EXCLUSIVE: The Pinewood Group has opened its nascent Indie Film Hub to all independent films, not just those backed by the Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC), as initially pledged.
Marc Forster’s Anxious People, a non-IFTC-qualifying project, has been the first feature to shoot at the hub this early autumn.
The comedy stars Angelina Jolie, Jason Segel, and Aimee Lou Wood and is produced by Fredrik Wikström Nicastro of Sweden-UK outfit Hope Studios and Renée Wolfe of US-based 2DUX², with Black Bear Pictures representing international rights and WME Independent handling US sales.
The Hub was announced in October of last year as a space in the pre-existing Buckinghamshire Pinewood Studios site to enable lower-budget films accessing the IFTC to afford studio space, including sound stages, offices and workshops.
The majority of the Pinewood site is on a long-term lease to Disney.
IFTC offers an enhanced 53% credit, which equates to 40% in actual relief for films with an eligible expenditure under £15m ($18.9m), for 80% of UK qualifying spend. To qualify, films must have a UK director, writer, or be an official UK co-production.
For films over £15m ($18.9m), the standard AVEC has a 34% headline rate, equating to 25.5% in actual relief. Films with a total core expenditure of up to £23.5m ($29.6m) can also choose to opt in to the IFTC, but up to a maximum of 80% of £15m ($18.9m) of the UK qualifying spend.
Screen understands Anxious People’s budget was too high to access the IFTC.
Pinewood declined Screen’s request for comment on the decision to move away from IFTC exclusivity. It is not known if there has been a lack of demand from IFTC projects, or if the studio space is still too expensive for projects claiming the IFTC.
A spokesperson said: “Pinewood’s new Indie Film Hub is a dedicated facility at Pinewood Studios to support lower-budget productions, The flexible facility can be hired in various ways, encompassing a mix of sound stages, workshop and office space, as well as access to our ecosystem of supporting businesses on the lot. Anxious People is the first production we have hosted and we look forward to hosting many more.”
Anxious People
Forster’s films centres on a group of strangers taken hostage at an open house by a reluctant bank robber, leading to unexpected and chaotic consequences. David Magee, who previously collaborated with Forster on A Man Called Otto, adapted the screenplay from Fredrik Backman’s novel. It is executive-produced by Samantha Waite of the UK’s Union Pictures.
”We’re not quite an indie, as in [accessing] Independent Film Tax Credit, but we are a legitimate indie,” Waite told Screen on set in October. ”We couldn’t have got into Pinewood if we didn’t have this space.
“[Pinewood’s] mission now is [projects can access the space] as long as it’s a legitimate indie that wouldn’t be able to work [otherwise] in London or the UK,” Waite suggested. ”It’s about being an indie rather than a studio.
“Ultimately, [Pinewood have] got to make it work. They don’t want [the hub] to sit empty and turn business away.”
Waite described the IFTC as “problematic” owing to the 80% cap. “It drives work away, and very often it’s post-production,” she said.
As of November 25, Pinewood’s website still described the indie hub as “exclusively” for IFTC filmmakers.
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