Christopher Granier-Deferre succeeds Tristan Goligher who is currently overseeing post-production and delivery on films previously greenlit under the scheme.

Creative England, BFI Film Fund and BBC Films have appointed Christopher Granier-Deferre as executive producer for the next round of iFeatures.

Granier-Deferre, whose recently produced Gone Too Far! which premiered at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, succeeds Tristan Goligher who is currently overseeing post-production and delivery on films previously greenlit under the scheme, the UK’s flagship initiative for emerging feature film talent.

iFeatures will re-open for submissions from Jan 27, 2014, with a number of roadshows for prospective applicants taking place in Newcastle, Sheffield, Nottingham, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Brighton during January and February.

Granier-Deferre commented: “iFeatures is at the heart of supporting emerging talent in England, particularly outside of London, and I’m delighted to be joining the incredibly dynamic film team at Creative England. I look forward to making a real difference in how we as an industry discover, nurture and promote our next generation of feature filmmakers.”

“We’re thrilled to have Christopher on board. There’s still a lack of diversity in both the stories and the filmmakers coming to initiatives like iFeatures. Christopher’s fresh take on this as well his previous support for exceptional writers and directors such as Bola, Destiny, Alia Bano, Abby Ajayi and Chiman Rahimi make him the perfect candidate to make a real impact in this area,” added Chris Moll, head of film at Creative England.

As with previous rounds, iFeatures will develop a slate of 16 projects from upcoming writer, diretor and producer teams, leading to three films being greenlit in early 2015, each with a budget of £350,000. The partners will fully finance, with BBC pre-buying UK free TV rights.

The accompanying professional development programme is supported by Creative Skillset’s Film Skills Fund.