Capitol Films, EalingStudios, Pathe and Jeremy Thomas' Recorded Picture Company are amongstthe seven winners of the UK Film Council's development franchises, theGovernment-backed support body announced today.

The consortia of producers,sales agents, financiers and distributors will pump £15m into the UKdevelopment sector over the next three years, half from the council'slottery coffers and half in matching funding. The so-called super slate dealsreplace the council's previous slate system, handing out larger sums ofsupport but to fewer entities.

The winners are:

Capitol Films Productionswill receive £400,000 per year. Headed by the UK sales agent, it willoperate umbrella deals with Tiger Aspect Pictures, Samuelson Productions, FeelFilms, Ireland's Element Films and Cuba Pictures. The two key partnerswill be Capitol Films and the US' Ascendant Pictures, while BBC Films andFilmFour are both linked.

Darlow SmithsonProductions will receive £250,000 per year. The bid is re-teaming thepartners on Touching The Void to develop contemporary documentaries and drama-docs for thecinema. The key partners are Pathe Pictures, FilmFour and Channel 4, withlinks with the US' IFC Entertainment and the Tricycle Theatre.

A joint venture betweenEaling Studios, Fragile Films and Icon UK will receive £400,000 per year.It will incorporate an umbrella deal with Riverchild Films.

A joint venture between Little Bird and RecordedPicture Company will receive £400,000 per year. Its key partners will beHanWay Films and FilmFour and it will operate umbrella deals with John Battsekat Passion Pictures, Robyn Slovo at Company Pictures Limited and Chris Collinsat Home Movies.

Number 9 Films will receive£400,000 per year. The bid unites Number 9 Films, Elizabeth Karlsen andStephen Woolley's production company, with key partners FilmFour, sales companyIntandem,the Irish Film Board (via Parallel Films) and Tartan Films.Number 9 Films will also work with producers Alan Moloney in Ireland, ChristineVachon and Pam Koffler's New York-based Killer Films and the UK's NickBrown and Asif Kapadia.

Pathe Pictures will receive£350,000 a year. Pathe will boost its in-house development slate and runumbrella relationships with Blueprint Pictures, Forward Films Limited andGlasshouse Films Limited.

A new venture teamingproducers Alison Owen, Aimee Peyronnet and ex-Dreamworks executive Paul Listerwill receive £300,000 per year. They will partner with Momentum Picturesand BBC Films and with equity investment from Ingenious Media, and have anadditional umbrella deal with Octagon Films.

Announcing the winners,Jenny Borgars, head of the council's development fund, said thepartnerships offered more open doors than ever for development support in theUK.

"These partnershipsreflect a cross-section of some of the UK's most important filmmakers andindustry heavyweights," she said. "It's vital that the UKFilm Council supports the development of a wide range of projects from theindependent sector."

The development fund willcontinue to spend £1.5 million a year on single projects outside of thesuper slates. The partnerships are also obliged to spend at least 30% of thetotal investment on third parties.