Oscar-nominated film and TV producer Sheryl Crown has joinedScreen East, the Screen Agency for the East of England, as its Head ofProduction.

In 2000, Crown received an Oscar nomination for the Welshfeature film Solomon And Gaenor.She also produced Marc Evans first feature, House of America. Crown has worked at the BBC as a film and TVdrama producer and was head of drama at indie production outfit SeptemberFilms. She started her drama career as a theatre directorand producer of young people's theatre.

Sheryl hasmost recently been working as an executive poducer for BBC Films Wales. RubiconPictures, her own production company, has an active slate of featurefilms in development.

Laurie Hayward, Chief Executive of Screen East, said:"Sheryl shares our vision for making indigenous production happen in the Eastof England and is dedicated to further developing the East of England as animportant centre of film and TV as well as the preferred region for UK andinternational location filming and inward investment. "

Crown said: "As a working filmmaker basedin the East of England I am looking forward to creating productionopportunities in the region. I will belooking to find distinctive and entertaining stories that can be made in theEast of England that work around the world.

"Screen East is actively seeking to establish a productionfund and I want to build relationships with national and internationalfinancing partners.

"I am passionate about film and will encourage theproduction of both 35mm feature films for the international market andlow-budget digital features that have distribution potential. I am also committed to finding and workingwith new talent."

Screen East is the screen agency for the East ofEngland. It is dedicated to developing,supporting and promoting a thriving and successful film and media industry andculture in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire,Norfolk and Suffolk. Screen East issupported by the UK Film Council and the East of England Development Agency(EEDA).