Peter Carlton has been appointed as head of Channel 4's experimental film division, Film Four Lab.

Carlton joins Film Four Lab having set up and run regional film fund EM Media Investments (EMMI) based in the East Midlands. Joining in mid-September and reporting to Film Four head Tessa Ross, he will be responsible for developing and working with new young film talent.

"Peter has a great creative reputation working with some of the best new film talent in the UK," says Ross. "I'm thrilled to have him on board as part of the new Film Four team."

The Lab was originally set up by Robin Gutch. He stepped down from the role in February.

The Film Four Lab's credits include Joel Hopkins' BAFTA award winning Jump Tomorrow; Dom Rotheroe's My Brother Tom, which received the British Independent Film Award for Best Newcomer; and, Tinge Krishnan's Shadowscan, which won the BAFTA Best Short Film Award.

The Lab's most recent features are Penny Woolcock's (The Death Of Klinghoffer) The Principles Of Lust and Simon Pummell's Bodysong. Both will be theatrically distributed by Pathe in 2003.

The FilmFour Lab now forms part of Channel 4's newly established film commissioning department under Ross, which has an overall budget of £10m per year.

"This is a fantastic challenge," says Carlton. "The UK is an incredibly concentrated melting pot of cultures and I want to draw on that richness for the Lab. It should be the natural place for UK talent to spread its wings. I'll be looking for authentic, clever and distinctively-told stories."

EMMI has backed Shane Meadows current untitled feature in partnership with Film Four, and Chris Cooke's feature One For The Road, also a collaboration with FilmFour.