Council bosses want to make Norfolk a filming capital to help bring in some serious cash for the local economy.
The county has provided the backdrop for a number of films in the past few years, from The Personal History of David Copperfield, festive Netflix hit Jingle Jangle and Danny Boyle's Beatles romantic comedy Yesterday.
Now, council bosses want to do more to bring Norfolk to the silver screen and capitalise on the buzz large scale productions have helped bring the region.
As part of the drive, Norfolk County Council commissioned a research project by film sector experts, Olsberg SPI, who put forward a series of recommendations, including forming a Norfolk film office.
Norfolk County Council leader Andrew Proctor hosted an online question and answer panel on Thursday, to discuss some of the research's findings and bring Norfolk up to date with the changing face of the film sector.
He said: “One key recommendation from the work is the need for a central organisation to collate and track information on film activity in Norfolk.
"Building on that is working together to promote the beautiful county of Norfolk to the film industry.
"We're aware of the major players in Norfolk, but we need to get to know the new entrants and the expanding expertise within our communities.”
Mr Proctor said Screen Suffolk has operated successfully for five years, encouraging the growth of filming there.
He said this has had a knock-on benefit for Norfolk, with many films shot across county boundaries, including Yesterday.
While Norfolk has talented graduates coming through Norwich, Mr Proctor warned most are leaving to pursue their careers and more needs to be done to keep them in the county.
Joshua Dedman, speaking for Olsberg, said the region earned around £10m from films in 2019 - including £3.8m from film production and around £2m from 'screen tourism' - people visiting the places they have seen on film.
Olsberg's recommendations included:
- Developing a business case for a Norfolk film office
- Track screen production skills information to see what gaps the county has
- Develop Norfolk as a "unique selling point" to bring in external investment, for example, an investment fund or investment in a production facility or training hub
Graham Plant, Norfolk County Council’s deputy leader, said attracting film and TV would help bring in more tourism and cash for local businesses.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here