and lead the way once again.”
The Mayor said the WMCA, which he chairs, would work with Create Central to deliver an innovative scheme to train more people for jobs in the film, TV and games sectors.
The WMCA will make up to £500,000 available to launch a series of pilot Create Central Bootcamps by the end of the year.
The mayor said the WMCA was looking to see 29,000 new, high skilled jobs in the digital and creative industries by 2030.
Create Central, which also includes Citizen Khan creator Adil Ray and will be chaired by international industry heavyweight Ed Shedd, will also work with the region’s wider cultural and tourism sector including the Royal Shakespeare Company and the forthcoming Coventry City of Culture in 2021.
Create Central also aims to capitalise on the region’s status as the UK’s only city-wide 5G testbed – a technology it believes will be invaluable to digital and creative innovators including Leamington’s internationally recognised games companies.
The area around the town has been dubbed Silicon Spa due to the concentration of games companies producing console blockbusters like, F1,Forza Horizon and Tom Clancy’s The Division.
Mr Shedd, chair of Create Central, added: “We are perfectly positioned to respond to and benefit from the fundamental transformation the screen industries are undergoing, driven by the advent of near ubiquitous, high speed connectivity.
“I look forward to working with the industry, the WMCA and partners to help attract and stimulate our next generation of storytelling, be they telling that story on TV, film, social media, or games formats.”
