UKFC puts $1.1 million into shorts

Pippa Cross joins board of directors

By ARCHIE THOMAS

LONDON — Recognizing the fact that the online world is giving shorts new platforms and auds, the U.K. Film Council announced Friday that it will plow $1.1 million into shorts programs via the New Cinema Fund.

The hefty coin injection goes to schemes including The Magic Hour, a shorts program for disabled filmmakers, 4mations Digital Shorts, an online animation channel that is a partnership between Channel 4, Lupus Films, Aardman Animations and The UKFC, and B3 Media, a black and ethnic minorities shorts enterprise.

Other recipients of funding are Digicult, a Scottish digital shorts org, and the 10 regional screen agencies, which are each getting $60,000 to support shorts makers in their areas.

The UKFC is also continuing its commitment to help short filmmakers finish their films through the Completion Fund, managed by Maya Vision International. Films that have been partly shot to a rough cut stage but require finance to complete can apply for all aspects of post-production help.

The UKFC’s various shorts programs are managed by Lifesize Pictures, which is meeting with shorts filmmakers at the Encounters short film fest in Bristol Friday.

In other UKFC news, producer Pippa Cross (“Shooting Dogs”) has joined the board of directors. Her appointment runs for four years from Friday. In her film biz career, Cross has worked with the likes of Jim Sheridan, Terence Davies and Paul Greengrass.