Slingshot, a new UK-baseddigital film production and distribution company, hasannounced plans to finance, produce and distribute a slate of 10 low-budgetfeature films over the next three years.

Arvind Ethan David, Rachel Connors and Thomas Hoegh have founded the company, which will be based atEaling Studios. David previously served as managing director at productioncompany Ruby Films and also founded digital animation studio Hahabonk; Connors previously worked at Scorpio Films onfilms including Dear Frankie and alsowas an assistant agent at Artists Rights Group; Hoegh,who will serve as non-executive director of Slingshot, is chairman of ArtsAlliance Productions and is on the board of LoveFilmand Arts Alliance Media.

Financing has been securedfrom media investors Arts Alliance Productions and the Creative Capital Fund.

Slingshot said it will offera profit-share production finance model allowingcreative and technical professionals to get reduced fees but a percentageof producer's gross participation.

Slingshot will majorityfinance the films, be shot and post-produced digitally, distributed through digitalcinemas and video-on-demand, and marketed using the internet.

"We will explicitly use thefreedoms afforded by the digital revolution up and down the value chain to makebetter films and deliver them more efficiently," David said in a statement. "Wewant to be creatively and commercially responsible for the films we make. Wewant to be held accountable for finding and serving the audience for our films.By producing and self distributing our films we are making that our challenge."

Slingshot will shoot its firstfeature in late summer 2006 followed by the second project starting in autumn2006.

Collaborators on the initialslate include Ashclin Ditta,co-creator of The Catherine Tate Show,Vito Rocco, director of Suburban Shootout,and Russian Dolls producer MatthewJustice.

The initial slate includescrime drama and class study Collision,written by Dominic Leyton based on his play, directed by Gary Love based andco-produced by Justice and Oliver Milburn. Also on tap is family drama Faintheart,written by David Lemon and directed by Rocco, broken marriage comedy French Film, written by Ditta and directed by Jackie Oudney;and The Real Gavin Reed, apsychological thriller to mark the directorial debut of writer Adam Forgash.

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