The UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund has announcedsupport of three new films in production, Pawel Pawlikowski's TheRestraint of Beasts, Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger'sSparkle, and Sarah Gavron's Seven Seas.

The New Cinema Fund's investment in The Restraint of Beasts is $1.1m(£650,000). As reported by ScreenDaily in February, Pawlikowski's black comedy stars Rhys Ifans,Eddie Marsan, Ben Whishaw,and Warren Clarke. Tanya Seghatchian is producing forApocalypso Pictures, with BBC Films and WalesCreative IP Fund co-financing. Capitol Films is handling worldwide sales on thefilm, which is shooting now.

Principal photography has also started on Sparkle, which is being produced byMartin Pope and Michael Rose. The Magic Light Pictures production isco-financed with Isle of Man Film, Baker Street/Take 9 Partnership, North WestVision, and BBC Films. The New Cinema Fund is investing $660,000 (£377,600),while the Film Council's Development Fund has already invested $27,023(£15,467) in the project.

Sparkle stars Bob Hoskins, Stockard Channing, LesleyManville, Amanda Ryan, and Shaun Evans. The comedy is about a young Liverpudlian who tries to get ahead in London and is torn between apowerful older woman and a girl his own age.

Vertigo Films will distribute Sparkle in the UK and Beyond Films ishandling international sales. The film is shooting for five weeks in the Isle of Man, Liverpool, and London.

Also, the New Cinema Fund is investing $1.1m(£650,000) in Sarah Gavron's Seven Seas. The drama is produced by Alison Owen of Ruby Films andis co-funded by FilmFour.

The Film Council has supported previous films fromeach of the film-makers, Pawlikowski's My Summer of Love, Hunter & Hunsinger's LawlessHeart, and Gavron's This Little Life.

The New Cinema Fund is set up to encourage "uniqueideas, innovative approaches and new voices." It is allocated $26.2m (£15m) toinvest over three years; past investments include Touching the Void, The Magdalene Sisters,Intermission, Yes, and Bullet Boy.

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